Make Yourself at Home: Inclusive tourism training

Welcoming tourists with disabilities

Tourism businesses know that a warm welcome turns new customers into repeat customers. There are 14 million disabled people in the UK with a spending power of £249 billion. When disabled visitors find a place they feel welcome, they return and they spread the word about their good experiences.

Embrace the Inclusive Spirit: Inclusive Tourism Programme

Welcoming disabled visitors makes business sense. We’re working with our tourism partners Visit Belfast, Tourism Northern Ireland and Titanic Belfast to create an inclusive tourism programme, Embrace the Inclusive Spirit.

The programme aims to:

• promote the value of inclusive tourism and
• provide support to tourism businesses to help them become more accessible for visitors with disabilities.

The Embrace the Inclusive Spirit programme is free and includes:

• Inclusive Tourism Training (link opens in new window) in confident communication with disabled customers
• Three videos on Accessibility in Belfast (link opens in new window) where Talia, Lorcan and Margaret share their accessible experiences at various Belfast locations
• Living Library events

For more information on accessibility in Belfast, email kanew@BelfastCity.gov.uk.

Communication with disabled customers

Have an honest conversation about what your customers need and what you can do. This approach can overcome most barriers. It's an important step you can take to create inclusion, attract customers and retain customers.

We offer free, fun and practical training to help your business make changes in the way you communicate so that you can give the best possible service to disabled customers. 

Videos on confident communication

We offer free, fun and practical training to help your business make changes in the way you communicate so that you can give the best possible service to disabled customers.

Be Communication Confident training session one

This video plays for five minutes and 24 seconds.

Be Communication Confident training session two

This video plays for six minutes and 24 seconds.

Be Communication Confident

This video plays for 15 minutes and 57 seconds.

Resources for accessible communications

Each external link opens in a new window.

• To read information on using language that matches the social model of disability, go to Disability Rights UK.
• To read information on communicating with people with hearing loss, go to RNID.
• To read information on Sign Language users, go to British Deaf Association.
• To read information on communicating with people with sight loss or visual impairment, go to RNIB or Angel Eyes NI.
• To read information on communicating with people who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), go to MonTech.
• To read information on communicating with autistic people, go to National Autistic Society. 
• To read information on inclusive arts, go to Open Arts. 

Sign Language interpreters

To book a registered British Sign Language or Irish Sign Language interpreter, go to NRCPD (link opens in new window).

Audio describers

To book an audio describer to give people with sight loss access to a live performance, go to NI Sight Lines (link opens in new window) or go to Audio Description Directory (link opens in new window).

Accessibility guide for your business

For information on how to create an accessibility guide, go to Visit Britain (link opens in new window).

Web accessibility

For information on web accessibility standards, go to WCAG Web accessibility initiative (link opens in new window).

Read our web accessibility statement. 

Just a minute cards

Just a minute (JAM) cards help businesses support people with hidden disabilities or communication barriers. To read about JAM cards, go to JAM card for business (link opens in new window).

Captions for a live performance

For information on captioning a live performance for people who are deaf, deafened or hard of hearing, go to Theatre and Dance NI (link opens in new window).

Accessible venues

To search for accessible venues in Belfast, go to AccessAble (link opens in new window).