Check out our new website

A great many exciting changes have been taking place at LDS Tourism Services over the past 12 months – not least our newly designed website, which went live on 1^st September. 

Created by tantrumedia, an innovative, Wirral-based multi-media B2B company, we now have an aesthetically pleasing site with plenty of scope for further development. 

Potential clients can read about LDS and discover why we are still at the top of our game after 22 years in business; our various services are described in detail; and a news page allows customers to stay abreast of all the latest developments. 

Tourist Information Centres (TICs) can request brochures via our newly updated online ordering facility, which displays pictures of all the available leaflets and guides prior to selection.  

Signing up for this free service is really easy: simply click the shopping basket icon at the base of the page, register your details (remembering to select a memorable password) and you will receive a confirmation e-mail. However, please don't panic if you run into difficulties as assistance is at hand in the shape of Tim – an IT whiz and the designer of our web site. He can be reached by phoning 0800 012 2486 and shouting 'help'!

If you have any queries or comments, please feel free to use our contact form, or alternatively, drop us a line at lds@ldsts.co.uk.

New info point opens at Delamere Forest

Chester Services Partnership’s new Visitor Information Point at Delamere Forest Café is now officially open to the public!

Set in the heart of the Cheshire Plains, Delamere Forest is highly popular with walkers, cyclists, wildlife enthusiasts and folk who enjoy the great outdoors. The café, which is located in the Forestry Commission Visitor  Centre, serves a wide range of freshly made food and drink. It currently enjoys a footfall of 750,000.

Comprising several local authorities and top tourist attractions, CSP controls a total of six elite VIPs in Cheshire and the North Wales Borderlands (including Chester Railway Station, Broughton Retail Park and Cheshire Oaks) – and has plans to increase its portfolio in the near future.

As a founding member of the group from its inception in the 1990s, LDS Tourism Services handles the promotional print for the partners and has exclusive rights to sell space in all the sites.

If you would like further information about displaying your leaflets and brochures in this or any of CSP’s information points, please drop us a line at lds@ldsts.co.uk.

Images: Delamere Forest Visitor Information Point, ©LDS Tourism Services Ltd 2013

QR that leaflet!

You need only glance at a poster or flick through a magazine these days to spot one of those funny little black and white boxes looking something like a fragmentary crossword puzzle. They are called QR codes.

Originally designed for the Japanese automotive industry, the QR (or Quick Response) code is a type of two-dimensional barcode that can be read using a smartphone or dedicated reading device. When the image is scanned, a person is immediately directed to a webpage or application, which then provides more in-depth information about a service, product, offer or place.

QR and promotional print

Leaflets and brochures make ideal platforms for QR marketing. Postage is horrendously expensive nowadays and direct email is viewed by most people as irritating spam, so an interactive link on your promotional literature could save a great deal of wasted time, effort and money.

With a QR code you will be able to measure the success of your printed marketing materials by tracking the scan rates. You can easily add a different code to each pamphlet and you will receive real-time feedback from potential visitors. Additionally, you will know which particular message has generated the most attention.

It is also possible to capture contact information for use at a later date.

Creating your own QR code

A smartphone user first installs a free app with a QR code scanner that can read the matrix barcode and convert it to a URL (uniform resource locator), directing their browser to a website or digital advert.

You will need to ensure that your website or special landing page is optimised to work on a mobile phone. It is quite simple to do this using one of many online services such as mobiSiteGalore.

The most successful QR codes are those which offer vouchers, discounts, competitions or a compelling call to action. They add pizzazz to your printed materials and enhance your ability to measure response. Indeed, you could say that leaflets and QR codes provide the perfect synthesis of print and modern internet marketing. 

Image: LDSTS QR Code, created by ©Kaywa 2013

Display your leaflets in Waitrose

We are delighted to announce that LDS Tourism Services is to supply Waitrose stores with complementary literature stands.

Our partner company in South Wales has negotiated an exclusive contract to display printed materials in Waitrose outlets throughout the UK. We will be responsible for selling and restocking pockets within our usual service area.

