Spring brings new growth for local tourism

A great many attractions have reaped the benefits of the double Bank Holiday and glorious sunshine this year. Tourism operators in the region are reporting an upsurge in visitors from France, China and the USA – due in no small part to the low level of the pound – and accommodation providers say they have been forced to turn people away.

Industry insiders are starting to see improvements this spring, in some cases because visitors are changing their habits. For instance, the National Trust (NT) recently conducted research into the habits of British holidaymakers and found that 27% of them were planning to take at least 10 single-day holidays this year. A further 36% said they intended to take between five and 10 'daycations' during the same period. According to NT, these multiple single days off work will allow Brits to make the most of their time off and have shorter holidays more frequently within the UK.

More good news from our clients

Chester Zoo has a delightful baby elephant named Jamilah to thank for helping it achieve a massive 33% increase in visitor numbers at the start of the year. The popular attraction announced it had 104,856 visitors between 1st January and 27th February, compared with 78,833 in the same period last year. The charity also revealed it was the most visited zoo in the UK during 2010, with 1,154,285 people passing through the gates, making it the 17th most popular visitor attraction in the country.

Cadw has allocated £600,000 from its Heritage Tourism Project to allow Denbigh Castle to begin work on a new visitor facility. Enhancements to the 13th century fortress will include new walks, improvements to its interpretation and upgraded links with Denbigh's wider historic landscape.

On Good Friday, Cambrian Heritage Railways started operating a passenger service from a station in Shropshire for the first time since the 1960s. After twelve months of hard work, the service now operates over half a mile on a restored line from Oswestry Station to Middleton Road Bridge. We are delighted to have been asked to market their promotional leaflet and wish all those involved a fun and profitable season.

Promote your business for free

I am now a Foursquare Ambassador, which means that you can access my page to connect with your loyal customers and gain new ones by finding and claiming your establishment. It’s completely free to sign up and you will be able to manage Specials and monitor your Venue Stats. Click this link and follow three simple steps to verify your business on Foursquare.

Please feel free to contact us if you have questions regarding location based marketing or any other service supplied by LDS Tourism Services.

Image: Cherry Blossom, © Eve Parry, 2011

Adventures in Trees

by Hayley Tabarn

We were lucky enough to have a spell of sunshine this Bank Holiday weekend, so what better way to spend it than enjoying the great outdoors.

Spotting the sun on Monday morning, my fiance, James, and I hopped in the car to visit Wepre Park. There are a number of attractions within the park itself and we had fun roaming around Ewloe Castle, which was built in the 13th Century and is now in the care of Cadw. While walking through the woods you can't miss the 'red rocks' and there is wildlife all around.

Strolling along the wooden path next to Wepre Brook, we came out by the waterfall and then followed the path up to the Visitor Centre. After stopping there to pick up some more information about the park, we went on a hunt for the Pet Cemetery. As you can see from the photograph (top), on the way there James got a little distracted on his own adventure, but we eventually found our way through the Old Hall Gardens to the small pet graveyard. A little on the side of the macabre but still fascinating, as it has been there for over one hundred years.

There was still plenty left for us to explore, so we decided to visit again soon, but I think we'll probably borrow a dog to discover the park with us.

In keeping with the theme of tree top fun, James had an opportunity to 'Go Ape' this summer at Delamere Forest. For anyone who hasn't heard of it, Go Ape is an activity course set up in the forest canopy; a high-wire forest adventure.

Everyone was clambering across rope bridges, flying down zip lines and scrambling up cargo nets. I was able to watch safely from the forest floor and everyone looked like they were having a brilliant time. James says he would recommend it to anyone, even though he was a bit sore the next day. Watch this space and maybe I'll give it a go myself. All in the name of research, of course!

If you have enjoyed a great day out this summer, please let us know and we may publish it in this blog.

Images © LDS Tourism Services Ltd., 2010

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!

Brochure Bonanza 09

Leaflets are pouring into our warehouse and sub-depots at an incredible rate. It’s marvellous to see all the colourful new designs for 2009 and it’s a great relief to once again receive literature from long-standing clients during these difficult times. We’re also delighted to have a selection of brand new brochures, including Word of Mouth, an impressive, monthly, regional guide to North Wales. Issue 1 is currently available from our TIPs (Tourist Information Points) and many TICs within the LDSTS service area.

We’ve been extremely busy during the winter months meeting with clients; adding to our popular collection of Network Service sites and setting-up exclusive TIPs in Broughton Retail Park and Crown Point Denton Shopping Park. In addition to these, we have a number of brand new exclusive display contracts in the pipeline. Watch this space for the latest updates on these and other matters relating to LDS and the tourism industry in general.

