Quality

Green Tourism Business Scheme offer
Looking to cut costs but do not want to give up on quality? Want to know what you already do to manage your business sustainably ‘Green' or not sure where to start? Want bespoke advice on how to realise your business green marketing potential?

Accommodation Grading - Online Application Tool
Quality in Tourism has now launched an online application tool to make the application process easier and quicker for many potential customers. The online application tool is available for all of their major product types. Upon completing the online application process, a live record will be created on the Quality in Tourism in-house system and new applicants will be contacted on a daily basis (Monday to Friday) to confirm payment options and explain the direct debit process.

A new focus for accessibility issues
Visit Britain has produced a new guide focusing on accessibility with useful tips and advice on how to meet your visitors' needs at each stage of their journey.

A short guide to making your premises safe from fire
This booklet provides simple and practical advice to people responsible for fire safety in small and medium businesses. It provides entry level guidance on how to make sure you are meeting the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. About the guides

Writing an Access Statement for your business - an easy reference guide
An Access Statement is a written, clear and accurate, and above all honest description of your current facilities and the services you offer, to enable a potential visitor to make an informed decision as to whether your business meets their particular access needs. From April 2007 you will be required to prepare an Access Statement, as part of your quality grading assessment with VisitBritain. Thereafter, you will need to present an Access Statement annually to your quality assessor at the time of your quality assurance visit.
An introduction
Further contacts

Fire risk assessment template from VisitEngland
Simple and free risk assessment template suitable for any type of small accommodation business. The Fire Risk Assessment template is now live on the VisitEngland website. It is a very simple and free risk assessment template suitable for any type of small accommodation business. It gives reasons for doing it and guidance on how to do it at each stage.

Green Tourism Business Scheme
Sustainability and green issues are now very much mainstream, with governments, businesses and individuals all involved. Tourism, as one of the main economic drivers in the UK, has its part to play. The Green Tourism Business Scheme (GTBS) is the leading sustainable tourism certification scheme in the UK. Businesses opting to join are assessed by a qualified grading advisor against a rigorous set of criteria, covering a range of areas, like energy and water efficiency, waste management, biodiversity and more.

Guidance on accessibility of large hotel premises and hotel chains
PAS 88 - contains principles of good practice based upon the duty to make reasonable adjustments and to ensure services are accessible to disabled people as contained in the DDA 1995, as amended 2005.
Large Hotel Guide
PAS Brochure

National Accommodation Standards ... and why we need them
In these days of increased consumer awareness many services promote a recognised national standard. It denotes professionalism, a guarantee of minimum standards, a code of business practice and an independent means for resolving any dispute.

Public sector organisations support official star rating
Make sure you understand the implications and what it means for your business.

National Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions
For the purpose of the charter a visitor attraction is defined as: "A permanently established excursion destination, a primary purpose of which is to allow public access for entertainment, interest or education; rather than being primarily a retail outlet or a venue for sporting, theatrical, or film performance. It must be open to the public, for published periods of the year, and should be capable of attracting day visitors or tourists, as well as local residents."

VisitEngland demands inspected only
VisitEngland now only markets quality-assured accommodation. There really has never been a better time to belong to VisitEngland's quality assessment schemes as the potential benefits are enormous.

VisitEngland launches GREEN START: a new support tool to help you do business even better
Green Start is primarily an awareness raising, entry level training, and business review tool available to tourism businesses in England seeking to reduce their impacts on the environment or community in which they are located. It is also an on-line community of like-minded businesses with an interest in the delivery and management of sustainable tourism. Green Start delivers all of the resources that a tourism business requires to introduce and develop their sustainability programme and operates in partnership with training initiatives such as Green Edge Training (part of the Welcome to Excellence suite of courses that has been redeveloped inline with Green Start) and other regional or national resources where they exist.