There are stores throughout England, Scotland and Wales, but over the next five years, the retailer plans to open at least ten new shops in the North West. The company aims to spend £100 million on new sites throughout the region, including a second Chester branch at Boughton Retail Centre. Much to the delight of Anglesey residents, a new Waitrose store also opened in Menai Bridge last March, taking over the old Co-Op premises. 

Since Wallace Waite, Arthur Rose and David Taylor opened their first small grocery shop at 263 Acton Hill, West London in 1904, Waitrose has become one of the UK’s leading food retailers – combining the convenience of a supermarket with the expertise and service of a specialist shop. 

Our stands will contain literature on community based events, sports, arts, theatre and tourism. The artwork on the holder will incorporate Waitrose’s logo alongside our own (or that of the local distribution company – depending on the area). However, no third party unauthorized literature will be allowed, so please contact us if you would like your promotional print displayed in any local or national Waitrose store.

LDS Tourism sign exclusive contract for M6 Motorway Services

Sandbach Motorway Services

A great many beneficial changes are taking place this winter as we continue to provide our clients with superior display locations at the best possible rates.

Every year we modify our services to suit current visitor trends and exchange poorly performing sites for more popular ones. For this reason, we have once again signed an exclusive contract to display promotional print in RoachChef’s Sandbach Motorway Service Area, located on the M6 between Junctions 16 and 17.

Just two miles from Cheshire’s ancient market town of Sandbach, and with separate facilities available in both directions, this popular rest area is on the main arterial route to and from the North West – making it the ideal stop-off point for travellers visiting Manchester, Liverpool, the Lake District, Yorkshire and as far north as Scotland.

As ‘staycations’ become the norm, the great British public are increasingly on the move at weekends and during Bank Holidays and school breaks, which means that our prominently displayed holders are ideally placed to grab the attention of motorists and coach parties when they pull off the carriageway for refreshments and a toilet break.

However, time is of the essence if you would like to display your promotional print in either of these busy sites during the festive season. Please contact us immediately to plan your Christmas and New Year leaflet campaigns.

Look out for further announcements regarding exclusive display sites in the coming weeks and feel free to get in touch with us at any time.

Tourist info point opens at Chester Station

Chester Railway Stations’s Visitor Information Point has finally opened to the public.

Managed and financed by Chester Services Partnership (CSP) – in conjunction with the Railway Heritage Trust – the new VIP provides travellers with a sheltered and visually pleasant area to browse tourist information and discover up and coming events.

As one of the founding members of CSP and the exclusive leaflet distribution company for the Partnership, LDSTS will henceforth service this site on a regular basis. You can see the latest pictures on Facebook or Flickr.

Chester Services Partnership now has a portfolio of five key sites, each with a substantial footfall – CTR alone welcomes 2 million visitors per annum. They are:

Ø  Broughton Shopping Park (8 million footfall p/a) 

Ø  Cheshire Oaks Visitor Information Centre (7 million footfall p/a) 

Ø  Chester Motorway Services (footfall estimated at 1.5 million p/a)

Ø  Chester Railway Station (2 million footfall p/a) 

Ø  Grosvenor Shopping Centre (opening shortly, 10 million footfall p/a)

If you would like your promotional print displayed in any one (or all) of these busy venues, please contact us for further details. 

Image: © LDS Tourism Services Limited 2011

Access to local information crucial to quality customer service

According to a survey of 326 people by The Mystery Dining Company (the leading specialist provider of customer experience evaluation for the hospitality and leisure industries in the UK), British people feel that hotel staff “don’t know enough” about their local area, which “significantly reduces the value of customer service provided”.

The report revealed that 61% of respondents indicated there was “room for improvement” in the level of local knowledge demonstrated by hotel employees.

Steven Pike, Director of The Mystery Dining Company said: “As tourism bodies look both for ways to attract visitors from across the globe and to support the local economy, it’s important to assess the underlying conditions of the industry. The way people are made to feel when they visit a new destination – be it a city, hotel or restaurant – can have an enormous impact on how they perceive the experience and whether it represents value for money for them, regardless of what their budget is.”

At a time when Tourist Information Centres are fast disappearing from our high streets due to local authority cutbacks, access to good-quality, easy to find local information is more important than ever. In Gwynedd alone the council has estimated that losing three TICs will save £76,000 per year, while in the North West, centres have begun closing their doors following the decision that limited resources must be channelled to key locations.

