Hello <<First Name>>
An Update From VisitWiltshire
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ONS Report on the Economic Impact of Coronavirus
An ONS report released last week on the economic impact of Coronavirus on different sectors of the UK economy gives further detail on where the contraction occurred. With the tourism and hospitality sectors highlighted as having borne the brunt of the overall 9.9% contraction in 2020. Tourism comprises 6 of the 10 worst impacted sectors of the UK economy. However, there are increasingly positive signs about restrictions on domestic travel being lifted in time, and we understand from speaking to DCMS on Friday that the Government are hoping to publish their Tourism Recovery Plan by early April.
- Air transport - 89.3%
- Travel Agents and Tour Operators - 85.9%
- Tourism Accommodation - 73.3%
- Rail Transport - 64.0%
- Creative Arts and Entertainment - 60.7%
- Domestic Staff - 50.8%
- Aircraft Repair - 49.2%
- Food and Beverage Services - 48.0%
- Museums, Libraries Cultural Service - 38.9%
- Aircraft manufacture - 37.4%
- Alcohol Drink Manufacture - 33.9%
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Mother's Day
We are looking for any suitable content for Mother's Day. This could be in the form of Mother's Day takeaway options, online events & suitable gift vouchers. We will be putting together a Mother's Day blog and will be posting about it regularly on Social Media
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Digital Marketing Opportunities
There are a number of online and digital opportunities for you take advantage of as part of your VisitWiltshire partnership from email marketing, newsletter inclusion, banner adverts and much more. You can see full details of the opportunities here.
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Keep Us Up to Date
If you are running an alternative offering during the new lockdown, please let Helen or Billy know so that we can promote this via social media and the website. This could be takeaway/delivery food and drink, click-and-collect shopping, virtual events or online activities, community support schemes, accommodation for key workers, outdoor spaces remaining open or similar. You can upload events to our What's On pages by completing out online Event Form.
We are beginning to put together some new content on the growing ‘workcations’ trend, in advance of restrictions being eased. If you have a strong offering for visitors looking to work remotely during their trip, please let Helen know.
As always, please let Helen know if you have any messaging you would like us to push on the VisitWiltshire social media channels. This could be news and updates, special offers or just fresh imagery you want to share.
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2021 Digital Publications
There is still a chance to advertise in our 2021 digital Wiltshire publications. We will be including new digital content including virtual tours, videos and reassurance messaging for visitors, please contact Fiona if you have any relevant digital content that we can include. If you placed an advert last year Billy has been in touch with details for this year. If you didn’t place an advert last year but would like to place an advert this year, you can see the prices here and please contact Billy as soon as possible.
Calling all attraction and town partners - submit your 2021 events
We are currently looking for information on events for our publications and website. Ideally, we would like both the name of the event and the exact 2021 date(s) but failing that please send Billy the name of the event and the month in which it takes place or complete our events form for the website.
The aim of this is for keeping Wiltshire in the front of the minds of potential visitors, and we will be promoting events for travel only once restrictions are lifted.
We will be regularly updating these digital publications, so can add events as they are confirmed and things start to open up again.
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Booking Platforms
If your product is bookable online, please let us now which platform you use, as we want to make sure that our website is compatible with as many as possible to allow you to get as much value from your partnership as possible. Please send details to Billy.
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Check Your Product Page
Now is a great time to check your product page to make sure that all the content including opening times and prices are up to date. If you would like to refresh the photography on your page, remember you can have 6 photos for a silver partner and 10 for a gold and all photos must be landscape. If you would like to make additions or changes to your page please contact Billy or Helen.
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Accommodation Industry Meeting
We will be hosting our next accommodation meeting on Thursday 11 March 2021. We will be discussing the latest VisitWiltshire activity, getting an update form businesses and discussing the process to recovery. We are trying to secure a industry relevant guest speaker and will pass on more details when we have them.
If you would like to attend the meeting please let Billy know and he will pass on the Zoom link.
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Online Training Courses
We have recently held a couple of free online training course in the last couple of weeks, Instagram 101 with Naturally Social and Email Marketing with Brighter Side. We are planning on offering a few more over the coming weeks and currently putting this together. If you have any suggestions or requests for subjects you would like us to cover please let Billy know.
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WAVA Meeting
Thank you to everyone who attended our latest WAVA meeting which took place on 9 February. We were joined by Bernard Donoghue, the director of Association of Leading Visitor Attractions who shared advice and discussed challenges and forecasts looking ahead and future plans for recovery. You can see the notes form the meeting here.
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Latest Grants Available
Just a reminder that a number of grants are available for businesses who have been forced to close. The applications are made through your local authority and are now open. If you are located in Wiltshire the best place to find out if your eligible and apply is the Coronavirus business support grants page. They have a dedicated email address for business support queries at covid-19businesssupport@wiltshire.gov.uk and you can Sign up to their newsletter to find out about future funding opportunities as they are launched. For our partners who fall under Swindon Borough Council you can check your eligibility and apply for grants here.
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Tourism Alliance Budget Lobbying
As a Tourism Alliance Board member VisitWiltshire are calling on businesses to ask the Government to provide the following support for tourism businesses as part of this year’s budget;
- Retain the 5% VAT Rate for 2021 and expand it to cover on-premises alcohol sales
- Extend Business Rates Relief and Reform Business Rates
- Extending Furlough Scheme for businesses impacted by social distancing or travel restrictions
We would be very grateful if you would take the time to write to your local MP to help us in the lobbying. You can find a template letter here, which is written so that it is widely applicable to all businesses although you are welcome to tweak it slightly so that it better fits – however, please do not change the three core asks.
