![[PiA Master Text Logo.png]] # Partners in Access ## Visitor Experience Pilots - Helping you to plan for disabled access and inclusion within tourism and hospitality  [[About]] | [[Contact]] | [[Working with us]] | [[Press and Media]] > Partners in Access was established by Paul Ralph after his experience of several decades working in the field of access and inclusion for disabled people. He describes the organisation as "Visitor Experience Pilots" as he and the team help businesses and organisations navigate the amazing opportunity that welcoming disabled visitors can bring to your business and your community. ![[John O Groats 39.jpg]] Photo: Paul visiting John O' Groats and pictured here sitting by the famous distance signpost --- ## Information sharing is the way forward "We know from our own experience as disabled people, and what other disabled people tell us, that visiting places and spaces can be a complex and frustrating experience. Sometimes you simply cannot find out the information you need to plan a visit. I know from my own adventures that accessible toilets can be a deal breaker, an accessible bedroom means a visit is possible and a great welcome with good facilities can offer me an experience to tell my friends about." Sadly, even today, in 2024, disabled access information is not always easy to find or find out about. Unlike many other visitors, disabled people are less likely to go somewhere and hope it will work for them. Information is key to planning to visit somewhere, having accessible facilities is key to welcoming disabled visitors, and telling people what you have in advance is the deal breaker. Having a [[Plan for accessibility]] helps you to join the businesses that realise the scale of the opportunity as you can welcome many of the 16 million disabled people in the UK, as well as their friends and families. We also know that there's a strong business case for providing good disabled access. Let's forget the moral or legal backdrop for a moment and consider what this can bring to your work and your business. Did you know that disabled people will typically stay longer when visiting, spend more than the average spend, return more often and tell more people about how great you are? That's all great but think about the £274 billion pound spend that you may be overlooking and [[The Business Case]] for creating accessible experiences for everyone? If you see welcoming disabled people as a new marketing opportunity you will do well. If you have a specific question or want some help with your accessibility plans you can email us and we will try to help if we can. To discover more about [[Working with us]] take a look at how we work and what we can offer." "Welcome to our website!" ![[Signature.jpeg]] Paul Ralph, Managing Director and Chief Storyteller Partners in Access Ltd ## [[Publications]] We are often asked about accessibility and inclusion in specific settings. It could be someone asking about their camp site, a guest house proprietor, or a visitor attraction. It can be challenging to know what you need to do for disabled access and where to start. Lots of folk will tell you what you don't have, what doesn't work, or what is missing but few tell you what to to. The factsheets we have written set out to highlight what disabled people may find helpful in particular settings. If you can gain insight into the expectations of your customers it becomes easier to work towards becoming the best you can for everyone. ## [[Accessibility Knowledge Base]] The Accessibility Knowledge base contains an extensive list of definitions and explanations of formats, equipment, services and other issues directly related to providing accessible information and accessible services. The knowledge base is all about answering those random questions that come to mind. What is something, how do I do that, or what do they mean by? Set out like a glossary of terms you can explore the topics, themes and terms you meet when exploring access for disabled people. ## [[Access Guides and why they're important]] As people with a love of exploring we are frequently asked about Access Guides, often called Access Statements, and we are a great fans of these. An Access Guide is probably the most used 'tool' when planning on visiting new places. As disabled people, we need to know what is on offer to make visiting easy for disabled visitors. First stop is the access guide and then we move on to see if other disabled people have made a visit and what they may have to say about the place or space. When we arrive we look for a warm welcome, being able to enjoy our visit and taking home our own stories to tell our friends. --- ## Work in progress The website is currently being updated and section by section brought online. Not all sections of the website are publicly visible just now. We hope to bring the full version of the website online before the end of the year. --- The materials, content and images on this website are subject to copyright. If you would like to use any of the content on the website in your own work please get in touch as we are keen to share our work with people who are seeking to improve access and inclusion for disabled people. (c) Partners in Access, 2024, Edinburgh, Scotland - All rights reserved