The National Accessible Scheme (NAS) aims to help service providers within the tourism industry make their services more accessible - to encourage more disabled people to use them.
The scheme's standards provide guidelines on how to make reasonable adjustments to services to meet the needs of disabled people. They are split into three category standards, for:
Meeting the standards will not guarantee compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA). However, being part of the scheme will give businesses a nationally-recognised rating that they can use to promote their business and its facilities.
The individual standards are represented by symbols that can be publicly displayed and used in promotional literature. Information about the scheme, and pictures of the symbols, is available from the VisitBritain website.
By introducing a few or more changes from within the scheme, businesses can increase the number of disabled people that visit and use a service. Detailed information for businesses, including how to apply, can be found on VisitBritain's tourism trade website.
Additionally, accommodation providers can download self survey documents in pdf format to assess the current status of their business.
Tourism for All is a national charity that provides information about accessible accommodation and other tourism services in the UK to disabled and older people.