The internet and social media resources - such as Twitter and Facebook - have undoubtedly played their part in the demise of the great British TIC. Indeed, Jenny Mcgee, head of strategy and engagement at Visit England, was recently quoted in the Guardian as saying: “When you look at the fact you can sit at home, surf, and get the information you require in advance, why would you sit on a telephone waiting for someone to answer between the hours of 9-5?”

However, Mcgee concedes that when she herself takes a break, “the last thing I want to be doing is looking at my BlackBerry”. She believes that “local advice” is essential to the success of British tourism, and the results of a plethora of recent surveys show that people (both UK residents and foreign tourists) agree with this view.

So how should hoteliers and other accommodation providers avoid missing opportunities to enhance their visitors' experience and promote the local tourism industry? This is where companies like LDS Tourism Services can help.

Many businesses rely on our network of visitor information point (VIPs) throughout the region to lure people to their events, town centres and attractions. Our prominently displayed wall holders, free-standing and desk-top leaflet dispensers are placed in popular visitor attractions, busy eating establishments and bustling shopping parks, as well as in museums, libraries, pubs, garden centres and numerous high-footfall outlets.

The stands are supplied free of charge to suitable establishments throughout North Wales, the North West and parts of Shropshire, then serviced regularly by our team. The benefits include 24 hour access to local information, front desk efficiency, reduced guest questions and an increased professional hospitality image.

If you feel that your establishment would benefit from one of our info points, please drop us a line or call us directly on 01244 671859.

Image © Britainonview / Rod Edwards

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Erddig: The real Upstairs Downstairs

We spent an enjoyable day at Erddig earlier this month - a unique stately home located just a couple of miles outside the town of Wrexham.

Designed by Thomas Webb for Joshua Edisbury, High Sheriff of Denbighshire, the original house was completed in 1687 and subsequently purchased by John Mellor, Master of the Chancery, in 1718. Mellor extended and furnished Erddig (you can still see his acquisitions in the State Bedroom, Saloon and Tapestry Room), before bequeathing the property to his nephew, Simon Yorke, in 1733. The house then remained in the hands of the (delightfully unconventional) Yorke family until 1973, when it was handed over to the National Trust so that it could be preserved for the enjoyment of future generations.

The weather was somewhat unpredictable during our visit but the rain stayed away long enough for us to amble around the estate buildings where the joiner and blacksmith worked. We walked through the midden yard with the saw mill and cart sheds to the stable yard with its tackroom, carriages, cars and cycles.

We then stopped off at the restaurant for sandwiches and cakes (I would highly recommend the hot chocolate) before making our way to the house via the bakery, complete with authentic baker kneading dough (you can buy his fresh loaves in the restaurant). From this point on, visitors were no longer allowed to use flash photography - understandable given the age and fragility of the photographs and portraits adorning the walls - but the use of cameras was still permitted.

There were human guides posted on every staircase and in each room, all eager to answer questions and impart their knowledge about the historic kitchens, agent’s office, butler’s pantry and fascinating collection of photographs and verses detailing the lives of those who worked for the estate. We made our way upstairs to a set of elegant rooms, used for formal entertainment, and from there we visited a nursery, the bedrooms, chapel, female servants’ quarters in the attic and spent several happy hours poring over the accumulated treasures of a family that ‘never threw anything away’.

The rain was falling quite heavily by the time we had finished our tour of the main house. We sat in a shelter for a time but the downpour showed no sign of abating, so we dashed to the gift shop for postcards and presents. The famous 18th century walled garden with rare fruit trees, a canal, pond and National Ivy Collection would have to wait for another time. Perhaps on our next visit we will hire bicycles and explore the country park with its motte-and-bailey castle and cylindrical cascade, known as the ‘cup-and-saucer waterfall’.

Erddig is open all year round (with the exception of 25th December) but times vary according to the season. You can pick up a copy of the official leaflet (The jewel in the crown) from most LDS Tourism Services’ information points in the region.

