General sources of help and advice

This list is by no means exhaustive but we hope it will prove a good starting point for sources of advice. We'd be pleased to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , either to suggest the type of help you're looking for or to add more organisations and useful links to this list.

Tourism publications and associations

Leisure Management, Attractions Management & Sports Management, Leisure Opportunities, Attractions Opportunities magazines
www.leisuremedia.com

Tourism Society www.tourimsociety.org

Tourism Management Institute www.tmi.org.uk

Museums Journal www.museumsassociation.org

Travel Weekly www.travelweekly.co.uk

TTG UK & Ireland www.ttglive.com

Institute of Leisure and Amenity Management ww.ilam.co.uk
British Resorts Association

British Resorts Association
www.britishresorts.co.uk

Tourism Concern www.tourismconcern.org.uk

British Hospitality Association www.bha-online.org.uk

Restaurant Association www.ragb.co.uk

Association of Independent Museums
www.museums.org.uk/aim/

 

Association of Leading Visitor Attractions www.alva.org.uk

Institute of Travel & Tourism www.itt.co.uk

Local Government Association www.lga.gov.uk

Chartered Institute of Marketing Travel Industry Group
www.cimtig.org

Hotel & Catering International Management Association
www.hcima.org

Complying with the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA)

www.disability.gov.uk - government site with extensive disability-related links

Check out employment legislation at www.equality-online.org.uk

Disability Rights Commission Helpline 08457 622 633

There is detailed practical advice about access and facilities for disabled people on http://www.businesslink.gov.uk

 

Health and Safety

For help and advice on a range of issues including school trips and risk assessment visit http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/index.htm

The place to turn to for the latest and widest range of public service information is at www.direct.gov.uk

If you have recently set up in business or are new to health and safety then the Health and Safety Starter Pack is for you and is available at http://www.hse.gov.uk/startup/content/starterpack.htm

 

VAT

Find out which VAT scheme your business can use at http://www.hmce.gov.uk

 

Business Start Ups and Grants

Start Ups - the free essential resource for anyone starting or running a small business. Independent news, views, features, expert tips, entrepreneur profiles, how to start and buyer guides available at http://www.startups.co.uk

 

Advice for SMEs on business grants - how to apply for them and how to get them. http://www.is4profit.com/busadvice/grants/index.htm

Get the latest grant information from EU, government, lottery funds at http://www.access-funds.co.uk

 

Market intelligence

Visit Britain has extensive information on market intelligence including the latest tourism figures, market information, trends and forecasts available at http://www.tourismtrade.org.uk/uktrade/MarketIntelligence/

 

Training

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) is responsible for funding and planning education and training for over 16-year-olds in England. www.lsc.gov.uk

People 1st aims to provide practical support to this industry that will help it reach and sustain world-class performance through the training and skills development of its people http://www.people1st.co.uk/

For practical and entertaining marketing training workshops that use a combination of presentations, exercises and examples so you can put what you learn into practice as soon as you've done the workshop come on a Tourism Network training workshop

 

Rural tourism

Go to http://www.ruraltourism.org.uk to download an advice pack on rural tourism issues. www.farmtourism-matters.org also has useful information and an email newsletter.