News & blogs
England's Literary Greats Discover England Fund Project
18th September 2018
The £40m Discover England Fund (DEF) has been one of the few opportunities for destinations to collectively bid for internationally focused product development grant funding in recent years. This meant that there was an obvious opportunity to exploit the tourism potential of famous literary figures such as Shakespeare and Jane Austen as they have a significant following across the world and in the United States in particular. The Shakespeare 400th and Jane Austen 200th ann…
Forty horses, twenty riders, and two sunny days in Queen Victoria's backyard
29th July 2018
Anyone working in a heritage attraction will know the challenge of delivering exciting and captivating events within a carefully managed historic environment. The requirement to generate additional commercial income and deliver a quality visitor experience needs to be balanced against the historic context of the site and the need to preserve the historic fabric and collection.
This was the same challenge we faced when making the decision to hold a Horse Trials event at Osborne H…
CPD - An Amazing Opportunity
29th May 2018
Many years ago, as a destination manager and TMI member, I received a CPD invitation to take part in a seven-day European study visit in Iceland. My eagerness knew no bounds and several months later there I was, with a large group of tourism professionals in an outdoor thermal pool at midnight meeting counterparts from Scotland, Iceland, Belgium, Holland, Estonia, Latvia and Italy.
Our group of around 60 people saw places, met people and participated in honest and open appraisals…
Accessibility within tourism
A personal perspective by work placement student Amy Holloran
Despite legislation, there are still many people who face challenges due to a significant lack of awareness of the need for greater accessibility within destinations, attractions and other tourism facilities.
I have been fortunate to work within a Charity called Revitalise Respite Holidays, which specialises in providing respite holiday care for disabled people and their carers. Revitalise firmly believe that disabl…
Tourism and hospitality recruitment crisis
In mid-May, with an exhale of bated breath, coupled to a greater air of confidence, the industry embraced Step 3 of the Governments Road Map and looked positively ahead to the ‘once in a sector’ staycation opportunity that lay ahead of us. Although mindful that challenges and restrictions remained, there was a sense of normality, and routine returned to businesses.
At that stage, no one foresaw the extent of the problem and the perfect storm that was brewing relating to recruitment …
Visitor management?
Are you feeling happy to see your destination full of visitors, and businesses with full calendars? After months of empty rooms and attractions, it feels good to see the tourism industry starting to get back on its feet.
The one consistent element of these difficult times has been that we’ve had to learn and adapt as we go. The need to try different approaches is ongoing, even now most businesses have re-opened.
Should we congratulate ourselves on a destination marketing…