Hello <<First Name>>
An update from VisitWiltshire
|
|
Re-opening on 4 July
The government has announced that the next stage of re-opening of businesses can take place on 4 July. This applies to a number of our partners including accommodation, food and drink and attraction businesses.
The government has released top line guidance for the visitor economy, which includes;
- Hotels and other guest accommodation (including self-catering accommodation, B&Bs, hostels, camping, holiday homes, caravan parks, boats and other types of accommodation including short-term letting). This guidance should be read in conjunction with the working safely in hotels and other accommodation guidance.
- Indoor and outdoor attractions (e.g. arcades, walking tours, theme parks, family entertainment centres, static funfairs, zoos, and aquariums). The events and entertainment guidance may also be useful for attractions that move around (e.g. roving funfair)s to be published shortly.
- Although not included in announcement of businesses that can reopen on 4th July, the guidance also covers business events and consumer shows (e.g. events taking place in meetings, conference, convention and exhibition centres),
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/working-safely-during-coronavirus-covid-19/the-visitor-economy
At the end of this top level guidance there is a section on further guidance which contains links to protocols that have been developed to help different types of businesses implement this guidance on their premises.
The government has also released updated guidance for Pubs and Restaurants. You can see the document here.
More general guidance has also been issued on what you can and can’t do after the 4 July here, and some FAQ’s here.
|
|
Keep us up to Date with Re-opening Information
After this week’s announcement on the re-opening on 4 July, please can all partners intending to open on or around this date please send us their plans and dates for re-opening so that we can update the website and include them in our social media campaigns for re-opening. Please send information to Billy or Helen.
We have new blog posts live about attractions reopening and activities reopening, with further blogs planned around retail, food and drink, and accommodation. If you haven’t been included and would like to be, please let Helen know
|
|
Competition Prizes
To keep Wiltshire at the front of people's minds and get them dreaming of a future visit to our county, we are putting together a special "This Time Next Year" competition. We will be giving away a trip to Wiltshire for the lucky winners to enjoy in Summer/Autumn 2021, and will promote the competition across all our digital channels. If you are an accommodation, attraction, activity or food/drink partner and would like to contribute a prize to the competition, please let Helen know.
|
|
Call Out for Content
As always, please let Helen know if you have any messaging you would like us to help promote on social media.
If you have upcoming events (whether virtual or in-person), you can upload these using our website event form
|
|
Certification Schemes
VisitEngland ‘Good-to-Go’
The ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard and supporting mark means businesses across the sector can demonstrate that they are adhering to the respective Government and public health guidance, have carried out a COVID-19 risk assessment and check they have the required processes in place. The scheme is free to join and open to all businesses across the sector.
Businesses just need to complete a self-assessment through the online platform including a check-list confirming they have put the necessary processes in place.
An ‘alert’ system has also been set up to ensure that businesses signed up to the ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard are notified if there are changes to the official guidance
Alongside the industry standard, VisitEngland have launched a ‘Know Before You Go’ public information campaign to reassure visitors as restrictions are lifted, on what it is safe to do and when, and sign-posting to information before travelling. You can take part in the campaign and download a free toolkit. For full details visit the website.
AA
The AA scheme is also now live and can be accessed here https://www.ratedtrips.com/aa-covid-confident. This is not another set of Guidelines This also an online, free COVID Certification Scheme.
|
|
App for B&B’s
We have become aware of an app that a number of our accommodation partners may find useful. With the current situation paper guest welcome binders and associated attraction flyers are no longer fit for purpose. 'Touch Stay' is an easy-to-use platform that allows you to put all your information (text, photos, video, links, social pages, etc) online and then send your guests a link to access the info. You can add or edit your information whenever you want and it’ll automatically update the guest view. It works on all devices: phones, tablets, and desktop/laptops. Priced at £80 a year it’s very affordable.
They have lots more info on their website, including this example of a sample guidebook. If you’d like to know more please contact their CEO Andy McNulty, on andy@touchstay.com
|
|
Industry Research and Updates
VisitBritain’s Consumer Tracker Report (week 4)
Key findings from the third wave visitor sentiment tracker from ALVA.
The Professional Association of Self-Caterers UK (PASC UK) sends out a weekly update newsletter specifically aimed at that sector. This is available free of charge by emailing chair@pascuk.co.uk or you can download from the website at https://www.pascuk.co.uk/covid-19.
Whilst we all concentrate on getting ready for re-opening it’s worth bearing in mind all the other issues that we have to consider. A great resource for this is the Visit England Pink Book. It is the go-to source for everything regulations based in self-catering. It is available free of charge as an online resource at;
https://www.visitbritain.org/business-advice/know-your-legal-obligations
|
|
Accommodation Industry Meeting
We held our latest Accommodation Industry Meeting on Thursday 18 June. Please find the meeting notes here. We were fortunate to be joined by Anthony Rawlings, from Digital Visitor and you can see a recording of his talk here. Password: 9Y*9%^2@
We are holding our next meeting Thursday 9 July at 2pm with guest speaker David Weston, Chairman of B&B Association who will be giving an update on B&B issues, best practice, guidance, and how the B&B Association can help. If you are an accommodation partner and would like to attend, please contact Billy
|
|
WAVA Meeting
We held our most recent Wiltshire Association of Visitor Attractions Online Meeting on Tuesday 16 June. We were fortunate enough to be joined Bernard Donoghue who shared advice and discussed the challenges for re-opening and plans for recovery.
You cans see the notes from the meeting here.
|
|
VisitBritain Webinars
VisitBritain are releasing a series of webinars drawing on expert insight from within VisitBritain/VisitEngland and across the travel industry, offering practical advice for tourism businesses and valuable data-led insight from global teams. The programme will start with Spotlight on inbound and domestic research and insights on Tuesday 30 June. You can see the full programme here.
|
|
Keep Up-To-Date
There is a COVID-19 advice page on the VisitWiltshire website for businesses. The page details the latest government guidance, information from travel authorities and some useful resources. We are regularly updating this page with the latest information.
VisitWiltshire Advice Page
The page also includes the latest research carried out by VisitEngland/VisitBritain and the details of the various grants, loans and support for businesses being provided by the government. You can also follow us on our @VisitWiltsBiz account for more updates.
If you are still unclear on what support you are entitled to, please don’t hesitate to contact Billy and he will ensure it reaches the relevant channels.
|
|
|
|
