It's Purple Tuesday 2022!

It’s that time of year again… no, not the countdown to Christmas (although we know that is on the way)... no, this the time of year when we turn everything purple to celebrate Purple Tuesday!

Every year on the first Tuesday of November, the UK celebrates the Purple Tuesday movement, inspiring organisations to improve the customer experience for disabled people and their families, and this year it’s going global!

There are events happening in the UK, USA, UAE, Pakistan and Southeast Asia, and the Purple Tuesday website offers downloadable resources for supporters to make use of, as well as information on all the events taking place.

Here in the UK, the biggest event is the annual takeover of Piccadilly Circus. The big screen will be showing a production from our friends at Purple and the lights on the Circus are turning - you guessed it! – a perfect purple, all to highlight the importance of the disabled customer experience. There will then be a networking brunch for Purple Tuesday sector partners and this evening Canary Wharf will be turning purple too, for the evening celebration.

So why is Purple Tuesday so important?   

Well, with 1.3 billion disabled people in the world (that’s17% of the population), it makes sense that ensuring a good experience for disabled customers should be considered by all venues. Aside from the obvious fact that it’s just the right thing to do, the financial impact alone is enough to make anyone think twice about a lack of inclusion. According to the Purple Tuesday website, the spending power of disabled people and their households is currently around $8 trillion – that’s a lot to miss out on for any company!

A brilliant example of a venue getting it right is Sandcastle Waterpark in Blackpool. As the UK’s largest waterpark, they take accessibility seriously. All staff are trained in accessibility/disability and autism awareness and there are Water Ambassadors on hand who have extra skills in supporting people with disabilities. There are water wheelchairs available and a sensory/quiet room as well as dedicated Accessibility Evenings held throughout the year.

In 2016, Sandcastle installed a Changing Places toilet, which includes a shower and is beautifully decorated to create a friendly and welcoming feel in line with the rest of the park. Since then, they’ve seen a 90%increase in the number of customers with disabilities visiting the park, generating over £100,000 in extra revenue – that’s no small amount!

The numbers speak for themselves after all, what business wants to miss out on extra income? So, although we’d like to think that companies are embracing access and inclusion solely because they care about all of their customers equally, if there’s a financial incentive there too well… we can deal with that, because the most important thing is the result – and that’s more access, to more places, for everyone.

Just like Sandcastle, we believe that Changing Places toilets are an essential element of inclusion, and we’re proud to support Purple Tuesday - joining the call for better customer experience for disabled people, 365 days a year.