In This Issue:

• Tourism Plans for 2020
• East Midlands Tops National Tourism Awards
• New Olympic Images Unveiled
• Tourism Businesses Looking Forward to Summer 2010
• Marketing the Region
• Paws for Thought
• East Midlands Tourism Hosts Region’s First Tourist Information Centre Conference
• Japanese Travel Industry Experiences the East Midlands
• National Accessible Scheme

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Tourism Plans for 2020

East Midlands Tourism, emda’s tourism arm, is leading on the development of a new strategy to guide the direction of the visitor economy in the region over the next 10 years to 2020.

It is intended that the strategy will be owned by all private and public sector organisations across the region that have an interest in the development of the visitor economy.  Consultation kicked off in March this year with a questionnaire and a series of county-based workshops.

Over 700 private and public sector organisations including attractions, accommodation providers, universities, transport operators and councils were asked to participate in an online questionnaire, giving their opinions on areas such as the most significant achievements stemming from the existing strategy, as well as identifying priorities for the future.

County-based workshops included participants from the tourism industry, destination management partners, special interest groups and local authorities.  

A first draft of the new strategy will be available in September with further consultation planned following its publication.  Updates on progress can also be found at www.eastmidlandstourism.com

East Midlands Tops National Tourism Awards

The East Midlands has come top at this year’s Visit England Enjoy England Excellence Awards scooping four awards, more than any other region.

The region’s winners were; the Nottingham Tourism Centre for Tourist Information Centre of the Year, Blakelow Farm Holiday Cottages in Derbyshire which won Self Catering Holiday of the Year and imago at Burleigh Court which took the Access for All Award.  There were also two silver winners; Kilworth House Hotel in Leicestershire for Small Hotel of the Year and Underleigh House in Derbyshire for the Bed & Breakfast/Guest Accommodation category.

Alongside these winners, The World Egg Throwing Championships in Lincolnshire became the first ever winner of the ‘Where Else but England Award’ created specifically in celebration of everything eccentrically English.

The competition which is made up of various different events such as Russian Egg Roulette and Target throwing, beat off competition from 17 other quirky English events in a public vote.

All of the businesses were previous winners of the East Midlands Tourism Enjoy England Excellence Awards.  The finalists for the 2010 East Midlands Awards will be announced later in the summer, with the winners being crowned at a black tie event at the Roundhouse, Derby on the 7 October.

New Olympic Images Unveiled

East Midlands Tourism has added three new images to the portfolio of Olympic themed photography, following the success of the seven Olympic and Paralympic images produced last year. 

They feature aspiring Olympians taking part in their chosen sport at various landmarks across the region. The three new images were shot at Nottingham Contemporary, Highcross Shopping Centre in Leicester and Mablethorpe on the Lincolnshire coast. Adding to the range of sports pictured in the original collection, these new shots feature hockey players, a tri-athlete and a rhythmic gymnast.

The previous images have been used widely by partners and organisations across the region, including on the BBC’s big screens and by the Arts Council.  There are also on display in the arrivals area at East Midlands Airport. 

These new images, together with the original seven, are available to partners as posters or postcards and can also be viewed on the EMT website.   A disc of all the images is also available.  Anyone interested in getting copies of the images should email tourism@emd.org.uk

Tourism Businesses Looking Forward to Summer 2010

To understand the challenges and opportunities facing the region’s tourism businesses, EMT is continuing to commission a ‘confidence’ survey of operators to monitor performance and identify visitor trends and booking behaviour.

The latest survey which took place over Easter 2010 is positive with early indications that the forthcoming holiday season will be good, with four in five operators feeling confident about the summer season.

Many businesses are pleased with the way the season has started, with almost a quarter reporting more guests and visitors than last year.  The hotel sector has performed particularly well achieving a 43% increase in business so far.

Advance bookings for the summer, on the whole, remain about the same level as this time last year, with over 20% reporting increased bookings. Many businesses polled (46 per cent) intend to use price discounting to encourage earlier bookings.  Repeat business is bringing stability to the industry with 30 per cent of businesses welcoming back visitors from previous years. Further surveys are planned following the key holiday periods and the results will be used to gauge how the visitor economy is performing against previous years.

Marketing the Region

Robin Hood, regional food and drink and golf are just some of the highlights expected to draw visitors to the East Midlands this year. The region’s five DMPs have launched their domestic marketing plans for the coming year with a view to increasing the number of overnight stays to the region.

Using traditional marketing tools such as print advertising and PR, alongside social networking and online advertising, the marketing targets a diverse range of audiences, encouraging everyone from young families to retired couples to stay in each of the six counties.

Experience Nottingham is concentrating its marketing activity on the legend of Robin Hood, capitalising upon the unique opportunity presented by the   release of Ridley Scott’s new film, Robin Hood starring Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett.

Leicester Shire Promotions will continue promoting theatre, festivals, events, shopping and the National Forest.  And will also build on its successful ‘Stay Play Explore’ campaign targeting families.

