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.

Dinosaurs at large in Chester Zoo

Last week Jenny and I were lucky enough to be invited to the opening of Chester Zoo's brand new 'Dinosaurs at Large' exhibition.

The exhibition will be at the Zoo until until 8th October and features thirteen incredible life size animatronic dinosaurs. Entry to the exhibit is included in the price of your zoo admission.

We began the day with an opening ceremony by Council Trustee, Peter Wheeler, Chester Mayor, Eleanor Johnson and Chair of Governors, Barbara Smith. After the cutting of the ribbon we entered the exhibition accompanied by a welcome song from pupils of a local primary school.


We couldn't wait for our first sight of the of the prehistoric creatures and weren't disappointed when we spotted our first Triceratops! The animatronic figures are amazingly life-like and treat passers by with movement, sounds and some other surprises too!

Round each corner a new dinosaur comes to life in a natural surrounding. My personal favourite was the Apatosaurus but I would encourage you to visit and discover your own prehistoric preference.

There are plenty of other dinosaur themed events happening this summer, including dino-face painting. Chester Zoo is a full day out with lots to see and do so why not visit this summer and step back in time with Dinosaurs at Large. You can pick up a Chester Zoo leaflet from LDSTS display stands around the region.




Image: Dinosaurs at Large @ Chester Zoo, © LDS Tourism Services Ltd, 2011

Stats, Statements & Staycations!

We are extremely excited about 2010 - not least because we are working with several new partner companies in other parts of the UK. Next year, our clients will also benefit considerably from the many new high-footfall display sites (some of them exclusive to LDS) secured over the past few months.

As you all know, in addition to our long-established brochure marketing facilities, we now offer Social Media packages - however, we are also on the verge of announcing the launch of a brand new service that will propel LDS Tourism to the forefront of 21st century marketing techniques. All will be revealed very soon!

Continuing the theme of our last article, a recent poll by Which? Holiday has shown that one of the biggest complaints of holidaymakers is that visitor attractions are often overcrowded, badly managed or have long queues. The consumer study also showed airport congestion at the top of the list of frustrations experienced by travellers. Nevertheless, of the 5,003 consumers surveyed, more than half (53%) had no frustrations with any aspect of their holiday, and for those who holidayed in the UK, the satisfaction level increased by 60%.

Even more encouraging are reports from Hoseasons that advance bookings for 2010 are up 61% to 100,000, compared with the same period last year. The Company’s chief executive, Richard Carrick, commented last week that there has been “a seismic change in consumer behaviour, with people spending less and choosing to holiday in the UK”. Indeed, he says that next year, “Hoseasons will sell one million sports and activity holidays with 140 of its 440 holiday parks offering those types of breaks.”

VisitEngland has also published figures showing that domestic trips were up by 14 per cent, or 2.7m, for the first six months of 2009, compared with the same period last year.

Perhaps the UK ‘staycation’ really is here to stay!

A brief reminder to anyone with Christmas and/or New Year literature: your leaflets should be out there, on display, right now. Don’t miss out on promoting your festive event or offer by delaying distribution a moment longer!

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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.

A Hectic Spring For LDSTS

Spring has most definitely ‘sprung’ for LDS Tourism Services. Our packers and distributors are working flat out and brochures continue to arrive by the wagon-load. Never have we been quite so busy before – but we’re not complaining!

We have successfully completed distribution of the maiden issue of What’s On in Chester & Cheshire - previously known as Welcome to Chester. In fact, we recently updated our contract with Chester City Council and will continue delivering this classy guide to selected outlets at the end of each month. Look out for an article about us in the May issue!

Chester Zoo is on course for another outstanding year. The attraction will host Sensory Awareness Days on 12th- 13th April and 6th-7th September, to enable visitors with sensory disabilities to make the most of their visit. Braille leaflets will be handed out and animal talks will be given by a British Sign Language interpreter.

While on the subject of Chester Zoo, we were delighted to hear of a gorgeous new resident on Penguin Island. Aero (so named because the keepers decided on a chocolate theme during Easter) is a Humboldt Penguin chick. He was incubated for 46 days by parents Warty and Hislop and weighed just 85 grams when he emerged from his egg. It is hoped that he will soon be joined by 20 other chicks between now and the middle of this month, so now would be a great time to pay a visit to the zoo.

Paula Bardell-Hedley, our Director of Research & Marketing, has become a member of The Tourism Society on behalf of the Company. The society is all about providing a forum for professionals involved in the tourist industry and offers an opportunity to network and develop acquaintances within it. The Society’s Annual Conference will take place in St Helens on 19th-20th June this year, which will be a great opportunity for members in the North West to meet up and exchange ideas.

Finally, we would like to congratulate our friends at the Holyhead Breakwater Railway Company for winning Best Visitor Attraction in the Anglesey Tourism Awards 2008. Well done!

“Bumper Year” Predicted For Domestic Tourism

According to TravelMole – the online community for the travel and tourism industry – a "bumper" 2008 for the UK travel industry has been predicted.

It would seem that more people are deciding to take domestic holidays this year, and it is being attributed to “concerns by holidaymakers over their carbon footprint, the negative economic effects of the global credit squeeze and more recent publicity regarding the weakness of the pound against the euro making travel to the continent more expensive for British travellers”.

