WILTSHIRE Tourism and the Tourism Skills Network Wiltshire hosted a disability discrimination awareness event to help organisations make sense of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.

The act requires organisations to make reasonable physical adjustments to their premises, by October 2004, and will affect the tourism and hospitality industry across the UK.

To help prepare the county's tourism and hospitality sector for part three of the Act Access to Goods & Services the event, held at Wootton Bassett yesterday, outlined the details and consequences of this final stage of the Act.

Speakers addressed issues such as cost-effectiveness and the potential scale of the market and ideas for future planning, including access audits, disability awareness training and locating equipment suppliers.

The Tourism Skills Network Wiltshire is funded by the South West Regional Development Agency. It received support from Wiltshire Tourism to enable it to offer the event free to owners and managers operating in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Project co-ordinator for the Tourism Skills Network Wiltshire Julia Drummond said: "It is essential that all tourism businesses fully appreciate the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act to enable them to operate within the bounds of the law and to promote accessible tourism in Wiltshire."