British Destinations

Primary Authority – Quality in Tourism take Clean Safe and Legal standards a major step forward.

Posted on November 29, 2018

As you may already know, we have been working closely with Quality in Tourism (QT), supporting their work to improvement quality assessments across tourism and hospitality businesses and in doing so helping to maintain a wider choice of schemes and service providers.  One of QT’s main focuses has been on the home stay market and specifically how local authorities and their own destination managers or affiliated Destination Management Organisations can better influence the quality of all the local accommodation stock offered and therefore promote that stock and the destination with greater confidence.

I am pleased to confirm that QT have secured a Primary Authority Partnership with Cornwall Council for their Safe, Clean and Legal framework which has now been ratified by the Secretary of State.  This is the first step towards greater ‘self-regulation’ of the industry and a move which we are supporting.  Further information is outlined below and can also be found on the Quality in Tourism website https://www.qualityintourism.com/quality-assessment/primary-authority

In order to help support Quality in Tourism and the development of Primary Authority Partnerships, I keen to understand some more about different destinations’ needs and what is happening in your local areas.  I would be grateful if you could please answer the following questions (bullet points will suffice):

1. Any examples where your authority or your DMO has had to deal with safe clean and legal issues e.g. fires where a fire certificate was not present, trading standards issues, injuries and people unable to claim to due lack of insurance provision, etc. Headlines, not details: just what happened, what didn’t happen and the impacts it had.
2. What is your current strategy or approach to quality accreditation, if any?
3. Turning to the sharing accommodation sector. How much of a handle do you have on the nature and scale within your destination?
4. What and how much of an affect is the sharing economy having in your area and or on your operations?
5. Has the sharing accommodation been raised as an issue with you by your established trade or discussed at local authority member level within your destination area?
6. What is your current strategy or approach to the sharing economy, if any?

If you would like to know more and understand how you can easily roll out Safe, Clean & Legal inspections in your area, please contact the Quality in Tourism team on 0845 300 6996 or email qualityintourism@m-assessment.com.