Image: The Bakery at Erddig, © LDS Tourism Services Ltd, 2011

The Countdown to Easter Begins

While March has certainly been ‘mad’ for LDS Tourism Services, it has also seen several major developments for national and local tourism – especially following publication of the government’s long awaited Tourism Strategy earlier this month. The 52 page document proposes a raft of measures including the formation of a task force to reduce red tape and moving the May Day Bank Holiday. Conspicuous by its absence, though, is the widely supported suggestion that Britain should move over to “double summertime” (which would see the clocks go forward by one hour in summer and winter) in order to lengthen the holiday season.

As a Supplier member of Visit Chester & Cheshire (VCC), news that it is to be renamed Marketing Cheshire from next month is of obvious interest to LDSTS. The new organisation will switch from reliance on public sector funding to a revue model based on private sector support from members and commercial partners. It will, however, continue to support and market the local tourist industry. Invest in Cheshire and Live in Cheshire will soon be launched as two completely new brands while Visit Chester and Visit Cheshire will be retained to promote the region to consumers.

A survey conducted by Travelzoo revealed several fascinating facts about its subscribers. When it comes to booking a hotel in Britain:

• 93% of consumers compare prices before reserving a room
• 79% do not consider a hotel's brand to be important
• 61% say it is important to have a hotel that does not allow young children to stay
• 58% prefer to book online directly with the hotel
• 42% rate poor standards of cleanliness as the most annoying thing

Both Tatton Park and Shugborough Estate were presented with a 2010 Sandford Award for Heritage Education at a ceremony last month. The prize was created by the Heritage Education Trust to encourage those responsible for running historic houses and guide their educational endeavours by monitoring standards. The prize is valid for five years – although this is the 7th consecutive year Tatton Park has been the recipient.

The Welsh Assembly Government announced that three attractions in North Wales will benefit from £700,000 funding, creating or safeguarding 57 jobs in the area. One of the beneficiaries is the iconic visitor attraction, Snowdon Mountain Railway, which will receive £300,000 to purchase new carriages. It is hoped that the investment will “help increase demand for the service in high season as well as improve visitor comfort and visibility”.

Finally, we should like to remind clients that some schools start closing for the Easter break on 4th April (Good Friday falls on 22nd April and the Royal Wedding takes place on 29th April), so you should ensure that we receive your promotional print as soon as possible. Please drop us a line or ring our head office on 01244 671859 to make arrangements.

Image: Snowdon Mountain Railway, ©Britainonview 2011

Autumn Update

Chester City Centre at Christmas

Now that Halloween and Bonfire Night are over for another year, our stands are festooned with festive leaflets and brochures.

Following a very busy season, we are finally working our way through a long list of jobs to be completed before the New Year, including the installation of new holders in high footfall establishments, preparations for our clients’ forthcoming promotional campaigns and the addition of those all-important final touches to our many plans and projects for 2011.

We were thrilled to learn that Knowsley Safari Park – a long standing client of LDS Tourism Services - won Eden’s inaugural Top Wildlife Attraction of the Year award for 2010. Competing against eight other major British attractions (including the fabulous Blue Planet Aquarium), the popular Merseyside animal park on Lord Derby’s estate took an amazing 41% of the overall votes. Many congratulations to David Ross and his team from all at LDSTS!

It has been quite some time since we last updated you on our Brochure Marketing group, so we are pleased to report that there are currently 723 members on LinkedIn and 752 followers on Twitter - ranging from designers and printers to government officials and tourism chiefs. It is now also possible to join our group on Facebook.

How important are the arts?

Some fascinating statistics were revealed in VisitBritain’s International Passenger Survey questionnaire. Figures showed that among the 30 million inbound visits in 2009, 7.7 million included trips to museums and 4.2 million to art galleries. Britain's major museums and galleries earned the country £1 billion in revenue from overseas tourists last year - the French alone accounting for 960,000 visits. Surely this is an indication that investment in culture and the arts is essential to the UK’s economic recovery.

If this issue concerns you, go along to the I Value the Arts website and pledge your support by signing their petition – there were 15,239 names when I last checked.

Please do let us know your thoughts and predictions with regard to funding for the arts in Britain. Indeed, we would appreciate your opinions on whether or not the Coalition Government is doing enough for the UK tourism industry as a whole. Drop us a line or feel free to post here.

