Group Travel Partnership

Group Travel Partnership

Partners 2016-17 5 Hotels 4 Blue Badge Guides 7 Food, Drink & Shopping 26 Attractions Great geographical spread Wide variety of activities

2016-17 Budget 8,850 generated from businesses 1,200 contribution from Northumberland Tourism (expenses incurred from shows not included travel & subsistence) 1,000 show sponsorship 300 brochure sponsorship Total budget 11,350

2016-17 Where was it spent? 13% 20% BUDGET SPENT Brochure Distribution 9% 2% 12% Shows Stand UK Inbound Marketing 44%

Activity in 2016-17 Fam trips included ExploreGB 2016, NTGF Australian TAs, EH trip. Attended the Group Leisure & Travel Show and British Tourism & Travel Show as Visit Northumberland Website presence expanded Destination membership to UK Inbound Attended VIBE Email newsletters 40pg Brochure produced in print and online Print adverts in CoachTours UK and online feature and listing. Print advert and bespoke e-shot with Group Travel World Editorial coverage in; TravelGBI, Group Leisure, Coach Tours UK, Group Travel World, Coach Monthly, CDC yearbook Responded to email enquiries and supplied Days Out Leaflet to groups during their stay to encourage repeat visits

Exhibition Shows British Tourism & Travel Show - 2 days in Birmingham in March Group Leisure & Travel Show - 1 day in Birmingham in October Promote brochure & website, add contacts collected to email newsletter database, continue to raise the profile of Northumberland as a group destination, pass on any leads to specific businesses. 1 DMO place, 1 key sponsor place (if same size stand) and 1 BBG place available at each show.

Show Sponsorship Opportunities Key Sponsor Get stand panel designed and printed to promote the sponsor but fits with overall stand design (organised by NT). Make direct contacts with buyers and organisers. 500+VAT per show Spaces are limited and must be booked as early as possible so we know what size stand we need. 2x3m stand is the minimum, as that worked well this year, however we can go bigger if we have more than 1 sponsor.

ExploreGB 2018 ExploreGB 2018 is taking place in NewcastleGateshead, so is an ideal opportunity for the Partnership to capitalise on. We will be working with VisitBritain on the fam trip opportunities that always accompany the event. Other involvement could include: - VisitNorthumberland attendance - As many partners to attend as possible - Look into sponsorship opportunities

Brochure 40 page A5 full colour brochure, 1,000 copies printed & online Attractions, Accommodation, Guides and Food, Drink & Shopping sections with partner adverts Editorial included; closer than you think, itineraries, unique experiences, events (Hadrian s Cavalry focus), map with reference dots. Online impressions 977 Online reads 80

Brochure Sponsorship Opportunities 2017-18 Front Cover Sponsor Front cover image with credit on the contents page. Image to be supplied by sponsor and mutually agreed with NT. Front cover of brochure used in email newsletters and promotion. 200+VAT Back Page Advert Full page advert on back cover 150+VAT Internal Full Page Advert in addition to half page advert included in Partnership. To either be supplied artwork or can be editorial style feature. 100+VAT for 1 page, 175+VAT double page spread

Email Newsletters 4 newsletters sent, 1 more to be sent including new contacts from BTTS Average performance: 28.7% open rate 22.7% click through rate Best click through rate was seen on latest email themed around itineraries. Current number of subscribers: 734 (not including new BTTS contacts or UK Inbound)

Email Marketing Opportunities 2017-18 Bespoke newsletter full newsletter to promote your business. Can be multiple stories or one main feature. Created & sent by NT, content supplied by business. 100+VAT (max 3 per year in total)

Website 4 main pages landing page, towns & travel, itineraries and brochure 9 itineraries, all linked to the group travel listings of the businesses featured. 6 town guides and coach parking information visitnorthumberland.com/groups Unique homepage views +125% Apr-Feb (c.f. same period previous year) Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 2014 2015 2016 2017

2017-18 Budget Projections 9,000 target from Partnership fees 1,000 show sponsorship (min) 500 target for brochure sponsorship 100 target for email marketing Total budget 10,600 remaining 16/17 tbc After production of the brochure ( 2000 est) and costs of attending the shows ( 5,500 est) we could have the following budget remaining (based on target budget): 3,100

What are Northumberland Tourism contributing? Staff resource Web hosting and central point of contact Supplying images to help sell tours PR function responding to calls for editorial, pro-actively sending out press releases/editorial ideas DMO representation at exhibition shows and covering expenses of this Co-ordination of destination marketing Management of email marketing Co-ordination, content writing and advert management for the Guide for Groups

What are you contributing? Funds towards activity Supporting exhibition shows Keeping NT up to date with offers, new developments, etc for promotion Sharing opportunities you come across Referring contacts to our website/other partners (in person/email, via your website, group literature etc) Submit content/itineraries for the website What more can you do?

Remaining Budget Suggestions Feedback from survey & meetings suggests the following options: - Advertising in relevant publications/e-newsletters Trade publications such as Group Leisure, Coach Monthly, Discover Britain for Groups, Coach Tours UK. Many offer editorial if you purchase an advert. Good opportunity to include coverage for a variety of partners in each ad. - Organising a familiarisation visit We could run our own and invite contacts that we hand-pick, but there will still be hosting costs to consider, as well as in-kind contributions needed from partners. This may be better to put on hold considering ExploreGB is coming in 2018 so we will have a lot of fam opps there. - Explore GB Explore GB for speed dates with tour operators/organisers and look at sponsorship opportunities. Explore GB 900 for 1 attendee. - Membership to national or international Trade Associations; ETOA, UK Inbound, GTOA, CTC Costs range from 300 to 1,600 per association and would give us visibility on recognised association websites & in their publications. It is worth keeping some budget flexible so we can respond to any unexpected opportunities.

Next Steps Complete renewals and target new business Plan activity once all partners are finalised Partners update website listings, provide advert/newsletter info promptly when requested as will have short turnarounds.