Brochure Displays Vital To Tourism Marketing

Last weekend, Diana nipped over to the National Boat, Caravan & Outdoor Show (19th – 24th February) at Birmingham’s NEC. Spanning six halls, there were an enormous number of outdoor products on display - from small tents to plush motorhomes – and this year’s exhibition hosted the biggest boat and marine display in its 47 year history. In addition to all this, there were plenty of free activities laid on such as archery lessons and tent pitching competitions. The event was well attended by both industry and non-industry folk, giving Di the perfect opportunity to make some very useful contacts. She also thoroughly enjoyed herself and intends to go again in 2009.

As you will all be aware, Liverpool's Capital of Culture year was officially launched during January and a unique programme of events across the Northwest to celebrate '08 is set to bring in an additional £50 million in visitor spend to the Northwest economy. What's more, £50 million is expected to go directly to Merseyside over the coming year from 1.7 million extra visitors. It is estimated that this year alone European Capital of Culture will be worth £100 million to the Northwest economy in visitor spend. Good news for all of us!

Some of you may be interested in reading a report entitled Comparison of the Effectiveness of Brochure Distribution from the international Association of Professional Brochure Distributors. Their findings show that brochure displays continue to play an essential role in marketing tourist attractions, events etc. You can learn more and download a pdf version of the report right here:

http://www.apbd.org/about/research.php

With Easter fast approaching, we are eating, sleeping and dreaming leaflets. However, we hope to have news of yet more exciting additions to our exclusive Network sites in the very near future. Keep watching this space!

The Group Leisure & Travel Show 2007

Our Manager, Jennifer Prime, spent two days manning the Cadw stand at the International Group Leisure & Travel Show in Birmingham's NEC (20th & 21st September).

The event provides an opportunity for travel organisers, coach operators etc. to meet suppliers and other organisations involved in the tourism and leisure industry. Basically, it's a chance for them to discuss new ideas and meet other business people face to face.

Although the general consensus among exhibitors this year seemed to be that the show was relatively quiet (following the move from Wembley in 2006), Jennifer made some useful contacts and met a colourful array of characters - from dancing girls to large pink furry monsters and Shakespeare (see pic). Plus, there were free bacon butties in the morning and scones with jam and cream for afternoon tea!

Next year, the show will take place on Wednesday 24th and Thursday 25th September. Hope to see you there.

South Wirral Town and Country Show

The sun shone for some of the weekend while I was manning the Cadw stand at the South Wirral Town and Country Show at Parkgate. This was the last show I was manning this season so it was nice to be out and about and meet the people.

The show had some great events to keep the visitors entertained. My personal favourite was the pig racing - they are surprisingly fast! There was also a Falconry Display, Ferret Racing, Sheep Dog Display and Tug of War. Our tent was lucky enough to be outside the smaller event ring where we were treated to several dog agility displays throughout the weekend.

Our stall is mainly to support and promote one of our clients Cadw. Cadw preserve many Castles and Historic sites across Wales and are always looking for new ways to attract visitors. At the stall we are there to answer any questions and encourage people to visit the Castles. Many people often don't realise how many there are within an easy travelling distance.

The next show is the International Group Leisure and Travel Show at the NEC in Birmingham on 20th/21st September. Look out for our manager Jenny Prime who will be working on the Cadw stand.