Image: ©Visit Chester & Cheshire, 2010

Whatever the Weather

As usual, Team LDSTS is bustling about the countryside, distributing the latest leaflets and brochures to venues across the region. New promotional publications arrive every day from all corners of our service area, and we are frantically delivering the latest issue of What’s On in Chester & Cheshire over the Bank Holiday weekend.

On the Grapevine

The weather may be fairly unpredictable at present – although the recent hot spell saw crowds flocking to outdoor attractions, camp sites and the coast - but the uncertainty caused by clouds of volcanic ash, threats of strike action and a number of other issues effecting foreign travel have at least helped boost the great British ‘staycation’.

Tourism in North Wales may well have been given a lift after its beaches received a record number of Blue Flags this year. The scheme, which rates the quality of clean water, litter-free shores, good facilities and safety standards, has awarded this status to Benllech, Church Bay, Rhydwyn, Llanddona, Llanddwyn, Porth Dafarch, Trearddur, Holyhead Marina, Llandudno North Shore, Llandudno West Shore, Llanfairfechan, Penmaenmawr, Prestatyn, Criccieth-Traeth y Promenad, Dinas Dinlle, Pwllheli-Marian-y-De, Pwllheli Marina and Caernarfon Marina.

We were delighted to learn that The Lowry Hotel in Manchester - one of our TIP hosts – has won second-place Silver in the Large Hotel of the Year category at the EnjoyEngland Awards for Excellence 2010.

National Museums Liverpool has also been shortlisted for the first Marketing Society Northern Awards (in the tourism and leisure category), which will take place at Manchester’s Hilton Hotel on 30th June. We wish them lots of luck.

“Right Decision” to Move Away From Corporate Travel Locations

Booking Services International (BSI), the procurement specialist in corporate and public sector accommodation, meetings and event management, has warned that there will be “challenging times” ahead for the UK’s corporate travel sector.

As the new coalition government imposes £6.2 billion in public spending cuts – which will include discretionary areas such as travel costs and consultancy – hotels are being urged to adopt a few simple strategies to minimise the impact. BSI suggests they “broaden their demand and customer bases by actively seeking new business channels and clients”.

It is almost two years since LDS Tourism Services started moving away from venues with expensive rentals that relied heavily on the custom of business travellers.

Our Manager, Jennifer Prime, says: “We became aware that the leaflet pick-up rate had decreased quite significantly in a certain type of establishment, so we resolved to be proactive and make changes before the full force of the recession hit the local tourist industry.

“We made the right decision and our clients have benefitted from the placement of TIPs [Tourist Information Points] in more popular locations. But we continue to move with the times, so if the corporate travel market picks up, we’ll be on the case. We don’t let the grass grow under our feet at LDS Tourism!”

In the meantime, companies like BSI are advising their clients to “base the selection of accommodation on criteria (based on duty of care/value) rather than ‘named’ hotels”. They believe that by this simple act, “the public sector can take control of price and quality”.

Image: Sand dunes on Prestatyn beach, ©Britainonview 2010

The All New LDSTS Blog

You will probably notice a few changes around here since your last visit, not least to our title, which has become Swift Flyer. Clients and business associates will likely recognise the name from our Company newsletter, which has been landing on their doormats regularly since the early 1990s.

We became aware that the content of this blog was evolving and the focus had shifted from purely brochures and leaflets to include a great many topics, ranging from tourism trends and attraction reviews to industry reports and stories about the day-to-day running of LDS Tourism Services.

To better reflect the changes continually taking place at LDSTS, we decided to drop our old newsletter and replace it with an occasional bulletin - which will include the most popular pieces from this blog - for the benefit of those who prefer the feel of paper between their fingers.

We would very much like to involve you in deciding what sort of content to publish here in the future and would appreciate input of all kinds. Perhaps you would like to share your ideas and opinions with like-minded folk involved in the local or national tourist industry. Maybe you’re a business owner in North Wales, Shropshire or the North West requiring a spot of publicity or you may simply be longing to tell others about a particularly fun day out you had in the region with family and friends.

We’re wide open to suggestions, so if you feel like becoming a Guest Blogger for Swift Flyer, please feel free to submit your reviews, photographs, stories and opinion pieces. In return, your name, service, product, website or anything else will be prominently displayed for all to read.

