English Riviera and South Devon Tourism & Business Exhibition to Build on Olympic Legacy
A premier coastal resort in South Devon is fighting back against the recession and targeting new international markets for 2013.
New initiatives to be launched by the English Riviera Tourism Company and partners at a major conference to be held during English Tourism Week have gained the support of VisitEngland as part of a national campaign building on the opportunities for tourism growth presented by the Olympic legacy.
English Tourism Week runs from 16 – 24 March 2013 and James Berresford, Chief Executive, VisitEngland has agreed to be a keynote speaker at a special tourism industry event organised by the English Riviera Tourism Company in Torquay on 21 March, as part of this national initiative.
Carolyn Custerson, Chief Executive of the English Riviera Tourism Company said, “We are delighted that VisitEngland has chosen to speak at this key tourism event on 21 March with a talk entitled ‘Opportunities for Tourism Growth’. VisitEngland’s visit is a huge vote of confidence for all the new initiatives that the English Riviera Tourism Company and our partners are launching during English Tourism Week.
"As a premier resort, we worked very closely with VisitEngland during the 2012 Olympics and we are determined to make the most of the Olympic Legacy. An increase in overseas visitors is already being reported for 2013 with new opportunities for tourism growth from emerging markets including China, India and Brazil being seen.’’
The English Riviera Tourism Company participated in high profile promotional events during 2012 to target international journalists at the Tower of London and the Orient Express, which drove a large number of international press and media to visit the South Devon resort in 2012.
Increasingly the English Riviera Tourism Company is reaching new international markets as a result of its ongoing investment in digital destination marketing, supported by leading national online destination experts New Mind and local search engine optimisation experts e-Strategy. Both companies are top line sponsors for the event on 21 March with e-Strategy presenting on the Social Media Revolution.
VisitEngland, New Mind, TripAdvisor, e-Strategy, local Herald Express, Visit South Devon, the Federation of Small Businesses, English Riviera Attractions, Torbay Tourism Association and Torbay’s elected Mayor, Gordon Oliver as well as over 110 exhibitors and over 300 pre-registered delegates representing the local tourism and hospitality industry will join representatives from the English Riviera Tourism Company who are organising the exhibition and conference.
21st March 2013 – Riviera International Conference Centre, Torquay
CONFIRMED PROGRAMME:
10am - Welcome from Chris Hart, Chair of the ERTC Board of Directors
10.15am - Gordon Oliver, Elected Mayor of Torbay
CONFERENCE PROGRAMME - KEY NOTE SPEAKERS:
12.30pm –James Berresford, Chief Executive, VisitEngland presents 'Opportunities for Tourism Growth' (note: Interviews available at 1pm on the day – see below)
2.30pm - Alistair MacGregor from TripAdvisor presents 'Maximizing on web customer platforms'
3pm - Stuart Devlin, e-strategy presents 'The Social Media Revolution'
The English Riviera and South Devon Tourism and Business Exhibition will see a raft of exciting initiatives launched on the day including:
1. 100 Days of Prizes on the English Riviera – a new National Facebook Marketing Campaign for 2013 to celebrate the 100th edition of the official English Riviera Guide.
2. NEW 2013 English Riviera Attractions Passport offering discounts for all major attractions across the resort.
3. Hop 12 - A New Scenic Bus Route operated by Stagecoach – with an inclusive ticket and free map so tourists can hop on and off to visit attractions en route.
4. 2013 Agatha Christie Festival Programme New events, top crime authors and a new ‘Festival Pass’ to be announced following the festival achieving two major awards in 2012.
5. English Riviera and South Devon Tourism Awards 2013 Launching for the second year and organised by the Herald Express to showcase all that is great about tourism across the English Riviera and South Devon.
6. English Riviera 2014 Promotional Partners Programme Launching for the third year and now attracting over 350 tourism businesses to work together as ‘Team English Riviera’ to promote the resort to the world!
There will also be free ‘Speed-Mentoring’ sessions for participating businesses as part of the event. The topics have been selected to reflect the issues that are recognised as key ingredients for success in these challenging times: marketing, PR, social media, advertising, customer care, market research, and going green, plus money will be raised through a raffle in aid of the Torbay Holiday Helpers Network.
Views will be shared during the day on Twitter (#ETW13). The event is open all day for trade visitors who should pre-register by emailing angela.wright@englishriviera.co.uk or calling 01803 296296.
The doors will be open to the public in the afternoon, free of charge with no need to pre-register.
For further information visit http://www.englishrivieratourism.co.uk/ertc-events.php
Photo: Carolyn Custerson, Chief Executive, English Riviera Tourism Company For more about what to do and where to stay on the English Riviera visit www.englishriviera.co.uk
