Today, VisitAberdeenshire will be turning purple to support a worldwide social movement and change initiative.
Tuesday, November 7 is officially recognised as Purple Tuesday, an initiative that is working to improve the customer experience for disabled people every day of the year. In 2022, the movement reached 23 million people with 6000 businesses involved. The global impact of Purple Tuesday was celebrated in five countries including UK, USA, UAE, Malaysia and Pakistan.
How can tourism businesses in the North-east support inclusivity and accessibility needs?
Estimated to be worth £17.1 billion to the UK’s tourism sector, the ‘purple pound’ represents a significant market opportunity for both leisure tourism and business events and has been identified as a priority in the North-east's destination strategy.
That’s why we’ve integrated accessible and inclusive tourism sessions into VisitAberdeenshire’s annual tourism development programme. We know the accessible and inclusive customer base is loyal, and meeting the needs of visitors with a wide range of requirements is a growing opportunity for the tourism sector and fundamentally, it’s the right thing to do.
In 2023, VisitAberdeenshire has hosted a series of seminars and workshops that provided businesses with a good understanding of how to improve customer service for all and the value of information provision. Events like these, will in turn, boost the region’s reputation as an inclusive and accessible destination.
Local businesses are making great strides in the accessibility and inclusivity space, whether it’s offering dementia friendly sessions or making changes to website font sizes – small changes make a big difference.
Purple Tuesday shines a light on accessibility and inclusivity and reminds us that a truly inclusive welcome should happen all year round.