Hayley and Jenny have just returned from Cardiff after giving a presentation to Cadw - the Welsh equivalent of English Heritage or Historic Scotland. We will be representing this government body at the Great Days Out Fair in Bolton on 7th February, so if you’re anywhere near Bolton Arena on that day, please feel free to nip in for a chat.

Tourist Industry Roundup

We're up to our eyes in it as usual, but we still like to stay abreast of what's happening with our friends and colleagues in the industry. So, here are a handful of news-items we've 'homed in' on this week:

On 23rd April the 'Tourism Oscars' will take place in St Georges Hall, Liverpool, in celebration of the 2008 European Capital of Culture and St George’s Day. Amazingly, this is the first time in its 19-year history that the Enjoy England Awards for Excellence will be held outside London, so it will be quite a feather in NW England's hat. Fingers crossed that the region will also receive some recognition from the judges.

Some of you may be interested to learn that a new microsite has been launched to support the year-long Culture 08 campaign (organised to celebrate some of England's best cultural attractions), which includes a journey planner, travel itinerary with Google maps, a 'My Events' section and an 'Inspire Me' functionality, which randomly generates event details that the user could attend across England.

According to TravelMole, the "UK is the sixth most competitive country when it comes to tourism". An international study has revealed that we have moved up from 10th position in the Global Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report (put together by the World Economic Forum) - showing a marked improvement in areas such as environmental sustainability and air transport infrastructure. However, we received a comparatively low score for safety and security, coming way down the list in 65th place!

Many of you will no doubt be attending the British Travel Trade Fair in Birmingham this week - we'll be there ourselves to assist Cadw with their stand on the final day. We wish you a successful show and hope that you get plenty of useful networking opportunities. We would love to hear your thoughts on this year's event, and also, if Karl Lornie, the Paul McCartney tribute act, is a good as they say he is!

The Holiday & Travel Show

Manchester Central (11th-13th January 2008)

Paula and Diana have just returned from a very busy three days on the Cadw stand at the Holiday & Travel Show, which took place at Manchester Central (formerly the G-Mex) last Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Diana talking to a member of the public

With over 800 exhibitors from the UK and abroad, the event attracted a wide range of people with an interest in travel and sightseeing. The Cadw stand was particularly popular with couples and families looking for things to do on their days off - and also with students studying in the North West.

View from the Premier Lodge hotel room

Over 300 people entered the competition to win a year's free membership of Cadw, and many others picked up leaflets about the individual monuments and castles. The event was a tremendous success for all concerned!

Cadw Sites Offer Gateway to Wales’s Heritage

According to the Welsh Assembly, new research has revealed that almost 75% of all visitors to Cadw sites not only learn something new about Wales’s heritage during their visit but are also encouraged to explore more of its historical wealth as a result.

On their website they say: "An interest in Welsh culture and history was cited as the main motivators for influencing a visit to a Cadw site by over 34% of respondents, with archery demonstrations, re-enactments and falconry displays proving particularly enticing during events. Events at Cadw sites are also more likely to attract local family visitors on day trips. Three-quarters of all respondents also felt current admission prices were about right."

They also found that over 57% of visitors to Cadw sites are female, with 42% of all visitors from Wales stating an ability to speak, understand or read Welsh. It was found that over three-quarters of all visitors came from outside Wales, with European visitors accounting for over half (53%) of those visiting from overseas. Over 55% of all visitors were family groups with this figure rising to 64% during specific event days.

These findings, along with numerous others, will be used by Cadw, the Welsh Assembly’s historic environment service, to guide future marketing and events strategies and better understand the needs of visitors whether according to their gender, age, language use or country of origin. Over 2,500 visitors were interviewed at selected Cadw sites as part of the project undertaken by Beaufort Research throughout August and September 2007.

We will, of course, be working with Cadw again in 2008 distributing their promotional print and representing them at various shows and events.

Contracts, Cadw & Christmas

We have just this week renewed our contract with Charnock Richard Welcome Break Services on the M6 (north and southbound) for exclusive rights to display our client's literature in their foyers. We will be installing a brand new holder on the north side (heading into our area) – specifically designed for this site – which will also have space for posters and A4 brochures.

Look out for us if you attend the Holiday and Travel Show at Manchester Central (formerly the G-MEX) on 11th-13th January 2008. With over 800 exhibitors, representing more than 100 countries from around the world, the Show is expected to attract even greater numbers than usual. You will find either Diana or Paula on the Cadw stand throughout the event, so please do pop over and have a natter with them if you are passing.

We are currently distributing the council's new Christmas in Chester leaflet in and around the city. Inside you will find listings of all the late night opening hours, plenty of suggestions for events to attend during the festive season and a useful map. Be sure to pick one up on your travels.

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.