Issue № 24 — Late May 2020

Ideas and opportunities for group travel buyers. Brought to you by the team behind GTO magazine, the authoritative source of group travel knowledge.

Hello from all at GTO magazine!

Oh to be in England, now that spring is here!

Our latest Grapevine reaches you in English Tourism Week, which runs from 25th to 31st May. This annual campaign, championed by Visit England, raises awareness of England's wonderful tourism offer. Clearly, this year, all thoughts are centred around the ongoing impact of the pandemic. As the lockdown slowly eases, perhaps domestic tourism will gain in popularity?
In five of the nuggets below we celebrate England's attractions:- you can discover London's music history; walk (virtually) along six of our most interesting canals; add your memories of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway; look into the geography and myths of 14 historic locations; and virtually visit attractions along the Great West Way.

Grapevine Nuggets

Kaiser Chiefs
at home

Indie rock band Kaiser Chiefs will play a streamed show from home on Saturday 30th May at 8pm as part of the Royal Albert Home series. The season of exclusive online gigs aims to raise money for the Royal Albert Hall and has featured many other big names.

Find out more >>

Canal walks online

As the prospects for national outings improve, why not check out the Canal & River Trust's Top Six Virtual Walks - with a view to taking a (socially distanced) group along in the near future? The six are a varied mix of both urban and country scenery.

Stories of England, past and present

GeoTourist, worthy winners of a Group Travel Award for Innovation a couple of years ago, are offering their Epic England app during lockdown. The program has 14 audio tours across nine destinations so that visitors can experience these wonderful places without leaving home.

Find out more >>

A chat with Paul Endacott

Music tours specialist Paul Endacott discusses how the lockdown has encouraged him to think of new ways of working, and how he is now able to offer his Swinging 60s London musical bus tour to virtual passengers from all over the world.

It's showtime! (soon)

Showcase Cinemas UK hope to be welcoming audiences back from 4th July, and have released an outline of the adaptations they plan to put in place by that date to keep audiences safe. These include restricted capacity and staggered film start times in their 21 UK cinemas.

Find out more >>

Virtual-visit the Great West Way

Visit many of the attractions that are along England's premier touring route the Great West Way. Running from Bristol to London, you can make a virtual visit to places like the Roman Baths of Bath, Cotswold Water Park, Hampton Court and Windsor Castle.

Off you go >>

Europe plans to re-open

Some popular European destinations have announced their provisional plans to re-open to international tourism following the passing of the peak of the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, the British are likely to be last in the queue for the sunbeds.

Memories of days out

May is Local and Community History month in the UK and, to celebrate, North Yorkshire Moors Railway is calling on visitors that have travelled along the line to share their memories with the attraction. Reminisce on happier times via social media channels.

For more details >>

Smart answers to Covid-19

As tourist destinations plan to re-open after the international lockdown, experts predict the increased use of so-called "smart" technologies, helping attractions to implement the safety measures required. But will visitors welcome such surveillance?

Tourism industry news

Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Donmar Warehouse have told the Government that they are in danger of shutting their doors for good due to the pandemic. Other venues around the country are also struggling and Southport Theatre has gone into liquidation.

Read more >>

Tour operator Shearings has collapsed into administration, resulting in the cancellation of 64,000 holidays and the loss of around 2500 jobs. Meanwhile, David Urquhart Travel is to close its coach holiday division, as the coronavirus crisis continues to wreak havoc on the tourism industry.

Read more >>

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