Accessibility Statement for VisitBritain Shop website

This accessibility statement applies to the VisitBritain Shop website at www.visitbritainshop.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:

Issues affecting everyone

If an invalid voucher code is submitted on the Basket page, an error message is only displayed for five seconds.

Issues affecting people with low vision

A few combinations of text and background colour for text do not have sufficient colour contrast.
The borders of most form controls, such as textboxes, checkboxes, radio buttons and comboboxes do not have sufficient colour contrast against the background, so they may be difficult to see.
On the Register page, the colour contrast is not sufficient in the Password Strength indicator, so it can be difficult to know what the current strength is.

The focus indicator is not obvious for the Search textbox in the page header and it is almost invisible for the Search button.
None of the links in the main menu and the footer have focus indicators on the My Account pages, even though they do have focus indicators on other pages. Also, none of the links in the left-hand column have focus indicators.
In the “Select options for prices” section on the product and destination pages, the Quantity and “Date/Time of Arrival” dropdowns cannot be opened using keyboard controls.
Some pages do not have “Skip to content” links, such as Contact Us, Cookie Policy, all the My Account pages and the Checkout process.
The “Skip to content” and “Skip sidebar content” links do not work on the Search Results page.

On the product and destination pages, a confirmation message is displayed after successfully adding an item to the basket. However, the message is not conveyed to screen readers.
The “Select options for prices” section of the product and destination pages is updated when changes are made to the form data. This can take as much as 15 to 20 seconds. A visual “Loading…” message is displayed during this time, but the message is not conveyed to screen readers, so they do not know what is happening.
On the Checkout page, the phrase “Order Summary” is not marked-up as a heading, but it should be.
The main menu is not structured correctly for screen readers, so it may be difficult to understand and use.
The Order Summary section of the Checkout page is not structured correctly for screen readers, so it may be difficult to understand.
The filter sections in the left-hand column of the Search Results page is not structured correctly for screen readers, so it may be difficult to understand.
The Basket overlay contains “dustbin” icons, which are buttons for removing items. The buttons are not named, so screen reader users do not know what they do.
11 PDFs are not tagged, so structure such as headings and lists are not conveyed to screen readers.
The language is not specified for 14 PDFs, so screen readers may mispronounce all the contents.
The London Transport Planner and Information page contains numerous “Buy Now” links that point to different pages. It also contains four “Find out more” links that point to different pages.
The FAQs section on the London Transport Planner and Information page contains an accordion that is not structured correctly for screen readers, so it may be difficult to understand.
The London Transport Planner and Information page contains four Comparison Chart data tables. The column headers are not marked-up, so the tables may be difficult to understand.

Issues affecting screen magnifier users

When the browser zoom level is increased on the Checkout page, the list of items in the Basket is displayed in an overlay. At 200% zoom only two items are visible. At 250% one item is visible. At 400% no items are visible.

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.

email: [email protected]
telephone: +44 (0) 20 7578 1400

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:

email: [email protected]
telephone: +44 (0) 20 7578 1400

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

This website is partially compliant with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 AA standard, due to the non-compliances listed below.

Non-accessible content

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

WCAG 2.1 level A

On the Checkout page, the phrase “Order Summary” is not marked-up as a heading, but it should be. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
In the Order Summary section of the Checkout page, the
element containing the list of items is marked-up as a tablist with one tab, which is not appropriate. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
In the Order Summary section of the Checkout page, the list of items in the Basket has no semantic structure. It should be marked-up as a list or a table. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
In the Search Results page, the hide / reveal functionality for the filter sections in the left-hand column is implemented using tablists with one tab, which is not appropriate. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
In the Search Results page, the tree structure for the checkboxes in the left-hand column is implemented using tablists with one tab, which is not appropriate. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
The main menu is marked-up as an application menu using role=”menubar” and role=”menuitem” attributes, which is not appropriate for a navigation menu. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
11 PDFs are not tagged. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
The FAQs section on the London Transport Planner and Information page contains an accordion, but it is marked-up as a tablist, which is not appropriate. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
The London Transport Planner and Information page contains four Comparison Chart data tables. The column headers are elements, but they must be elements instead. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.3.1 (Info and Relationships)
In the “Select options for prices” section on the product and destination pages, the Quantity and “Date/Time of Arrival” dropdowns cannot be opened using keyboard controls. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.1.1 (Keyboard Navigation)
Some pages do not have “Skip to content” links, such as Contact Us, Cookie Policy, all the My Account pages and the Checkout process. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.1.1 (Keyboard Navigation)
The “Skip to content” and “Skip sidebar content” links do not work on the Search Results page. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.1.1 (Keyboard Navigation)
If an invalid voucher code is submitted on the Basket page, an error message is only displayed for five seconds. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.2.1 (Timing Adjustable)
The London Transport Planner and Information page contains numerous “Buy Now” links that point to different pages, but whose purpose is ambiguous because they do not have any context. It also contains four “Find out more” links that point to different pages. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.4 (Link Purpose (In Context))
The default human language is not specified for 14 PDFs. WCAG 2.1 SC 3.1.1 (Language of Page)
The Basket overlay contains “dustbin” icons, which are buttons for removing items. The buttons do not have accessible names. WCAG 2.1 SC 4.1.2 (Name, Role, Value)

WCAG 2.1 level AA

The borders of most form controls, such as textboxes, checkboxes, radio buttons and comboboxes do not have sufficient colour contrast against the background. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3 (Colour Contrast)
On the Register page, the colour contrast is not sufficient in the Password Strength indicator. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.3 (Colour Contrast)
When the browser zoom level is increased on the Checkout page, the list of items in the Basket is displayed in an overlay. At 200% zoom only two items are visible. At 250% one item is visible. At 400% no items are visible. WCAG 2.1 SC 1.4.10 (Reflow)
The focus indicator is not obvious for the Search textbox in the page header and it is almost invisible for the Search button. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.7 (Focus Visible)
None of the links in the main menu, left-hand menu and the footer have focus indicators on the My Account pages. WCAG 2.1 SC 2.4.7 (Focus Visible)
On the product and destination pages, a confirmation message is displayed after successfully adding an item to the basket. However, the message is not conveyed to screen readers. WCAG 2.1 SC 4.1.3 (Status Messages)
The “Select options for prices” section of the product and destination pages is updated when changes are made to the form data. A visual “Loading…” message is displayed during this time, but the message is not conveyed to screen readers. WCAG 2.1 SC 4.1.3 (Status Messages)

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 May 2023 we received an accessibility test report for the 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

PDFs and other documents

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 22 May 2023. It was last reviewed on 22 May 2023.

This website was last tested on 22 May 2023. The test was carried out by Test Partners Ltd.

Due to time constraints we conducted a partial test of the VisitBritain Shop website as follows:

Manual accessibility for conformance with the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 level AA. This focused on keyboard navigation, colour contrast, forms and interactive JavaScript content such as accordions.
Automated WCAG testing of the English pages.
Screen reader testing.

Accessibility statement