When a world bog snorkelling championship collides with a village scarecrow festival, you know this isn’t your average accessibility webinar.

In this episode of Destination Unknown: A Destination Website Podcast by DestinationCore, host Neil Prentice is joined by Will Wright and Jay Pratt to tackle accessibility and inclusion for destination websites - not as a tick-box exercise, but as a core part of how places welcome visitors.

After shining a light on the World Bog Snorkelling Championships and the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival, the team dig into what accessibility really means in a destination context: from screen readers and contrast ratios to quiet spaces, step-free access and multi-language support. They emphasise that accessibility is ultimately about removing barriers - online and on-location - so more people can enjoy your place with confidence.

Drawing on their experience building high-performance destination sites and working with frameworks such as VisitEngland’s Key Accessibility Features, they explore how DMOs, LVEPs, BIDs and place partnerships can design for inclusion from day one, instead of bolting it on at the end.

In this episode, we explore:

• Why “accessibility” is often better framed as inclusion - and how that mindset shifts your strategy

• The two sides of the coin: online accessibility (site design, UX and content) and real-world accessibility (what visitors actually experience on the ground)

• How to make accessibility information as easy to find as “things to do” - so users are not hunting for a separate section

• Practical design considerations: typography, headings, colour contrast, iconography, alt text and keyboard/tab navigation

• Why many users already bring their own assistive tech - and what that means for code structure, layout and content design

• The role of filters and global preferences (e.g. step-free access, hearing loops, quiet spaces) in tailoring content without forcing people through frustrating journeys

• The importance of structured, consistent accessibility data - and how standards such as Key Accessibility Features can help

• Why accessibility is a competitive advantage as well as a legal and ethical responsibility, including the spending power and loyalty of visitors with access needs

• How translation and AI-powered tools can help destinations welcome international visitors in their own language

• The idea that “a lack of information can be as much of a barrier as a set of stairs” - and what that means for your content strategy

If you’re planning a new destination website, replatforming an existing one or refreshing your content and data model, this episode will help you treat accessibility as a strategic pillar rather than a compromise on design - and create a place online that genuinely feels welcoming to everyone.