Inclusive tourism in the Scottish Borders

At a recent Conference I told a story. Let me share it with you?

As a born storyteller, in a room full of storytellers, I can’t resist the temptation to weave a story for you. I guess when you were getting ready to come along to today’s event you had expectations. Maybe a sense of wonder and a sprinkling of curiosity about what people are going to be talking about.

You got up, dressed, had breakfast, decided whether it was a day for a coat (after all, this is Scotland) and thought about how to get here and then coming in through the doors the fun began.

My story was a bit like that too … Yep, I got up, my P.A. helped me shower, dress and then grab some food. I too had the dilemma of a big coat, summer coat, or no coat!

So many questions when I got here. Is there an accessible loo or Changing Places Toilet? Are there any surprise lifts?

What’s the space going to be like? Will I be able to see everything? I hope they’ve got mugs and not teacups!

My list carried on…

You need to understand that I cannot enjoy my visit until my hierarchy of needs, my questions, and thoughts have answers.

I may not need all the things I mentioned, but I do need to know about them before I can think about my sense of wonder, my curiosity, or my enjoyment.

Think of them as barriers to wonder …

Some places treat accessibility as a compliance exercise and do as little as they can get away with. We notice the minimalist approach instantly as we get stuck turning around in the accessible loo. We have flashbacks to hospitals when we see white clinical looking grab rails or loads of unwelcoming signage.

Quality is important.

Places that see accessibility as being like an extension of health and safety will not gain our custom. Don’t be like the microbrewery that told me it had an accessible tour, an accessible loo and an accessible shop. Their checklist approach forgot to include the car park. I couldn’t get out of the car as the gravel was like a beach and so we left and found somewhere more welcoming!

We often see venues advertising themselves as fully accessible. Sadly, these places are unknowingly telling us they don’t understand accessibility. Fully accessible is not achievable as it is a concept and not something you achieve or create.

Beware of the idea that a long list of accessibility features makes your attraction accessible. It simply means you have lots of stuff but it’s not an automatic passport to a five star experience or a quality experience.

There’s many a visit I have made where the brochure was amazing and the features on offer were fabulous, but the experience was dreadful!

I don’t always remember the detail of my many visits, but I always remember how I felt.

Five star experiences are where you feel amazing! Where you smile, laugh, and have that feeling as though inside you’re dancing!

Even today, ‘wow’ moments are still rare! I recall talking to a group of accommodation providers recently.

Someone contributed the thought that they didn’t see many disabled people in their area and so, what was the point of investing in accessibility?

Just for once I was speechless … let’s flip the coin …

I’m mindful of Galashiels, a quiet Border town, where, after years of decline, a new railway line opened with an amazing transport hub. The town’s traders knew disabled people would visit too.

The town’s folk quietly set about creating ramps for the cafes, their shops, and their attractions. They made sure there was a Changing Places Toilet in the town.

They designed wayfinding which incorporated a guidance line to help people find the newly created Great Tapestry of Scotland building.

Maybe they recognised the new marketing opportunity. Who wouldn’t want a slice of the £446 billion pound spend of disabled people across the UK. Or, perhaps, the £1.4 billion spend in Scotland on inclusive tourism.

Not to mention the longer stays, higher than average spends, more return visits, and loud voices as people told everyone about their amazing visit.

Don’t be like the island community that had so much to offer but didn’t think disabled people would be interested. I read all about the whisky but couldn’t find mention of any wheelchair accessible accommodation. I didn’t visit.

Don’t be like the hotel that thought more of its guests who brought their pet dogs than they did their disabled guests. A website full of encouragement to dog lovers and nothing for me!

I didn’t visit.

You talk about impact.

Typically, it is the small things that make the biggest impact for your disabled visitors.

Visiting a World Class attraction, I took the tour that everyone takes. A short while into the tour, our guide ‘Bill’, chose a discrete moment, and simply asked me if everything was working for me. Those experiences don’t happen in my day to day life.

I ask you to be like ‘Scott’ at Glen Ord, The Singleton of Glen Ord, who was so proud of the Changing Places Toilet that they’d built at the distillery. I don’t know who was more excited: me to discover it or him to show me it!

After all it’s the only whisky distillery in the world with a Changing Places Toilet! That says something about reaching out to your communities too, not just for visitors but for everyone.

Sometimes disabled people don’t want to do some of the things you may imagine. It may be a surprise to learn that I and many others have no great desire to climb every tower house or go rambling across the hills, but we do want to get into the spaces.

I’m delightfully happy visiting Glen tress and being able to sit amid the tree lined valley without racing around the cycle paths; albeit the all ability route is quite fabulous!

The impact of the experiences I describe is deep and meaningful. So much so, I can recall, all this time later, people’s names, the stories they told and the difference they made to my visit!

So, my message today is simple …

In this time of responsible tourism don’t forget disabled visitors.

Thank you!