Meeting of the Parliament 25 September 2014
Oh, well. I will chance my arm then, Presiding Officer. Thank you.
That allows me to talk about access statements. The phrase sounds rather like those that were described by Kevin Stewart, who is not in the chamber, as “gobbledegook” in the Local Government and Regeneration Committee, but they are not gobbledegook. If a person who has a disability wants to visit the royal yacht Britannia, they can go online and see its access statement, which will tell them exactly what width the doors to the toilets are and exactly what facilities there are for people with a disability. In other words, if someone has a disability, the access statement tells them what they need to know, and that is why the statements are important. That was not actually what it said on that page of my notes, Presiding Officer, but there we are.
To prove that the statements are not gobbledegook, I highlight research that shows that 76 per cent of consumers say that access statements positively influence their decision to travel. If the rest of us want to know that there is a swimming pool or another facility at a hotel, we just look and the information is there, but someone with particular needs has to ensure that those needs are catered for, and an access statement allows them to do so.
I thank you for the extra time, Presiding Officer. In moving to a close, I will just say how pleased I am to have had the opportunity to listen to so many people with a disability who have helped me to learn just a little bit more about their predicament, and to work in particular with VisitScotland, which has led the way. I am engaging with counterparts in Brussels next week—if I get the slip, that is—in discussions with European colleagues on what we are doing in Scotland.
I also work with the Scottish tourism alliance—the STA’s chief executive, Marc Crothall, is witnessing the debate today. I look forward to a constructive, positive and useful discussion this afternoon with members of all parties in the chamber. Together, we can see what more we can do to enable people with a disability to enjoy something that we take for granted as of right.
I move,
That the Parliament recognises the important contribution to the Scottish economy that accessible tourism makes across many sectors; further recognises that disabled people should be able to enjoy a holiday or break in the same way as others do; acknowledges the work underway and notes the progress made by VisitScotland and partners in developing the accessible tourism online training tools for managers and staff in individual enterprises; recognises that the whole tourism sector and wider public and private sectors need to work together closely to make accessible tourism ever more successful, and notes the efforts made to ensure that the tourism industry recognises the mutual benefit to businesses and consumers from the opportunities for accessibility being maximised for all events taking place during the next four themed years.
14:46