[Travelandtourism] Interesting article......

[STEPHANIELSCOTT at aol.com]

Greetigns, I ran across this article while reading this morning. 
 
Stephanie
 
 
Roman Baths wins tourism excellence award for offering Access for All
 
 
The South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2011/12 have praised Bath  & North 
East Somerset Council's Roman Baths for the improved accessibility  it 
offers all visitors. 
The Romans Baths received a "Highly Commended" in the  Access for All award 
section in recognition of recent development  work carried out by the 
Council to improve access in a wide range of ways and  make the experience more 
inclusive for people with a wide range of different  needs.  
The award was officially presented to members of the Roman Baths  team – 
Katie Smith, Iain Johnston and Susan Fox – by the Independent and TV  travel 
writer Simon Calder at a prestigious awards ceremony held in Torquay's  
Riviera Centre on 6 February. 
There were three other winners in the Access for All category, all of  whom 
are specialist providers of holiday facilities for people with special  
needs. The Roman Baths was the only visitor attraction to be recognised for  
introducing new access arrangements. 
Councillor Cherry Beath (Lib-Dem, Combe Down), Cabinet Member for  
Sustainable Development, said: "This is the first time we have put in an  
application for this category and the judges commented that the competition was  
tremendously fierce. Therefore we're delighted that the Roman Baths shone  
through to be awarded Highly Commended status. It shows Bath & North East  
Somerset Council's commitment to making this extremely popular visitor  attraction 
accessible and exciting for everyone to enjoy.   
"Physical accessibility at the Roman Baths has improved enormously with  
the installation of two new lifts and a complete change in the way visitors 
can  move around the site. Understanding of the ancient monument has also 
become  easier for our visitors with new displays and improved interpretation  
throughout, and there is a wide range of visual prompts that everyone can  
recognise. 
"We have new interpretation for blind and visually impaired visitors  with 
many tactile exhibits. There is a dedicated British Sign Language  audio 
guide, an inclusive personal audio guide in eight languages, and tours for  
English and French speaking children. The judges even took into account the  
inclusive way that we cater for people with particular dietary needs in the 
Pump  Room restaurant." 
The South West Tourism Excellence Awards judging panel based its  decision 
on recommendations from the category judges and mystery shoppers for  this 
year's awards. 
The official report highlighted a number of positive aspects of the  Roman 
Baths visitor experience, including: 
    *   Unique historic site of world class importance, with extensive  
museum and collections. Excellent and comprehensive website with extensive  
information for planning a visit, including a walk-through guide plus detailed  
information on numerous objects in the collection.  
    *   Ancient monument and Grade I Listed site containing 2,000 year old  
Roman Baths with outstanding Georgian addition.  
    *   Superb Pump Room Restaurant in outstanding surroundings. Food and  
drink of a very high quality with evidence of local produce being used. Very 
 high standard of service – chefs will provide for various dietary needs. A 
 unique experience enhanced by live music.  
    *   Friendly staff in and around the museum areas. Two new lifts to  
allow access to lower areas of the museum. Accessible routes available through 
 main sections of the museum and two wheelchairs available for loan.  
    *   Choice of multi-lingual audio guides to enhance the visit. 
Excellent  range of interpretation including pictorial, video displays, projections  
children's audio tour, animated computer graphics and interactive  
displays.  
    *   Many tactile exhibits, signage and maps. Braille information and  
excellent British Sign Language hand-held guide available, Personal guide  
available to sign, bookable with notice.
For more information about Bath & North East Somerset Council's  Roman 
Baths visit _www.romanbaths.co.uk_ (http://www.romanbaths.co.uk/)  or call 01225 
477774.