We would also be delighted to receive input from people involved with brochures and leaflets in any way, shape or form, including designers, printers, writers, photographers and distributors.

Drop us a line if you have any suggestions for future topics.

Image: ©Britainonview / Joanna Henderson

A Successful Summer for LDS Tourism and Clients

As ever at this time of year, we are hectically busy preparing for the schools to close – in fact, some have already broken up for the summer. There are also lots of new leaflets and brochures available, including (but certainly not limited to): Manchester Events, Chirk Castle, Echo Arena What's On Summer 09, Brimstage Maize Maze and the Cywain Centre Bala.

We are delighted to report that 2009 is proving immensely rewarding for many of our clients, too.

Go Ape High Wire Forest Adventure won the Responsible Tourism category in the TravelMole 2009 Web Awards. The Delamere Forest based attraction beat three other companies to take the top spot and were presented with their prize at a ceremony held in Canada House, London. Many congratulations to Go Ape from all at LDS Tourism Services.

We are sending out a collective pat on the back to several other of our prize-winning customers, including: Tatton Park (Large Attraction of the Year, Visit Chester & Cheshire Awards), Blue Planet Aquarium (Best Tourism Website of the Year, Visit Chester & Cheshire Awards), The Museum of Science & Industry (Tourism Experience of the Year for Costumed performers at MoSI, Manchester Tourism Awards) and WWT Martin Mere Wetland Centre (Visitor Attraction of the Year, Lancashire & Blackpool Tourism Awards). Well done all!

There was great excitement at Blue Planet Aquarium recently when a baby shark was discovered by a diver in the enormous Caribbean Reef display. The 15cm bamboo shark was found under a rock by Terry Cookson during a routine maintenance dive. He spotted the tiny shark moving around and carefully brought him to the surface. The little nipper has now been nicknamed Rocky!

We have discovered some interesting statistics from Travel Navigator, a new national independent UK holiday survey by Arkenford. Based on questioning 2,000 adults a month about their travel plans and their booking intentions over the next three months, the latest results have revealed that people are downsizing and becoming increasingly independent when it comes to holidays this year. It would seem that more than 90% of them have booked their accommodation in advance and over 50% of these bookings have been made online and bought directly from the provider. Seventy-three percent said they would cut their spending on holidays this year. However, short breaks are set to benefit, with 20% planning to book more short breaks at home than in 2008.

It would seem to us that while a great many people have chosen to holiday at home this year, it is quite clear they want affordable breaks and are cutting back on the amount they spend. Therefore, tourism operators or resorts that decide to raise prices to cash in on the domestic bonanza are likely to find that visitors stay away.

Is your business benefitting from the current ‘Brits Stay Home’ boom? Have you noticed an increase in the number of local people visiting your attraction or establishment? Please share your thoughts and observations with us by posting a message here or by sending us an e-mail.

Main picture: Martin Mere Wetland Centre, © Jonathon Monk, 2005

UK Tourism Boosted by Sun & Slump!

Tourism operators in North Wales and North West England can take plenty of positives from the first major British holiday of the year. Blue skies and the current economic climate combined to give many attractions an excellent kick-start to the season – with most parts of the UK enjoying long periods of fine, dry weather over the Easter break. In addition to this, domestic rail bookings over Easter were up by more than 40% year-on-year with almost 45,000 people booking advance tickets for the Bank Holiday.

According to The Caravan Club, which owns and operates 200 sites across mainland Britain, bookings for 2009 are “already up by 40%”. Its network of parks across Wales was at 90% occupancy for the Easter holidays and the club’s spokesperson, Fiona Bewers, told BBC Online that the current trend seemed to be for “new families [to take] up caravanning as a fun option”.

The results of a new study by VisitEngland were released at the Best of Britain and Ireland trade show last month. They showed that “90% of the population is cutting back on its overall spend but the importance of holidays means that they are ‘more protected’ than other areas of expenditure.” The domestic tourism body also went on to reveal that one in five people who went abroad on holiday last year would consider switching to the UK in 2009 to save money.

