New Voice for Consumers with Disabilities: UK "Disability Champion" for the Tourism Sector

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Tuesday, 21 February 2017. Disabled people will get a fresh chance to make their voices heard as consumers, thanks to a UK government initiative to be announced on Tuesday. Eleven sector champions are being appointed to help make different areas of business more accountable to the disabled.

Chris Veitch photo UK Government's "Disability Champion" for the tourism sector, Chris Veitch, ENAT Member.

Tuesday, 21 February 2017. Disabled people will get a fresh chance to make their voices heard as consumers, thanks to a UK government initiative to be announced today.

Eleven sector champions are being appointed to help make different areas of business more accountable to the disabled.

They will cover business sectors including banking, tourism, retail and public transport. Champion for the tourism sector is ENAT Member, Chris Veitch of Access New Business.

The initiative is being launched by the UK Government's Department for Work and Pensions.

"There are currently more than 11 million disabled people in the UK and the spending power of their households - 'the purple pound' - is almost £250bn," a spokesperson said.

"But many businesses are missing out on this potential customer base by having everyday products and services which aren't available to disabled people - who, as a result, are regularly excluded from experiences and opportunities that many others take for granted."

The sector champions are:

  • Helen Drury, corporate responsibility manager at shopping centre owner Intu (retail)
  • Suzanne Bull, chief executive of Attitude is Everything (music)
  • Huw Edwards, public affairs director at UKActive (leisure)
  • Chris Veitch, co-founder of Access New Business (tourism)
  • Robbin Sheppard, chairman of Bespoke Hotels (hotels)
  • Dan Brooke, head of marketing, press and publicity at Channel 4 (media)
  • Sam Phillips, chief marketing officer at Omnicom Media Group (advertising)
  • Michael Connolly, regional training and standards manager at OCS Ltd (airports)
  • Jane Cole, managing director at Blackpool Transport Services (buses)
  • Trudie Hills, disability manager at Lloyds Bank (banking)
  • Jo Twist, chief executive of UKIE (gaming)

Source: BBC Business News