A recent report by VisitEngland has revealed that over £2bn was generated for the English domestic visitor economy in 2009 by overnight trips made by people who either have or are accompanied by someone with a health condition or impairment. VisitEngland are using this report to highlight to the tourism industry that catering for travellers with disabilities or health conditions is essential.
Over 11 million of these overnight trips were made last year, equating to 11% of the total volume of domestic overnight tourism in England.
VisitEngland said trips by this group tend to be longer than average and as a result their spend per trip is higher.
“Tourism businesses should view accessibility in its broadest sense, as fundamentally it is about understanding and catering for the individual needs of all visitors and in doing so providing a high quality and memorable experience which in turn will generate repeat bookings and visitor loyalty,” said James Berresford, VisitEngland chief executive.
#1 by Alex Rowbotham on June 28, 2010 - 11:29 am
Quote
We made a move towards this in 2009 when we rebuilt our cottage in Cornwall. We installed a heat recovery system which benefits asthma and allergy sufferers and have a no pets and no smoking policy for the same reason. The system removes damp and stale air from the property through a heat exchanger which mixes fresh outdoor air circulated throughout the property. http://www.sorgente.co.uk/ This may seem a small improvement when one considers the wide range of disabilities that guests may have, we feel it is a big improvement for those who suffer from allergies more often not considered by owners. We were fortunate that we were able to accommodate this change during major refurbishment, many owners would find this a difficult and expensive installation. Unfortunately, being a small traditional cottage there is not the space available to improve stairs for wheelchair access. Council planning issues are also a barrier to many improvements needed by well-meaning, caring community of holiday home owners.