Apparently, self catering is “the number one option for a great number of families taking a break in Great Britain”, which is why companies like Hoseasons are bucking the trend and offering “unique discounts, such as those for single parent families, aimed to make it easier and more appealing for Brits to take a holiday at home”.

So (fingers crossed), it could be an excellent year for the local tourist & leisure industry!

We’ve also come across a couple interesting articles on the web this month. We thought you may like to read them, too:

A Quick Guide to Tourism Brochure & Tourism Leaflet Design
By wpdevil
Distribution via brochure rack? Remember that in most cases only the top 1/3 of the brochure will show. Distributed by a third party? Your brochure can easily get lost in a “sea of brochures” if you are not careful...

Finding a Brochure Printing Company
By mollie
Most brochure printing companies will provide an experienced estimator who will help you to determine the proper paper, inks, coatings, bindery and distribution for your brochure project. It is worth it to check to see if this service...

Liverpool’s Year as Capital of Culture

The City of Liverpool will officially open its year as European Capital of Culture with a three-day weekend of public events and concerts. The celebrations begin on Friday 11th January 2008 with a free open-air show on St George’s Plateau featuring ex-Beatle, Ringo Starr.

On 12th January, Ringo pops up again with Eurythmic Dave Stewart, to open the new Liverpool Echo Arena with Liverpool The Musical. Other performers include the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, No Fakin DJ’s, Echo and the Bunnymen, Pete Wylie, Ian Broudie, Shack and The Christians, plus a cast of poets, singers, aerialists, comedians, construction workers, gardeners and sailors.

Along with specially commissioned film and rare archive footage, Liverpool The Musical will feature music composed by Elgar, John Newton, The Real Thing, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, The Beatles, The La’s, The Wombats, The Farm, The Zutons, Stravinsky and Space, rearranged for the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra in collaboration with No Fakin DJ’s and conducted by Vasily Petrenko.

Sir Paul McCartney and his band will also perform in his home city in a Liverpool Sound concert in front of a crowd of 30,000 at Anfield Football Stadium on 1st June 2008.

We are looking forward to working with the Mersey Partnership and various Liverpool attractions to make 2008 a very special year indeed.

Record Year For Chester Zoo

We always like to hear that our clients are doing well, so you can imagine how pleased we were to discover that Chester Zoo is having a record breaking year!

Apparently, more than 1,068,000 people have passed through their gates so far - the same figure as visited the zoo in the whole of 2006. The popular attraction now fully expects to pass the 1.1 million visitor mark before the year is out.

We don't wish to be accused of blowing our own trumpet, but we're positive that the hundreds of thousands of leaflets we distributed for them this year must have played a part in the zoos success.

Winners of Northwest Tourism ‘Oscars’

England’s fourth Northwest Tourism Awards took place on 10th October at Manchester Central.

The cream of the region’s tourism industry gathered for this high profile event, which was organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) and hosted by BBC North West Tonight presenter Ranvir Singh.

The winners each walked away with a gleaming trophy, crafted by The World of Glass, to mark their achievement and the coveted title of best in the Northwest for 2007.

We are delighted to report that among the recipients of accolades handed out on the night were Lady Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight, who claimed the Excellence in Customer Service award, and Cotebrook Shire Horse Centre, Cheshire, who received a Judges Commendation in the Small Visitor Attraction of the Year category . Our conratulations go to both these excellent attractions.

Regional winners will now have the opportunity to represent the Northwest in the national Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, organised by VisitBritain, which will be held in April 2008.

The Northwest's Best Tourism Website

Five websites have been shortlisted for this year's Northwest Tourism Awards, and Welcome to England's Northwest would like everyone to help select the region's winner. The best one will represent the Northwest in the National Awards later in the year.

We're delighted to report that one of our clients, Arley Hall and Gardens has made it on to the shortlist. The other contenders are the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Manchester International Festival, Near Howe Guest House and Cottages and Blackpool Grand Theatre.

By voting for your favourite they'll also enter you into a draw to win a brand new Ipod Nano with video. However, you only have until 2nd October to count and be entered into this draw.

We would like to wish Viscount Ashbrook and his family lots of luck. The website is certainly a credit to them.

Visitor Statistics

It's interesting to note that VisitBritain's latest survey of England’s visitor attractions has revealed that despite a wetter year than 2005, with August sunshine levels 11% below average, visitors made 196.5 million visits to attractions in 2006 - a +3% increase compared to the previous year.

In the North West, the average admission to attractions is currently £5.88 with urban attractions doing particularly well (+10%) in 2006, compared to coastal and rural attractions which were both down (-4%).

While Windermere Lake Cruises and Chester Zoo continue to hold first and second position, Tatton Park is the third most popular paid attraction in the region. Blackpool Pleasure Beach remains the region’s – and England’s – leading free attraction and The Lowry pushes Tate Liverpool back one place to third.

Proving the reason it was selected as 2008 European Capital of Culture, visitors to the Liverpool area are well served by free attractions – half of the region’s ten most popular attractions are in Merseyside.

Apparently, Chester Zoo was number 8 in the top ten most visited paid attractions in England as a whole.

One wonders what effect the wet weather will have on the statistics for 2007!