Hansard

I, too, welcome the debate and our visitors today.

My son is a professional golfer. A few years ago, he was asked to appear on the BBC’s “Today” programme, to be interviewed about his wish to introduce to the United Kingdom special sports equipment. Manufactured in the USA, the paramobile allows people with disabilities to have real and full access to the great game of golf. I use golf as an example to illustrate the possibilities involving one important element of tourism—golf—and the need to increase accessibility in relation to tourism more generally. Of course, the Ryder cup—the greatest golf attraction in the world, and the greatest global tourist attraction in my opinion—starts with a practice round today, with the first round taking place tomorrow.

When I questioned my son, Greg, about the viability of his project, he waxed lyrical about the opportunities that the equipment afforded. We discussed needs and the ramifications of the equipment. The equipment is for the chair-bound. It allows golf users—it can be used not just for golf, but for archery and other sports—to be erect so that they can drive into bunkers, trees and what have you and enjoy the sport’s full attractions.

The major features that my son highlighted were not just about overcoming the physical barriers to golf, but about optimising the opportunities, buttressing them even more with good customer service, the attitudes of people, staff and golf course owners to the disabled, and the availability of full information about accessibility.

I am encouraged that all those elements will feature in the Ryder cup, as they should elsewhere. As we know from VisitScotland’s comments, there will be absolutely no discrimination at the Ryder cup and all people will be treated equally, with the same quality and level of service; accessible information about the event will be available to all, including those with infirmity; and services will be delivered that are appropriate to actual, as opposed to presumed, need. Other support will be provided, such as access buddies—I am glad that George Adam is not here—who are volunteers who help people with limited mobility or sensory impairment and the elderly, allowing them to move around not just the course and the tented villages but the surrounding area.

Accessible tourism contributes almost £370 million to the Scottish economy. That is no small amount. It provides huge potential economic benefits to hundreds of businesses in Scotland, not least train services.

It is significant that the opportunities that come with that business are met with improved customer service. As has already been mentioned, in its briefing, ScotRail highlights a recent improvement. The recommended amount of notice to be given by customers with disabilities when booking travel assistance with the company has dropped from 24 hours to just four hours. The availability of a passenger assistance app for ScotRail staff can only add to the wider spectrum of improving customer service.

All such events augment the possibilities of the accessible tourism project, which can make Scotland one of the most accessible tourist destinations in Europe by identifying the physical and service barriers that are faced by those with disabilities who holiday or plan to holiday here. The partnership of Capability Scotland, VisitScotland and the Government under the auspices of that project is to be commended for programming in overcoming those barriers. It is a key vehicle for the future success of the accessibility programme.

Those barriers are not limited to the architecture of tourism—restaurants, accommodation and tourist attractions—but relate to everything around the periphery that is associated with it, such as the shops and stations that complete the tourist experience. Patricia Ferguson made the important point that it is not just about money.

We have all said that 2014 is the year in which we welcomed and continue to welcome the world. We have had the Commonwealth games, with services for people with disabilities provided by the front-runner volunteers and Clyde-siders. That has all been, and will be, achieved and complemented by the online training programme that has been mentioned. It is a tool for staff and associated tourism enterprises and a vehicle that will allow all our guests who have a disability to enjoy the Scottish experience fully through excellent customer service.

Those are all important. However, the most important real, on-going benefits will flow from the feedback of customers with disabilities.

Professor Stephen Hawking, a sufferer of MND, said:

“There is a severe lack of quality information about disabled access in the UK, particularly services giving the end-user’s perspective.”

Like Jenny Marra, I applaud Euan MacDonald, a local person who, like Professor Hawking, suffers from MND and who has developed Euan’s Guide, which is a disabled access review website and app that provides credible information on tourism sites that he and others with disabilities have compiled. People with disabilities have reviewed 600 places in 250 towns. That is no small achievement.

That kind of initiative, partnered by the work of Capability Scotland, VisitScotland and, of course, our Government, can not only secure enjoyment but ensure that Scotland is at the forefront of—indeed, that it is a trailblazer for—the growth of accessible tourism in years to come.