VisitBritain issues 50-page inclusivity guide advising against words like 'blacklist', 'man hours' and 'blindspot'

A tourism agency has told workers they can’t use words such as ‘blindspot’ or ‘man hours’ anymore as the language is not inclusive.

Instead of man hours, travel agency VisitBritain told firms hosting guests from overseas to say ‘person hours’ as to not to offend anyone.

According to its 50-page language guide, the word blacklist should be replaced by ‘deny list’ and blindspot by ‘missed opportunity’.

The company gave out the 18-point inclusive term sheet to foster a ‘culture of belonging’, but it has been slammed as being ‘out of touch’, according to The Sun.  

VisitBritain – which is funded by the government’s Department for Culture, Media and Sport – also warned not to use the term ‘guru’ as it is said to have been appropriated from Hindu culture.

Instead, the £54million-a-year taxpayer funded agency said to use the term ‘expert’.

Last year, VisitBritain issued an ‘accessible and inclusive’ toolkit for those in the tourism business.

In the 2023 information pack, the section of ‘inclusive language’ encouraged using positive language when asking about disabilities.

It warned people against using negative language such as ‘suffers from’, ‘is a victim of’, ‘handicapped’, ‘invalid’, ‘crippled by’ or ‘wheelchair bound’.

But the new guidance goes a step further, giving business partners a list of words they can and cannot say.

To avoid offending people with disabilities, the word ‘lame’ should not be used in a derogatory manner, with the agency suggesting ‘uncool’ or ‘cheesy’ as an alternative.

In the place of using ‘sanity check’, VisitBritain advised saying ‘confidence check’, and instead of saying ‘man up’, telling people to ‘be brave’.

Similarly, it advises workers to say ‘everyone’ or ‘team’ instead of using the term ‘guys’ to describe a group, despite it being commonly used in an all encompassing manner for all genders.

The inclusivity sheet was sent to the agency’s partners to ‘help shape the future’ of the events hosted.

The same information pack tell event organisers to cater for those who don’t drink alcohol and to set up ‘low sensory’ rooms, according to The Sun.

It tells partners that: ‘Words and phrases used for generations are no longer acceptable’.

But Sir John Hayes CBE, who is the chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs which focusses on ‘authentic conservatism’, slammed the document.

He told The Sun that those who made the inclusivity sheet are ‘out of touch’ and should be ‘backlisted and blackballed’ – using one of the words VisitBritain asked business partners to avoid.

The travel agency’s role is to grow Britain’s visitor economy and encourage tourists to explore the country.

It also advises the Government on tourism, providing research and insights into the industry.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13358805/VisitBritain-inclusivity-guide-advising-against-words-blacklist-man-hours-blindspot.html

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