Skift Take
Disabled travelers spend an estimated $13 billion in North America and £2 billion in England every year, making them an important target for destinations looking to increase their share of the global travel market.
VisitEngland, the country’s official tourist board, wants to help businesses promote themselves as accessible and welcoming to disabled travelers.
Expanding on the organization’s online tools, VisitEngland launched a free marketing guide Speak Up! aimed at educating hotels, tour companies, and restaurants how to communicate with this important customer.
The guide explains why accessible is a better term than disability friendly (it includes a broader customer base) and points out other politically correct phrases. It also includes case studies of different hotels’ facilities and marketing strategies. One of the best examples is this Gilbey Films video highlighting the extra measures that the W Hotel London takes to be considered an accessible business.
VisitEngland’s ultimate goal is to become a destination that is known as welcoming and accessible to travelers with disabilities and mobility challenges, a tourism market that the report estimates is worth £2 billion.
Other tourism boards, independent organizations, and even startups are also targeting this group of travelers that need to know specific details before booking a trip.
The full guide from VisitEngland is embedded below:
Have a confidential tip for Skift? Get in touch