Also of interest was a newly published study by Key Note, which has shown that foreign activity holidays are far more likely to be affected by the recession than other types of breaks. The market intelligence provider says that it is likely some travellers will economise by taking holidays in the UK rather than abroad this year and in 2010. A poll of 1,000 consumers for the report revealed that walking - including trekking – had emerged as the most popular activity with 14% of respondents indicating that they had taken a holiday of this kind in the UK. Nine per cent said that they had been on a multi-activity holiday in the UK, compared with six per cent who had taken this type of holiday abroad.

At LDS, we are busier than ever, with new clients joining us every week. If you would like to know more about our many cost-effective and frequently exclusive services, please don’t hesitate to contact us for further details.

Brand New Cadw Hotline

We have set up a bilingual hotline in order to deal more swiftly and efficiently with requests and queries concerning Cadw literature. This 24-hour telephone line will be answered by a real person between the hours of 9am and 4pm on weekdays - an answer-phone facility will be available at all other times. We are hoping that Tourist Information Centres and other operators within the tourism industry will make full use of this service. However, please feel free to ring the number if you have any questions or comments regarding this year’s Cadw brochures.

The new Cadw Hotline number is: 07964 584957

LDS Tourism Win Cadw Contract

We may be entering an “age of austerity” (according to a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit) but life remains as hectic as ever at LDS Tourism Services. Our distributors have been out and about in the snow and ice, servicing our displays and delivering orders to Tourist Information Centres throughout the region. Indeed, new leaflets continue to arrive by the hour, keeping our staff very busy indeed.

Hayley and Diana attended the Great Days Out Fair in Bolton Arena last weekend on behalf of Cadw, the Welsh Assembly government’s historic environment service. The day was a great success with over 200 attractions and destination marketers taking part – not to mention outstanding entertainment from the cast of the West End’s smash hit musical, Mamma Mia. We will certainly recommend that Cadw exhibit at this event again next year!

Incidentally, we can now reveal that LDSTS will continue to work with Cadw, having won the contract to market their literature throughout North Wales and North West England for the next three years (at least). Some time over the next couple of weeks we will set up a bilingual Cadw Hotline for all enquiries relating to their leaflets and brochures – watch this space for further details!

What Makes A ‘Perfect’ Leaflet?

We put the question: “What makes a successful leaflet or brochure?” to members of LinkedIn - an online network of more than 30 million experienced business people from around the world.

"Leaflets should encourage people to visit your attraction, region or event. To be successful, the leaflet should have the right look and contain appropriate information. What, in your experience, encourages people to pick up a brochure and take it home to share with others? Is there a 'perfect' leaflet design?"

We submitted the question just under a month ago and were delighted by the sheer number and variety of responses from marketing experts, graphic designers, tourism industry insiders and others with a professional interest in promotional print.

Paul Scanlon, the Chairman and owner of CDP Print Management, raises a number of practical issues. He points out that leaflets and brochures are “two separate marketing tools, both… zero rated for VAT purposes”. He also warns businesses to “beware” of “environmental issues in design and production”.

“Simple, Clear and Memorable!” These three words make up the dictum of graphic designer, Don Wright. Whereas, “Entice, Educate, Enthuse, Entertain, Excite” is the mantra of marketing consultant, Neil Logan. The Owner and Professional Abstract Stone Sculptor of WSG Gallery, Carl Wright, says that one should always “look at who is displaying brochures and what other brochures are going shoulder to shoulder with [your own]”.

Boyd Butler, the Consultant Development Director at KAM Sports International, believes you should “ask your visitors what they want to see in a brochure” and also ensure that your leaflets are “distributed in the right place”. Very true, Boyd – and of course, this is why we play such an important role with the finished product.

Our favourite response, however, is from Nick Booker, Director of the visitor attraction and leisure consultancy, Attract Marketing Ltd. He very sensibly points out that leaflets should be the “right size to fit in [the] stands”. While this may seem obvious, it’s surprising how often we are presented with oddly shaped and sized leaflets, which are either too tall or too wide to fit into any of our standard holders without being bent over or folded in two. He also highlights issues such as adding the name of the attraction “at the top so can be seen in stands” and getting the branding right.

Nick’s answer is well worth reading in its entirety, as are the many other excellent suggestions. The question has now been closed at LinkedIn but you are very welcome to continue posting your thoughts here.