Lincolnshire Tourism is encouraging short break visitors to the city and rural areas.  The ‘Big Skies Coast’ campaign will focus on the different faces of the Lincolnshire coast, including the family fun coast and the undiscovered coast with its wildlife and nature reserves.  Golf enthusiasts and aviation heritage buffs are also being encouraged to visit Lincolnshire to try out the many courses and sites such as RAF Cranwell and RAF Waddington. 

Discover Rutland is focusing on encouraging visitors to take a short break and try the excellent food and drink that the destination has to offer and Northamptonshire Enterprise is asking visitors to experience the wide variety of events and festivals taking place this year.

Finally Visit Peak District and Derbyshire will be targeting the short break market encouraging visitors to experience the beauty of the Peak District and Derbyshire. Its ‘On your Doorstep’ campaign hopes to encourage local residents to find out more about the region and support tourism in the county.

Paws for Thought

With over 43% of the UK population owning a pet, 8 million of which are dogs, the market size for pet owners who like to take their pets on holiday is huge. Businesses not effectively marketing their pet friendly status are potentially missing out on £1,000’s of new business. 

The current financial climate has made holidaying in the UK even more popular and the opportunity for pet owners to take their pets with them can often be a key decision factor in booking a holiday.

www.petsallowed.co.uk is set up for customers to search for pet friendly accommodation, places of interest, days out, attractions and places to eat by location, postcode and type of establishment.

To promote this opportunity to pet owners, www.petsallowed.co.uk is  offering all pet friendly establishments a free premium listing for 12 months on its website.  This includes a detailed description, photo gallery, location map, full contact details, website details, and enquiry form that automatically sends customer enquiries to the business owner.

The site is geared for and attracts members from leading hotel groups, such as Red Carnation Hotels and Best Western Hotels, as well as small family run establishments who are keen to accommodate their pet owning customers.

Pet friendly businesses interested in qualifying for a free entry should visit www.petsallowed.co.uk and quote the promotional code LAUNCH2010 after creating their listing. 

East Midlands Tourism Hosts Region’s First Tourist Information Centre Conference

East Midlands Tourism recently staged the region’s first conference for Tourist Information Centres (TIC).

The event provided an opportunity for TICs to learn more about the regional tourism agenda and to network and compare notes on best practice across the region’s network. 

The day included a presentation from Visit England on the new National Tourism Strategy and thoughts on visitor information; a best practice presentation from Chesterfield TIC – Gold Winner in the TIC category of the National Enjoy England Excellence Awards 2009, and a practical workshop on business and personal development techniques.

Feedback from the event has been very positive, as TICs welcomed the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with counterparts and found the event to be a valuable forum to discuss new ideas and improve their own operations. EMT plans on making this an annual event.

Japanese Travel Industry Experiences the East Midlands

Working with Visit Britain Japan and Advantage West Midlands, EMT hosted a visit to the region by representatives from leading Japanese travel trade organisations and tour operators.

This links to the emerging inbound tourism opportunity from the Japanese market, developed in light of Loughborough University’s selection as a training camp for the Japanese 2012 Olympic team.

The tour itinerary across the East and the West Midlands showcased product that is relevant to the Japanese market.

Some of the iconic locations visited were: the potteries – Wedgewood Museum and Royal Doulton; Chatsworth and the Peak District; the Bakewell Pudding shop; Nottingham Castle and city, Loughborough University’s facilities and lunch on the Great Central Railway.

The visit followed Japan Day at Loughborough on the 15 March. Organised by UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) and Business Link Japan, this event was designed to ensure that East Midlands businesses are fully exposed to the business potential that exists for Japanese export and partnerships in the UK, including strong Olympic connections.

National Accessible Scheme

The National Accessible Scheme (NAS), a nationally recognised rating to ensure that accommodation meets the needs of people with physical and sensory needs, is waiving the joining fee for businesses to sign up during 2010-2011.

As over one quarter of the UK population has a long standing health problem or disability, NAS is encouraging businesses to consider their specialist needs and at the same time reap the financial rewards of making businesses accessible to all sections of the population.

NAS can benchmark businesses against national standards for accessibility and award ratings linked to the support given for mobility, hearing and visual impairments.

NAS promotes the fact that accessibility is not all about wheelchairs, and that there are a number of simple steps that can be taken by proprietors to improve accessibility. This could include ensuring televisions have subtitles or providing a vibrating alarm clock for those with hearing impairments, or providing menus and other customer information in a large size font to make life easier for those with visual impairments.

Clutter free rooms and hallways are welcomed by all guests, particularly those who are older or who have arthritis, or who are using crutches.

To take advantage of this offer businesses should call 0845 300 6996 for an information pack and to arrange an Access visit.

Information on creating a relaxing and stress free environment for visitors is also available in the think access Q-book produced my EMT.