We don’t care what the weatherman says

It may have been a soggy summer but the double-dip recession, grey skies and rainfall didn’t stop our clients from bucking the trend and experiencing a successful season.

Back in July, the Museum of Liverpool celebrated its first birthday by announcing that it had exceeded its initial 12 month target of 750,000 visitors by 500,000 to reach 1.261 million. Director, Janet Dugdale revealed that this figure comprised 50% of visitors from Merseyside – right in the heart of LDS Tourism Services’ distribution area.

The Llangollen International Eisteddfod sold nearly 2,000 more concert tickets than last year. The event’s Music Director, Elir Owen Griffiths, commented to the Daily Post: “We can safely say that Llangollen International Eisteddfod is back on its feet financially and withstood weather conditions, unlike other festivals.”

Cholmondeley Pageant of Power celebrated its “biggest and best ever” gala in spite of the dismal weather. Thousands of petrolheads turned out to enjoy even more supercars, helicopters, powerboats and interactive features than ever before. James Hall, the event director, was quoted in the local newspaper as saying: “The Pageant has well and truly secured its place as Britain’s most thrilling and most interactive day out.”

Thousands attended the seventh Wirral Food and Drink Festival at Claremont Farm during the August Bank Holiday. Over 20,000 people poured into the site over two days without regard to the mud and rain. The festival’s organiser, Andrew Pimbley, confirmed that the event was an enormous success.

There were “record-breaking crowds” at the 21st Southport Air Show earlier this month when 150,000 spectators were treated to breathtaking aerial displays. Tony Corfield, head of tourism at Sefton Council told the Southport Visiter: “It was a phenomenal success. With a combination of strong displays and good weather, we were actually at capacity on [the] Sunday – the car parks were full and we even used all the reserve car parks.”

Even those of our clients hardest hit by the bad weather, rising fuel costs and the ‘Olympic effect’ appear to have lured a significant number of holidaymakers throughout the season. For instance, Peter Furniss from Llangollen Wharf was quoted in the Denbighshire Free Press as saying: “Business has not been as bad as it might have been. We’re very weather dependant, but the weather has improved slightly since the schools broke up, which is good.”

If you run an attraction within our service area we would love to hear from you. Let us know how the rains and recession of 2012 effected your business. If you would like us to organise your distribution and display campaign in 2013, please ring us on 01244 671859 or drop us a line at lds@ldsts.co.uk.

Image: Clouds, © Copyright Free Photos 2012

Liverpool enjoys tourism boom: So why close its TIC?

According to The Mersey Partnership – the organization responsible for developing and promoting Liverpool City Region as an ideal place to invest, live, work and stay - the local visitor economy supports some 41,000 job.

Several long-standing clients of LDS Tourism Services in Liverpool have experienced spectacular growth over the last few years and we are proud to have played our part in their success. During 2010, Merseyside Maritime Museum received 1,027,475 visits, up from 946,699 the year before (a rise of 8.5%) and World Museum Liverpool had a 23.4% rise in visitors, from 606,394 in 2009 to 748,065. Earlier this month, VisitBritain announced that both museums had been named in the top 20 free visitor attractions in Britain.

The Museum of Liverpool is the new kid on the block – officially opening to the public on 19th July. Yet, within two weeks, it had welcomed over 150,000 people through its doors (averaging 12,500 visitors a day), including Yoko Ono, the widow of John Lennon – and by mid August it was celebrating its first quarter million. It has since been nominated for World Building of the Year 2011.

In spite of Liverpool’s undeniable popularity with both British and overseas visitors, the council announced earlier this month that the City’s flagship Tourist Information Centre would close down as part of budget cutbacks. This astonishing development has caused a huge amount of consternation – understandable when one considers that “more room nights were sold in Liverpool city centre during the first six months of 2010 than in 2009 or 2008” (Tourism Scene, Issue 16).

Liverpool City Council leader, Joe Anderson, recently described Liverpool as a "world-class destination” and, as we reported in Swift Flyer only last month, an official strategy document estimated that the City’s tourism industry is likely to be worth £2 billion by 2020. 

Liverpool’s 08 Place is due to close on 31st October 2011. If you have concerns regarding this issue, Julie Kershaw, owner of Liverpool Entente Cordiale Tours has set up a page on Facebook called: Liverpool needs a city centre Tourist Office. Here she eloquently explains the importance of a City centre TIC and keeps followers abreast of the latest developments.

What are your views on the closure of Liverpool’s main TIC (or indeed, other tourism offices in the region) and how do you think it will affect the local economy in the long term? Please tell us what you think by posting your comments on this blog.

Image: The Albert Dock © Britainonview / Ingrid Rasmussen