TALKING POINT
Children's museum Eureka! offers free admission to essential carers, free holiday clubs for disabled children and a free "Extra Pair of Hands" trained guide service. A Changing Places washroom will open soon
Disabled people and their families make up a huge section of society, but at the moment only 20 per cent take a holiday. This could be much higher if they felt confident about venues’ accessibility
KIKI MACDONALD
Co-founder, Euan’s Guide, Edinburgh
D 30
isabled people and their families generally want to do the same and be
treated the same as everyone else. They make up a huge section of society, but at the moment only 20 per cent take a holiday. This could be much higher if they felt confident about venues’ accessibility. There's a lot of fear around
accessibility. Many venues assume it’s too costly or fear negative feedback. But small, simple improvements can
Publicising information
about a venue's accessibility is a good idea – which areas are accessible, and where the accessible toilets and disabled parking are located. While disabled toilets are
required by law, the reality is that a number of venues and attractions don't provide them. Toilets can make or break a visit for a disabled guest. Some theme parks in the
make a huge difference, for example, hanging a door to open out rather than in, or having better signage. Talking to disabled people
and taking on their feedback is an obvious place to start.
US are introducing rides where you don’t need to transfer from a wheelchair to go on them, while the Eureka! Children’s Museum in the UK runs clubs aimed at disabled and non-disabled children, and
Read Attractions Management online
attractionsmanagement.com/digital
offers a helper service to make families’ visits easier. Chessington World of
Adventures – also in the UK – has introduced a hi-tech toilet, which has space for two carers, a changing table and a hoist. Hopefully more attractions will follow this example. Having staff provide a warm
welcome and give details about navigating the attraction, such as how to get around the site or where to find the toilets, is hugely helpful. Many sports events do this well too, by employing Access Buddies to assist disabled visitors.
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euansguide.com @EuansGuide AM 4 2014 ©Cybertrek 2014
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