TOURISM
Share of £ 1m funding to promote tourism along Great West Way
Wiltshire ’ s £ 1.5 billion tourism industry , which pre-pandemic supported 28,000 jobs is hoping for a boost this summer thanks to a new funding pot .
Great West Way , the destination organisation working in partnership with 27 destinations to promote the multi-modal touring route between Bristol and London , has been awarded a share of the £ 1 million VisitEngland 2022 ‘ Escape the Everyday ’ destination marketing fund , established to support postpandemic tourism recovery in England .
The funding is being used on a digital and social media marketing campaign promoting urban short breaks on the Great West Way this summer . Cities and towns including West London , Bristol , Bath , Reading , Salisbury , Windsor and Swindon , as well as a range of Great West Way ‘ ambassadors ’ - tourism partners and businesses from across the visitor economy - will feature in the Great West Way campaign .
David Andrews , Chief Executive at Great West Way said , “ We ’ re delighted to have been selected by VisitEngland to receive this funding . The campaign is an important support for tourism businesses who have been hard hit by the pandemic across the last two years and we are aiming to replicate the success of last year ’ s Great West Way ‘ Escape the Everyday ’ campaign which generated an estimated £ 5m visitor spend in local economies across the route .
" We ’ ll be working closely with our town and city destinations to showcase the surprising , contemporary and high-quality urban experiences to be found along the Great West Way and encouraging visitors to explore these alongside our extraordinary heritage and countryside .”
VisitEngland Director , Andrew Stokes , added , “ VisitEngland is very pleased to be delivering this fund to support destinations locally as they align their activities to our national ‘ Escape the Everyday ’ campaign , encouraging more people to discover the fantastic array of tourism products on their doorstep and further afield . The funding will support businesses along the Great West Way who have been working so hard to welcome visitors back and provide a stand-out experience .”
Great West Way welcome hearing from tourism related businesses on the route who would like to find out more about involvement in the campaign . Businesses can contact Great West Way ’ s Head of Marketing , Fiona Errington by emailing : fionaerrington @ GreatWestWay . co . uk .
Photo credit : Great West Way . Inside Salisbury Cathedral by Ioan Said .
The Great West Way route was established in 2017 with support from the UK Government ’ s £ 40 million Discover England Fund , administered by VisitEngland . Managed by Great West Way Ltd , a not-for-profit Destination Management Organisation , the route is developed and promoted in partnership with over 250 investing destinations and tourism businesses , working collaboratively as Great West Way Ambassadors .
The Great West Way Ambassador Network includes accommodation providers , attractions , restaurants , retail outlets , tour guides , activity providers and other organisations . For more information on joining the network contact SteveFossett @ GreatWestWay . co . uk
Jazzbones Creative are specialists in the travel and tourism sector
ADVERTISING FEATURE
Swindon-based with an international portfolio , Jazzbones is a branding and design studio that works with a wide range of companies in diverse sectors . However , work for the travel and tourism sector has become something of a speciality for us for a number of years .
The many travel / tourism clients we have worked with include South Australia Tourism Commission , Imagine Cruising , Anglo Welsh The Narrowboat Holiday Company , Orion Holidays , Chippenham Connected , Swindon Borough Council , Holidays in the Cotswolds , Blunsdon House Hotel , Landmark Hotels and Pride of Britain Hotels .
Mirroring the geographical range of the tourism clients we have worked with is the sheer scope of the work , covering everything from full-on branding exercises , websites and videos to glossy brochures , POS , photography and video production .
More recently we have been developing the marketing strategy for the Visit Swindon destination tourism website ( visitswindon . org . uk ) and social media in partnership with Swindon Borough Council , a logical extension of our efforts supporting local businesses in the travel and tourism sector .
The Visit Swindon website includes a What ’ s On section and all the latest news , plus information pages targeting seven distinct target audiences : An Evening Out , Arts and Culture , A Green Day Out , A Heritage Day Out , Leisure and Activities , A Family Day Out and a Shopping Day Out .
Each section lists a variety of the town ’ s best attractions as well as giving the lowdown on what Swindon ’ s lovely hinterland has to offer .
To make it aspirational and attractive we felt this website should be very image led , so we decided to use large splash images that grab the attention of the audience and clearly show each activity .
Our copywriters also deliver stimulating content focusing on the latest goings-on in Swindon . The final result is an eye-catching website that works hard to get visitors flocking to Swindon , a South Western gem just waiting to be discovered .
Since the pandemic officially ended , Visit Swindon has seen a 130 per cent increase in new users and 77 per cent increase in page views to the website , which shows that people are actively looking for things to do in Swindon , which is great news for the local tourism industry .
We ’ ve also seen lots of great activity and engagement across the Visit Swindon social media accounts with Instagram reach up 359 per cent .
To find out what Jazzbones can do to propel your travel business contact Founder and Creative Director , Nathan Sandhu . We love to talk ! Email : nathan @ jazzbones . co . uk , call 01793 847300 or visit : www . jazzbones . co . uk
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