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

A tourism board has told workers they can no longer use words like “blind spot” or “man hours” because the language is not inclusive.

Instead of man-hours, travel agency VisitBritain told companies hosting guests from abroad to say ‘person-hours’ so as not to offend anyone.

According to the 50-page language guide, the word blacklist should be replaced by ‘refusal list’ and blind spot by ‘missed opportunity’.

The company published an 18-point inclusive term sheet to promote a ‘culture of belonging’, but it was dismissed as ‘out of reach’, according to The sun.

VisitBritain – which is funded by the government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport – also warned against using the term ‘guru’ as it is said to have been borrowed from Hindu culture.

Instead, the £54m-a-year taxpayer-funded agency said it would use the term ‘expert’.

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

In the 2023 information pack, the ‘inclusive language’ section encouraged the use of positive language when asking questions about disability.

It warned people against using negative language such as ‘is affected by’, ‘is a victim of’, ‘disabled’, ‘disabled’, ‘crippled by’ or ‘wheelchair bound’.

But the new guidelines go one step further and give 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 alternatives.

Instead of using ‘sanity check’, VisitBritain recommended saying ‘confience check’, and instead of saying ‘man up’, telling people to ‘be brave’.

Likewise, it advises employees to say “everyone” or “team” rather than using the term “guys” to describe a group, despite this term often being used in an inclusive way for all genders.

The inclusivity magazine was sent to the agency’s partners to ‘shape the future’ of the organized events.

The same information pack tells event organizers to consider those who don’t drink alcohol and 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, chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs which focuses on ‘authentic conservatism’, criticized the document.

He told The Sun that those who created 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 role of the travel agency is to grow the UK visitor economy and encourage tourists to explore the country.

It also advises the government on tourism and provides research and insights into the sector.

A spokesperson for VisitBritain told the newspaper that the guide was developed with “input from our corporate event partners”.

The move comes a month after MP Penny Mordaunt told Whitehall leaders to stop using woke language in official documents.

In a letter to permanent secretaries, the Leader of the House of Commons said official bodies should avoid using “gender neutral language” in contexts where traditional words such as mother and father would be more accurate.

The Commons authorities have just issued new guidance on drafting legislation, stating that gender-neutral language should not be used when drafting laws in areas that ‘concern solely or mainly people of the same sex’, such as pregnancy, childbirth or breastfeeding. .

In her letter to Whitehall leaders, a copy of which has been seen by the Mail, Ms Mordaunt said the same rules should apply to all official documents, including those produced by Whitehall departments and arms-length bodies such as Ofsted, the Office for National Statistics. and the Environment Agency.

Ms Mordaunt said the “tremendous progress” made on gender equality means it is right not to use language that assumes only a man or a woman can fulfill a particular role.

But she added: ‘However, there are many contexts where a person’s biological sex is highly relevant and gender-neutral language should be avoided in these circumstances.’

She pointed out that the guidance states that, for example, in the context of pregnancy or women’s health, departments should avoid replacing a term such as ‘woman’ with gender-neutral terms such as ‘person’.

In contexts like these, gender-specific language should be prioritized.” One confederate said she “basically told them not to be so awake.”

Ms Mordaunt’s intervention followed growing complaints from Tory MPs about the use of woke language by government agencies.

Sir John has also called for action to tackle ‘pernicious political correctness’ in public life.

The chairman of the Common Sense Group of Tory MPs criticized the Environment Agency for removing terms such as ‘mother’ and ‘father’ from its documents.

‘It sounds like nonsense, but it’s actually much more sinister. Freedom of expression is at stake,” he said earlier.

MailOnline has contacted VisitBritain for further comment.