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

Let Battle Commence

Cheshire Farm Ice Creams

The two-week Easter break was more hectic than even we had anticipated and our headquarters began to resemble Churchill’s war rooms at the height of WWII.

The sheer logistics involved in ensuring all areas and major establishments are supplied with the correct leaflets both before and during the school holidays can be daunting - especially when so many outlets don‘t open for business until the very last moment - but Team LDSTS pulled it off once again, winning untold battles.

Fun on the farm

Diana and I were able to take some time out over the weekend before Easter to visit Cheshire Farm Ice Cream in Tattenhall. We simply couldn’t resist the lure of those Malt Tease and Honeycomb flavours in giant double-cones - but with our 14-year-old niece in tow, we had the perfect excuse to indulge.

There have been numerous improvements made since we first began distributing the attraction’s leaflets many years ago. Tom and Margaret Fell have invested a great deal in old Drumlan Hall Farm and it now attracts over 250,000 visitors a year and supplies Real Dairy Ice Cream to restaurants and retail outlets throughout the region.

There are plenty of activities to keep young people entertained, such as Crazy Daisy’s Play Barn and Animal Corner - where we were delighted to meet baby guinea pigs, Buff Orpington chickens and numerous fluffy and feathered critters - before purchasing our ice creams. We also ambled through the gift shops, visited a milking area, scratched the bellies of three young kune kune pigs and stood on a platform to watch some thirty or so adorable, long-lashed calves being fed. A thoroughly enjoyable experience!

In print and on page

We would like to thank Wayne Lowe, a presenter at Radio Clatterbridge, for publishing an article about LDS Tourism Services in his blog, Rain Glow, on 30th March. He tells me that he’s hoping to do something about us on his radio show at some point in the future, so we’ll let you know if and when that happens.

If you happen to pick up a copy of The Mersey Partnership’s new publication, Developing The Economy Of The Liverpool City Region, you will find us listed on page 32. It contains some fascinating articles about the Visitor Economy, Investment and Liverpool SuperPort, among others - so it’s well worth borrowing a copy if you’re not a member.

We are also extremely grateful to those of you who contacted us following our previous post about becoming a Guest Blogger for Swift Flyer. We have plans to run a number of the most interesting pieces over the coming weeks, but in the meantime, please keep sending your submissions in the main body of an email  (I’m afraid we can’t accept attachments) or by hard copy to LDS Tourism Services Ltd., Border Distribution Centre, River Lane, Saltney, Chester CH4 8RH.

We look forward to receiving your suggestions, photos and articles.


Image: Cheshire Farm Ice Cream, © LDS Tourism Services Ltd, 2010

Braced For The Easter Rush

Where has January gone? Soon it will be ‘silly season’ (the frenzied run up to Easter) for LDS Tourism Services and we will be dashing from one TIP to another, distributing all the last minute brochures and leaflets. Believe it or not, literature continues to arrive at our warehouse right up to Good Friday - but we always do our upmost to get the best coverage possible in whatever time remains.

We were delighted to read on the TravelMole website that British Airways and EasyJet are to offer low cost flights from twelve European countries to 10 UK cities as part of a tourism drive by VisitBritain - among them Liverpool and Manchester. The promotion follows last year’s 'See More Britain For Less' campaign, which highlighted the affordability of travel to the UK. Apparently, the latest campaign is “based around contrasting themes” of the chosen cities “with information on traditional and contemporary experiences with a twist”. The campaign’s micro-sites can be accessed via visitbritain.com

If you have five minutes to spare, it is also well worth checking out the Why We Love Britain page on WinkBall. Reporters have been dispatched to find out what “one thing” people love most about being in Britain. You can see their answers and add your own video messages too, but please ensure you have javascript enabled and flash installed first.

Visit Chester and Cheshire (VCC), the tourism management organisation for Cheshire and Warrington, held an ‘At Home’ event in their offices above Chester Railway Station on 21st January. Diana, Jenny and Hayley went along to the informal gathering to catch up with long-standing associates, meet others involved in the local tourist industry and chat with the team about their plans for the future. The evening was extremely successful, with plenty of networking opportunities and an abundance of Moët and delicious nibbles laid on. A big thank you to all at VCC from the managers at LDSTS for a very pleasant evening.

Jenny and Hayley will also be attending the Success Through People day at Haydock Park Racecourse on 4th February. Be sure to say “hello” if you bump into them.

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Image: VCC offices, Chester © LDS Tourism Services Ltd, 2010

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.

Easter Break Dilemma

Everyone at LDSTS actually took a day off for Easter Sunday – but it will be all systems go again on Monday!

The main problem with working through the Easter break is the large volume of traffic we have to contend with on the roads. Yesterday, for instance, there was a dreadful crash on the M6 between Junctions 16 and 17, and the motorway was closed in both directions for at least three hours. I’m sure you can imagine the tailbacks this caused and we had real problems reaching the Sandbach Roadchefs to refill our stands. However, we eventually sneaked in through the back entrances - much to the surprise of the staff!

Apparently, this has been the earliest Easter for 95 years and, although it won’t happen again for another 220 years, it has led to calls for a fixed date to be introduced to minimise disruption to the tourism industry (and others). At present, Easter Sunday can be anything from 22nd March to 25th April but it would seem that many hoteliers in the UK would prefer a definite date some time in mid-April. There is something called the Easter Act, which provides for Easter to fall on the first Sunday after the second Saturday in April, but it can only be brought into effect if Christian churches around the world agree.

The poor weather this year has also caused some major headaches and means that many businesses will open for only a couple of days and then close again for a few weeks.

Would a unified spring holiday around the first weekend in April (not linked to the religious festival) be preferable? Perhaps Good Friday and Easter Monday shouldn't be bank holidays? Surely, this would be far more sensible from the point of view of both employers and schools. What do others think?