Visit Chester and Cheshire Members' Workshop

LDS Tourism Services were recently invited to attend Visit Chester and Cheshire's' Workshop on 11th April 2008. Diana and I attended the workshop at the De Vere Carden Park Hotel in Cheshire. These events are very kindly organised by VCC to encourage networking between members. It gives everyone a chance to catch up with the latest news and ideas and put ideas forward.

In the first session, our presentation was 'Marketing and Planning for Your Business' by Tracy Archer. This was a very interesting talk about simple ways to market you own business, with a particular focus on website and e-mail marketing. Although it was mainly aimed at hoteliers and attractions, I found that many points were relevant to us too. We are always keen to keep our website and e-mails up to date with the latest technology, so I found it useful.

After a short break for a cup of tea, we returned to the conference room to see a presentation on 'Victor-e' by Martyn Collins. This focused on a fantastic new online development the tourist board are piloting in Tatton. The idea is to group together clusters of businesses associated with the tourist industry and create an online i-visitor guide for each of them to feature on their website. This way, there would be one point of reference for web users to look up Tatton. Although this may not be something LDS can get involved in directly, anything that boosts tourism in the area is beneficial for all.

I was particularly looking forward to our final session and it did not disappoint. 'Practical Green Solutions - what can you do tomorrow' by Manda Brookman from CoaST was a truely dynamic presentation which enabled all of us to see what a difference we can make to the environment and our business by making small changes. I certainly went away with a few ideas of things we can do at LDS to make us more eco-friendly. It's something we have always been interested in and Paula likes to encourage wildlife by erecting bat boxes on our office building. It was great to see other people become enthusiastic about green issues and also realise that it creates a good image for ones business.

After all the presentations were over we had a lovely lunch and were given the opportunity to talk to others sitting at our table. All in all, I found the day extremely useful. Although we are not hoteliers or owners of an attraction, we are connected to the tourism industry and very much want to improve visitor numbers to our region. It's also important that different types of businesses can work together in order to keep British Tourism and local business thriving.

Our Brainy Leaflet Distributors

We came across an interesting article the other day. Although it is obviously aimed at the ‘door to door’ market, the author makes a number of observations that are pertinent to our line of work. We would, however, disagree that distributors are generally “low skilled” and “under qualified” – at least as far as LDSTS staff are concerned – since we have employees ranging from a professional (and very talented) artist to a young lady studying for a degree in architecture.

Perhaps this is where the two types of distribution differ most, for we require all our drivers to be practical, intelligent, outgoing and smart in appearance. We’re also fortunate in that we have a loyal team of people - some of whom have been with us for nearly 16 years!

We would be interested to hear your comments on this piece:

"Recruiting The Best In The Casual Labour Sector"

1&1 – the company hosting the LDS Tourism Services Ltd web site – has become the first large business of its type to rely solely on renewable energy. We initially chose 1&1 because they used highly economical energy, with less than 20 per cent heat loss – one of the best figures in the industry. Indeed, as soon as the outside temperature falls below 10 degrees Celsius, they cool their data centre using open-air coolers that work without energy-consuming compressors. Their choice of software also plays a critical role in saving electrical power. Based on Linux, 1&1 has developed its own operating system, which uses server resources efficiently, saving valuable energy. We are delighted to report that they are now using wind, water and solar power in accordance with the Renewable Energy Certification System (RECS). Well done 1&1!

Diana and Hayley attended the Visit Cheshire & Cheshire (VCC) Members’ Workshop at the De Vere Carden Park Hotel on the 11th. Watch this space for Hayley’s full write-up on the events of the day.

A Hectic Spring For LDSTS

Spring has most definitely ‘sprung’ for LDS Tourism Services. Our packers and distributors are working flat out and brochures continue to arrive by the wagon-load. Never have we been quite so busy before – but we’re not complaining!

We have successfully completed distribution of the maiden issue of What’s On in Chester & Cheshire - previously known as Welcome to Chester. In fact, we recently updated our contract with Chester City Council and will continue delivering this classy guide to selected outlets at the end of each month. Look out for an article about us in the May issue!

Chester Zoo is on course for another outstanding year. The attraction will host Sensory Awareness Days on 12th- 13th April and 6th-7th September, to enable visitors with sensory disabilities to make the most of their visit. Braille leaflets will be handed out and animal talks will be given by a British Sign Language interpreter.

While on the subject of Chester Zoo, we were delighted to hear of a gorgeous new resident on Penguin Island. Aero (so named because the keepers decided on a chocolate theme during Easter) is a Humboldt Penguin chick. He was incubated for 46 days by parents Warty and Hislop and weighed just 85 grams when he emerged from his egg. It is hoped that he will soon be joined by 20 other chicks between now and the middle of this month, so now would be a great time to pay a visit to the zoo.

Paula Bardell-Hedley, our Director of Research & Marketing, has become a member of The Tourism Society on behalf of the Company. The society is all about providing a forum for professionals involved in the tourist industry and offers an opportunity to network and develop acquaintances within it. The Society’s Annual Conference will take place in St Helens on 19th-20th June this year, which will be a great opportunity for members in the North West to meet up and exchange ideas.

Finally, we would like to congratulate our friends at the Holyhead Breakwater Railway Company for winning Best Visitor Attraction in the Anglesey Tourism Awards 2008. Well done!