New Event: Southern Staffs under Tourism Spotlight

23.04.08

Southern Staffordshire will be firmly in the sights of the UK travel trade later this year.

The tourism industry there is gearing up for a special familiarisation event that will showcase the very best that this sometimes undiscovered part of the country has to offer to potential visitors.  

The Southern Staffordshire Group Travel Showcase 2008 takes place October 18-20th and is based at the popular Folio Roman Way Hotel in Cannock.

The event could attract between 40-50 attendees representing around 20-25 touring organisations and companies. Group travel organisers – known in the travel trade as GTOS – as well as tour operators and coach operators, are all being invited to attend this prestigious initiative.

Commissioned by Cannock District and South Staffordshire Councils, supported by numerous tourism businesses and arranged by UK group travel specialists Steve Reed Tourism from Northumberland, the three day set piece aims to both raise awareness and to generate new and additional group travel bookings for the tourism economy.

The event is an opportunity for the businesses involved to achieve a higher profile nationally and crucially, to attract the on-going spending power of coach parties and groups of visitors to local hotels, attractions, destinations and venues.

Attractions such as Shugborough Hall and Gardens; Cannock Chase; Moseley Old Hall; the National Memorial Arboretum; Weston Park; Tamworth Castle and Halfpenny Green Vineyard are being lined up for the showcase. But these are just some of the exciting stops for the UK tour buyers - other sites are still being added to what will be a memorable programme.

To help the Southern Staffordshire tourism industry to prepare fully for this unique event, a special event entitled ‘Footfall: Visitors Mean Business’ has been arranged on Wednesday 7th May at the Roman Way Hotel from 9.30am until 1.000pm. Steve Reed, Director of Steve Reed Tourism Ltd will be the keynote speaker.

Reporters and Photographers are invited to join the group at the Roman Way Hotel at 1.00 pm for a photo call and a chance to talk about the forthcoming event.

Each Coach Worth 25 Cars

Karen Ward is the Tourism Officer for Cannock District Council:

‘We’re very much looking forward to this event and see it as a way to focus upon the real importance of group travel to our tourism industry.

‘The group travel showcase will provide the means to increase the visibility of our area and importantly, it will help generate new bookings for our tourism industry – but we must prepare fully for this event and that is why we have arranged for the ‘Footfall’ session,’ explains Karen

The familiarisation visit will take in whirlwind tours across Southern Staffordshire and there’ll also be a ‘Meet the Buyer Workshop’ during the event when the wider tourism industry can meet the buyers face to face in a business-like setting.

‘The event has the capability to make significant impacts for the regional tourism industry, but only if the tourism industry and businesses involved all fully appreciate how to make the most of the showcase,’ says Steve Reed    

‘If the buyers like what they see then new business in the form of bookings will be the result – but it is vital to ensure that the event is only the start of a structured and considered approach to gaining the group bookings. After all, each coach is worth the spending equivalent of more than 25 cars and is far less polluting too!’

For further information, contact Steve Reed on 0786 7788 754 or Karen Ward on [01543] 462 621