Accessibility Statement

Accessibility Statement for VisitEngland website

This accessibility statement applies to the VisitEngland website at https://www.visitengland.com/. 

This website is run by British Tourist Authority t/a VisitBritain. We want as many people as possible to be able to use this website. For example, that means you should be able to:

  • change styling using in-browser settings.
  • zoom in up to 400% without the text spilling off the screen and without content being truncated or overlapping.
  • navigate most of the website using just a keyboard.
  • navigate most of the website using speech recognition software.
  • skip to the main content when using a screen reader or navigating with the keyboard.
  • listen to most of the website using a screen reader (including the most recent versions of JAWS, NVDA and VoiceOver).

We’ve also made the website text as simple as possible to understand.

AbilityNet has advice on making your device easier to use if you have a disability.

How accessible this website is

We know some parts of this website are not fully accessible:

  • Options in the main navigation menu are not accessible for users of voice activation and screen reader users.
  • The focus order on some pages does not follow a logical order.
  • The list element in the main navigation is not structured correctly which may affect screen reader users.
  • There are non-descriptive links present on some pages.
  • There are elements present where the visual label does not match the programmatic label. This may affect users of voice activation software.
  • Information and relationships in some content is not provided for users of screen reading assistive technologies as it is presented to users visually.
  • Instagram content could be problematic for some users due to the inability to prevent the content from dynamically updating.
  • Some interactive elements have not been grouped appropriately, which may affect screen reader users.
  • Some instructions provided for understanding and operating content relies on sensory characteristics.
  • Content has been added using CSS which is not conveyed to screen reader users.
  • Content revealed on hover or focus cannot be dismissed by the user.
  • Some programmatic labels contain accessible names that are non-descriptive.

What to do if you cannot access parts of this website

Please contact us on the details below should you require any content appearing on this website in a more accessible format, for example, a PDF.

More accessible formats may include large print, Easy Read, audio recording and Braille.

We’ll consider your request and get back to you within ten days.

Reporting accessibility problems with this website

We’re always looking to improve the accessibility of this website. If you find any problems not listed on this page or think we’re not meeting accessibility requirements, contact:

Enforcement procedure

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is responsible for enforcing the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (the ‘accessibility regulations’). If you’re not happy with how we respond to your complaint, contact the Equality Advisory and Support Service (EASS).

Technical information about this website’s accessibility

VisitBritain is committed to making its website accessible, in accordance with the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018.

Compliance status

The website has been tested against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 AA standard. 

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.2 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

The content listed below is non-accessible for the following reasons.

  • Navigation options are not accessible for voice activation and screen reader users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), 2.1.1 (Keyboard), 2.1.3 (Keyboard (No Exception)), and 1.4.10 (Reflow).
  • User focus does not follow a logical order. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.3 (Focus Order).
  • Some list elements do not possess the appropriate child elements. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • Some links are not descriptive of their purpose or destination. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.4.4 (Link in Purpose), and 2.4.9 (Link Purpose).
  • Text which visually labelled a component does not correspond with the words associated with the component programmatically. This fails WCAG 2.2  success criterion 2.5.3 (Label in name)
  • Information and relationships in content is not provided for users of screen reading assistive technologies as they are presented to users visually. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • Some text information is not marked up in a way to clearly convey the appropriate information for all users. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships), and 2.4.6 (Headings and Labels).
  • Instagram content could be problematic for some users due to the inability to stop content updating. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criteria 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable), 2.2.2 (Pause, Stop, Hide), and 2.4.7 (Focus Visible).
  • Some interactive elements have not been grouped correctly. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • Instructions provided for understanding and operating content relied on sensory characteristics. This fails WCAG success criterion 1.3.3 (Sensory Characteristics).
  • Content is present which has been added using CSS that is not conveyed to users of screen reading assistive technologies. This fails WCAG success criteria 1.1.1 (Non-text Content), and 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships).
  • Some content revealed on hover or focus does not function as expected. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 1.4.13 (Content on Hover or Focus).
  • Some labels are not descriptive enough for users of screen reading and voice activation assistive technologies. This fails WCAG 2.2 success criterion 2.4.6 ( Headings and Labels).

We aim to make the required changes by September 2025. This statement will be updated regularly with timings of fixes. If you require any material on the website in an accessible format, please contact [email protected].

Disproportionate burden

In April 2025 we received an accessibility test report for the full website, and we are evaluating the findings to determine the roadmap for fixing the issues and whether we will need to use the disproportionate burden exemption or not.

Content that’s not within the scope of the accessibility regulations

Office file formats published before 23rd September 2018 are exempt from the Public Sector Bodies (Websites and Mobile Applications) (No. 2) Accessibility Regulations 2018 (but not from WCAG), unless such content is needed for active administrative processes relating to the tasks performed by the public sector body.

What we’re doing to improve accessibility

We have implemented training for relevant staff, developed documentation, checklists, and resources to help us meet accessibility requirements and improve the digital experience for all visitors to our website. There will be another accessibility audit later in the year as we develop this website further. 

Preparation of this accessibility statement

This statement was prepared on 12th May 2025. 

This website was last tested on 6th May 2025. The test was carried out by Digital Accessibility Centre Ltd.

Testing included a manual WCAG 2.2 audit which also included disabled user testing, and automated testing. 

Testing was conducted on a representative subset of pages that contain examples of the most common layouts, components, and features, including:

  1. The header and footer.
  2. Important “unique pages”.
  3. Pages with text content.
  4. Pages with informational images, images of text and video content.
  5. Interactive elements such as forms, tabbed interfaces, carousels, hide / reveal functionality, and content filtering. 

We will conduct further rounds of fixing and retesting until all the WCAG non-conformances have been fixed.