11 June 2007
National tourism agency, VisitBritain has launched a new initiative to encourage England’s 6,000 visitor attractions to sign up to a new national Code of Practice.
National tourism agency, VisitBritain has launched a new initiative to encourage England’s 6,000 visitor attractions to sign up to a new national Code of Practice.
The Code of Practice will help ensure quality days out for tourists, giving customers an additional avenue for comments and helping maintain Britain’s position as the fifth most popular destination in the world. From 1 April 2008, only those attractions committed to the Code of Practice or participants in the Visitor Attractions Quality Assurance Service (VAQAS) will be promoted by VisitBritain.
Jeremy Brinkworth, VisitBritain’s general manager for quality, says: “Britain’s tourism industry must do all it can to keep its visitors returning year after year. We are facing increasing competition as rival destinations outstrip our tourism performance: although inbound tourism to the UK has seen average annual growth close to 7%, both India and Turkey are growing at double-digit rates.
“Raising the quality of attractions and accommodation is one step in addressing the challenges we face and ensuring not only that British visitors enjoy the highest quality experiences, but that we are ready to welcome the world in 2012.”
The 15 principles of the Code formalise attractions’ commitment to:
· providing accurate descriptions of operating hours, amenities, facilities and services, entry prices and any additional charges
· indicating any requirements for pre-booking and significant entry restrictions
· describing accessibility aspects
· sustaining high standards of maintenance, customer care, courtesy and cleanliness
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· having regard to managing and operating the attraction in a sustainable way, considering public transport, locally sourcing food and other supplies, recycling, and minimising energy consumption and pollution
· providing facilities for visitor comments and complaints
Supported by the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, the Historic Houses Association and Heritage Railways as well as the National Trust and English Heritage, registration to the code costs a minimal £25 and lasts until 2010. Participants will receive a copy of the Code which they can display at point of entry, access to a benchmarking and best practice guide, and regular newsletters. Toolkits also help attractions develop access statements and assess their suitability for VAQAS status.
Jeremy Brinkworth continues: “As our customers have ever-higher expectations from the attractions they visit, we must ensure that outstanding experiences become the norm. The new Code helps attractions declare their commitment to providing quality days out and, while many of its principles are timeless, others reflect more recent social changes.
“Registration for the Code of Practice and participation in VAQAS reassures the customer, giving them the official stamp of quality from the national tourism authority. Ultimately, if a visitor has concerns about an attraction in either scheme, they can bring the problem to us.”
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Further information:
Elliott Frisby, Corporate PR Manager on 020 8563 3035, mob: 07951 996241
Notes to editors
· VisitBritain is responsible for promoting Britain as a world class tourist destination and for developing England’s visitor economy. It has representatives in 36 countries around the world and, in the last three years, has expanded into China, throughout Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, and increased its presence in India with representatives in Bangalore and Mumbai.
· In 2005,there were 30 million visitors to Britain, 8% up on 2004. They spent £14.2 billion in the UK: a 9% increase on 2004.
· VisitBritain’s international website, www.visitbritain.com, was awarded World’s Leading Tourism Authority Internet Site for the third year in a row at the 2006 World Travel Awards by more than 200,000 travel and tourism professionals. With information provided in 26 different languages, every year over 12 million visits are made by international consumers to the 46 websites that make up visitbritain.com. VisitBritain plans to increase this to 25 million by 2009.
· An archive of media releases, information on VisitBritain's marketing activities, print quality, free-to-download images and more details about the work of VisitBritain in promoting Britain as a destination, can be found on VisitBritain’s online press centre, www.visitbritain.com/presscentre
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