Quality
Consumer demands and expectations change all the time and a successful industry must continually strive to improve the quality of the tourism experience.
Accommodation
Visit Kent promotes only those accommodation providers who have been quality graded by either Visit England or the AA.
Visit England
Visit England offers a national quality assessment standard for a comprehensive range of accommodation, including luxury hotels, B&Bs, holiday cottages, holiday parks, hostels and university campuses. To find out more contact the assessment team:
Quality in Tourism, Security House, Alexandra Way, Ashchurch, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, GL20 8NB
Tel: 0845 300 6996
Email: qualityintourism@GSLglobal.com
Web: www.qualityintourism.com
The AA
The AA also delivers national quality assessment inspection and ratings. Find out more about the AA's quality schemes here or contact
AA Hotel Services, 15th Floor Fanum House, Basing View, Basingstoke, RG21 4EA
Tel: 01256 844455
Tourism South East provide a great business advice handbook accommodation for providers (£10 for members, £20 for non members) For more information click here. Tourism South East also provide a free 'make quality count' course for accomodation providers. This then means you offer an assurance to your customer and it provides you with a competitive edge. For more information on Make Quality Count
For further advice on quality assurance and regulations and legislations.
Attractions
The Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme (VAQAS) is Visit England's quality assessment service for all types of visitor attraction. The team assess over 800 attractions each year, ranging from
Cathedrals and historic houses, to zoos and gardens.
The National Code of Practice for Visitor Attractions provides a great opportunity for all tourism attractions to demonstrate their commitment to quality. There are many benefits of this code to businesses. Primarily, it is a seal of approval, due to the fact that it represents an agreed standard throughout the industry. Secondly, the business will benefit from tourism promotion initiatives from VisitBritain and others.
The Visit Kent Quality Programme
The Quality Programme assists Kent businesses that have an important part to play in one of the world’s largest industries. Why not take advantage of the free advice and site visit offered by our Quality Consultant, where you can find out more about the national accommodation grading schemes. Discover how the star ratings can benefit your advertising/promotion and offer important quality assurance to prospective guests.
To see a case study on quality, Click Here.
Assistance is available to the following start-up or existing businesses:
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Hotels
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Bed & Breakfasts/Guest Houses
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Self-catering accommodation
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Caravan & Camping parks
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Youth Hostels
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Visitor Attraction
For more information on any of the above, please contact:
Peter Birnie
Quality Advisor 
Visit Kent
28-30 St Peter's Street
Canterbury
Kent
CT1 2BQ
Tel: 07939 687 555
E-mail: peter.birnie@visitkent.co.uk