The reality is more cynical than that I'm afraid.
The attractions want to get as many people through the gates as possible. They know that families with disabled children are reluctant to risk big expensive days out, because they can't be sure they'll be there long enough to get the value.
By offering one free carer's ticket, they get at least one paying person through the gates that might not have gone otherwise. And usually it will be two or three paying visitors
It is and it isn’t. I work in one but I object to being cynical!
We absolutely want to welcome people living with disabilities where I work.
Visitor figures - tickets sold - are a huge part of a) what we earn b) how we judge our performance against the industry and previous years c) how in some cases where the attraction is a charity, we also use these to apply for funding and attract sponsors. They are one measure of success.
In a charitable visitor attraction and if you look hard there are lots, even big ones, we will naturally gravitate towards ‘access for all’.
That’s part of who we are, that’s part of why we do what we do. That enables in some cases, additional funding, where we might work with specific groups of people e.g. social prescribing groups or where we want to enhance our facilities E.g. adding a changing places toilet.
Those things also enable visitor attractions to become best in class - to go on and develop, to win awards, to give case studies in best practice, and to then gain further investment in further facilities that enable access to all.
But at heart anyone who works in a visitor attraction usually wants to share it with other people. We want you to love it as much as we do. We want you to come and make new memories with your children who will come back in twenty years and make memories with their children.
And that, overall, is really good business sense (for the person whinging about corporate entities giving away £35 to someone). If you love something, you emotionally invest in it, you return to it and you pass it on.
For me, where I work. We give free carer tickets. Yes there’s a lost opportunity there of selling it to a full-paying customer. But there’s a huge opportunity there to remove a barrier to participation. I would hate for someone not to attend an event because the carer or personal assistant they pay to support them, wouldn’t buy themselves a ticket. Likewise I don’t see how it’s fair for a person living with a disability to pay for two tickets, just so that they can enjoy something they want to do.
The carer is effectively a reasonable adjustment in this person’s life that allows them to access a visitor attraction. I don’t charge extra for wheelchairs or scooters or using accessible toilets or car parking. I don’t charge extra for BSL interpretation or hearing loops or guide dogs.
Why does your thought process change when it’s a person providing the service?