Frost, Figures, Frantic Activity… It’s February!

Where has January gone? The weeks seem to zoom by and the team is constantly out in all weathers servicing our visitor info points.

Our warehouse is almost filled to the rafters with new leaflets and brochures - yet still they continue to arrive. Not that they remain there for long. Easter may be late this year but Valentine’s Day is almost upon us, which means that our stands need to look their best for all those romantic guests and diners.

The LDSTS managers went along to VCC’s ‘At Home’ event on 27th January and enjoyed a glass of cider or two with fellow members of Visit Chester & Chester, the tourism management organisation for Cheshire and Warrington. They were pleased to catch up with clients and long-standing business associates as well as making new acquaintances – especially the lovely Ioan Said of Celynnen Photography, who very kindly took their picture.

If you have a free five minutes to spare, you should take a look at an excellent article by Alison Gilbody of Instil Media, the marketing and communications consultancy that specialises in visitor attraction marketing and business development. Print, leaflets, social media – it’s all part of the mix! asks if print is dead and comes to the conclusion that “tourism leaflets [are] here to stay”. We couldn’t agree more, Alison – according to every recent survey conducted on the subject (not to mention comments made to us by numerous tourism operators and our own customers), promotional print is a vital tool in the marketers’ gadget box.

This brings us rather neatly to yet more positive news from one of our clients. The Trentham Estate in Staffordshire last year started using LDS Tourism Services for distribution in and around Cheshire. We were therefore delighted to learn that visitor numbers to this stunning attraction rose by almost 50% in 2010. Figures just released show that 316,000 visitors paid to enter the site over a twelve month period, compared to 216,000 in 2009. There was a 62% rise in annual ticket sales and, according to Trentham’s Regional Director, Mike Herbert, “popularity of the estate continues to rise”.

Please do keep sending us your good news stories. During these difficult times it is heartening to know that local businesses involved in the tourism industry are not only surviving but triumphing over the country’s economic crisis.

Image: ©Britainonview / Rod Edwards