The inaugural Accessible Tourism Conference will be held in Edinburgh, Scotland next month as part of efforts to attract more disabled visitors to the country.

Organised by VisitScotland, the conference will look to inspire the Scottish tourism industry to think about the numerous innovative ways in which they can make their businesses more accessible.

The conference will feature a number of demonstrations, including teams from Guide Dogs for the Blind and Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, showing how the dogs provide invaluable support to people with visual and hearing disabilities.

Among those attending will be Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg.

The 2014 Games will be used extensively in tourism marketing campaigns during the lead up to the event.

Grevemberg said: "The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will see 6,500 athletes and officials travel to the city and Scotland and a million spectator tickets will be on sale.

"It's an exciting event that will be viewed by an international television audience of around 1.5 billion and our ambition is to show the Games as inclusive and accessible as possible.

"We want to use the power of the Games to change attitudes by celebrating diversity in everything we do and by delivering a truly inclusive sports programme - which already boasts the biggest-ever number of Para-Sports medal events in Commonwealth Games history. Welcoming, accessible venues as well as inclusive communications are key to ensuring everyone has a great Games experience.

"While Glasgow and Scotland already have a great reputation for tourism, the Games provides a driver for positive change for improving accessibility within the tourism and hospitality industry. And simple changes will make a big difference."