You can send it to your local MP using WriteToThem.
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Bounce Back Loans Repayments
The Chancellor has announced repayment flexibilities for Bounce Back Loan borrowers, with the ability to tailor payments according to individual circumstances. The scheme provides the option for small and medium-sized businesses to access finance more quickly during the coronavirus outbreak.
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'We're Good To Go'
VisitBritain has extended the duration of the We’re Good to Go industry standard programme for the next few months to help support the industry by increasing consumer confidence in taking domestic holidays. If you haven't signed up for this scheme yet, we would highly recommend it.
You can now also personalise your certificate with your business name. If you have previously registered with the scheme, you can go back in and insert your business name and have that on your certificate.
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ALVA Webinars
The Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) are holding a number of Webinars that our Attraction partners may find useful in planning for recovery. All of the Webinars will be taking between place 12noon and 1pm and the link is the same for all. http://bit.ly/ALVARecovery21. The schedule is;
Wednesday 17th February: Membership retention. Speakers include the National Trust, Historic Environment Scotland and Chester Zoo.
Wednesday 24th February: Digital Marketing. Speakers include Digital Visitor, Royal Academy and the Royal Albert Hall.
Wednesday 3rd March: Retail. Speakers include Callum Lumsden of Lumsden Design and Paul Ogburn, former Director of Retail, Tate Enterprises.
Wednesday 10th March: F&B and Event Hospitality; Speakers include Steve Chandler, MD of RA Venues, and Tracey Astles, Sales Director RA Venues.
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Bristol Airport Planning Appeal
Bristol Airport is appealing the decision by North Somerset Council to reject its expansion plans. There is now an opportunity for all people interested in Bristol Airport’s expansion to submit their views to the Planning Inspectorate. You can see more details about the expansion, the appeal and how to submit your comments here. The deadline for submissions is 22 February.
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Industry Research
The latest Consumer Sentiment Tracker from VisitBritain is available.
In partnership with Visit Wales, VisitScotland and London & Partners, VisitBritain commissioned research to understand international consumer sentiment towards international travel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Further details can be found here
ALVA's Latest Recovery Tracker is available to view here. The research is hugely insightful, comprehensive and valuable, measuring the changing public mood about the nature of the UK epidemic, and to gauge the effect on people's optimism of the vaccine programme
The DfT figures for transport use are out and show car use is down by 45%, whereas public transport use is down by a much greater percentage – 88% for national rail and 72% for bus services. You can see full results here.
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Travel Trade Update
A Tactical Activity Travel Trade Plan from 1 April 2021 – 31 March 2022 has been drafted and distributed to the travel trade group for input and sign off.
If you have an interest in targeting the travel trade please consider joining the VisitWiltshire travel trade group for 2021/2022. This year more than ever, we will need an aligned and targeted approach to generate further trade business to Wiltshire and the Great West Way.
We are now able to offer bespoke travel trade support for partners. If you would like to join the group or discuss how we can help please do not hesitate to get in touch with Flo.
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Virtual Exhibitions & Events
VisitWiltshire will be attending a number of virtual Travel Trade exhibitions and events to promote Wiltshire for future trade visits. These include:
Explore GB - 1- 5 March 2021 – We will be attending this new virtual event which will include VisitBritain International Business Exchange (VIBE) featuring one-to-one appointments with VisitBritain in-market specialists and three days of one-to-one appointments with international buyers.
ITB Berlin - 9-12 March 2021 - We have registered to attend this event with VisitBritain.
If you are interested in promoting your product to the travel trade and would like to get involved in future trade activity please contact Flo.
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Travel Trade Presentations
Tour operators and wholesalers are busy planning their programmes and contracting for 2021/2022 and beyond. We have been delivering some virtual Great West Way product training sessions to sales teams and agents who are keen to broaden their product knowledge to enable them to sell England's Great West Way. A number of Ambassadors have had the opportunity to take part in these too.
We have presented to Abbey Ireland & UK (East and West) and approx. 30 tour operator members of UKinbound. We will be delivering two webinars to E-Voyages and one to Tour Partner Group later this month.
We’re including Wiltshire businesses in these presentations to Great West Way Official Tour Operator programmes, and have recently secured Wiltshire content in the following new for 2021 programmes:
Ardour Tours
The Carter Compmay
Wanderlust Camper Tours
In addition to these we have been working closely with other DEF projects and the VisitBritain USA team to deliver presentations to a range of USA buyers. To date, these have taken place with Tour Partner Group, Senior Discovery Tours, Europe Express and Tenon Tours. More are scheduled with Britain By Choice, Avanti, GCS and Crystal Travel.
If you are keen to target these buyers or wish to discuss how we can help you target the trade please get in touch.
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Britain Magazine Feature
We have recently secured a great feature on Marlborough in Britain Magazine.
This features in the same issue as a competition the Great West Way is currently running to win 4-night canal boat break on the Kennet & Avon Canal with a chance to explore Wiltshire. You can see the details of the competition here.
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Group Leisure and Travel Feature
Group Leisure and Travel have recently featured our new Great West Way video on their website, which heavily features Wiltshire. This will give the route and Wiltshire some great exposure to Group Travel Organisers who will be planning trips and tours for the future.
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Great West Activity
We have secured Wiltshire in a wide range of Great West Way activity, including in VisitEngland’s upcoming £500k domestic recovery marketing campaign. To find out more see the latest Great West Way update.
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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.
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