Reason 1 - #tourismlove during English Tourism Week 2016

We thought that we would take this opportunity to share what we, the team at The Marketing Collective, enjoy about working in tourism and how we’re championing the industry.

Reason 1 – Much more than a place to stay

The ‘staycation” trend was a result of the recession where many Brits choose to holiday at home in the UK. It has been a buzz word across the industry for a number of years, but as the economy recovers, many consumers will be keeping their recessionary habits when it comes to holidays as the importance of value for money remain, which is great news for the hospitality industry.Visit England reports that £18.1 billion was spent by British residents on 92.6 million overnight trips in England, equating to 273 million nights away from home*There are around 33,499 serviced accommodation businesses bed and breakfasts, guesthouses and hotels) providing around 790,707 bedrooms and 1,781,294 bedspaces across England.*At The Marketing Collective we work with many hotels, guesthouses, B&B and self-catering properties across Hampshire, valuing the importance of their contribution to the visitor economy and to the visitor experience.Here’s some of the projects we are involved in:

• Providing marketing and administration support to the Southampton and Region Hoteliers Association and Small Hoteliers/ B&B networks – a network of accommodation providers across region who work together to promote accommodation, the visitor economy, local attractions and the leisure industry.
• Southampton & Hamble Valley Local Accommodation Scheme – Using the VisitEngland’s entry level framework for quality assurances, we launched a local accommodation scheme for Southampton and the Hamble Valley to provide a base and minimum entry level for the promotion of accommodation.
• Guest Guide Magazines – In response to feedback from hoteliers who wished to have a quality, lifestyle based visitor magazine for display in their hotel bedrooms, in 2011 we launched a new series of publications. Now in the sixth year, The Southampton Guest Guide, The Portsmouth Guest Guide and The Winchester Guest Magazine reach well over 1 million readers; providing ideas and editorial features on what to do and see, where to go and where to eat to a captive audience who are eager to discover.
• In 2017 we will be working with local authorities in Hampshire to deliver a series of B&B training seminars to encourage more quality accommodation businesses.

Probably the greatest reason why accommodation venues, businesses and providers fall under our #tourismlove is that they are all much more than just a place to stay. Hotel staff and B&B owners provide valuable information on places to visit – becoming tour guides for guests. Taking time to talk to guests over breakfast, B&B owners can often provide a great snapshot to what the likes, dislikes and opportunities are within a destination. Their knowledge and passion for providing quality experience is outstanding and everyday they champion tourism in England which one of the reasons we love working within tourism as destination marketeers.*Visit England Key facts and Trends 2014