6th December 2012, 10 1pm, Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Clacton on Sea

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1 Tourism Update Meeting 6th December 2012, 10 1pm, Princes Theatre, Town Hall, Clacton on Sea The event aims to bring together the District s Tourism providers from all sectors of the market, to discuss the lessons we have all learnt from the 2012 summer season and identify areas for improvement in Welcome & leader s speech; Cllr Peter Halliday Social Media; Elli Constantatou, Visit Essex Table discussion; Current Issues Tea break Table discussion; Ideas Feedback from Tables Local Tourism; Michael Carran, Leisure Manager What makes customer services excellent and how to achieve it; Jo Beard, ASK Learn & Develop Q&A session; Closing summary; Cllr Alan Goggin

2 TOURISM UPDATE MEETING Thursday 6 th December 2012 SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES COUNCILLOR PETER HALLIDAY TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCIL Councillor Peter Halliday is Leader of Tendring District Council (TDC) and is also the Cabinet Member for Finance and Assets. He was first elected to TDC in 2007 and represents the St Johns Ward in Clacton. Cllr Halliday runs his own business in the town and has lived in the District since moving here in He is passionate about the tourist industry and very aware of its importance to Tendring with regards to both the amount of money it brings into the area and the number of full and part time jobs it sustains. Our visitor offer is vital to the economy of the District and we want to work with our partners in the private sector to continue to make improvements to attract more people into the area, he said. Getting together to share information and experiences and plan for the future can only be of benefit to us all. In his spare time Cllr Halliday is a keen bowler with Clacton Bowls Club, follows Colchester United Football Club and can often be seen walking his Great Dane, Storm, along Clacton Seafront. ELLI CONSTANTATOU VISIT ESSEX Although not a native Essex girl, and the only pair of white stilettoes I ever owned is when I got married, I have come to love Essex as if I were a native. As you can see from my surname I m originally from Greece. After having a family I needed to re-evaluate my career prospects. I decided to exploit my passionate personality and my love for our county and so joined the tourism team at Essex County Council. That was nearly 20 years ago. My role is as diverse as the county itself. From identifying product development opportunities, to designing and developing tourism campaigns using a mix of marketing tools to attract new visitors to the county, as well as to inform and encourage Essex residents to enjoy more days out in the county. Over the years I ve developed strong media contacts and relationships which have helped raise the profile of the county on a local, national and international level. I also manage the visitessex.com website which is updated almost daily as well as our social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, You Tube and Flickr. I m keen to promote the whole county, so let s work together and tell the world what Essex has to offer.

3 JO BEARD ASK, LEARN & DEVELOP If you make customers unhappy in the real world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customers unhappy on the Internet, they can each tell 6,000 friends. Jeff Bezos, founder, Amazon.com With a reference in the agenda to social media and the constantly evolving challenges that the digital age has brought, means more than ever, those on the front line of delivering tourism must understand what drives customers expectations of good service and more importantly the impact when it fails. Jo Beard has worked at the forefront of its delivery for 25 years throughout the hospitality sector, including some of the world's best known brands. Originally a senior manager at many luxury hotels including The Connaught and Berkeley, she has, since 2005 run her own bespoke Management and Training consultancy, ASK Learn & Develop Limited. Her clients still number many luxury hotel brands as well as private hospitals, leading visitor attractions and even the staff of the Royal Household. She has a deep understanding of what customer service is and a passion for sharing her knowledge of how to deliver it across every level of any business. MICHAEL CARRAN - TENDRING DISTRICT COUNCIL Mike Carran is the Leisure Manager for Tendring District Council (TDC) with responsibility for Tourism and Events, together with Sports Facilities and the Princes Theatre. Mike has always worked in the customer service sector and has been employed by TDC since The Council s Tourism and Events Team are responsible for promoting the District and organising key events such as the Clacton Air Show and Tour de Tendring. The tourism industry in Tendring employs nearly 15% of the working population in the District, and bringing partners from the public, private and voluntary sectors together can only be a positive thing for this crucial area of our economy, he said. I hope today can be a catalyst for a host of positive initiatives and improvements to th e visitor experience.

4 Marketing and PR activities Elli Constantatou Tourism Marketing & PR Manager

5 Who we are and what we do Visit Essex is one of the 40 official VisitEngland recognised Destination Management Organisations (DMO). Visit Essex is a membership based organisation and is led by a board of industry professionals. Everything we do is for, and on behalf of our members. Our aim is to promote tourism, increase visitor numbers, increase the length of visits and generate income for the county. We work with visitor attractions, accommodation providers and other tourism related businesses (including the travel trade, media and wider partners), to ensure that the county remains a leading visitor destination. Our work encompasses major marketing campaigns, high profile PR work, business support, and the management and promotion of the official Visit Essex brand.

6 Volume and Value Essex receives over 41 million visitors a year The value to the Essex economy is nearly 3 billion During 2011 the district of Tendring welcomed nearly 4,5 million visitors and generated an income of approximately 350 million.

7 2012 Highlights Mobile website launched visitessex.com website attracts nearly 200,000 unique visitors each month Monthly consumer newsletter mailed to over 18,000 subscribers Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, You Tube First viral campaign The Sea is Calling Visitor map Media pack for VisitBritain and VisitEngland and promotion of our videos via VisitBritain s TV channel Press trips publicity generated so far around 425k

8 Live Local, Love Local Launch during English Tourism week March 2013 Activities: Voucher booklet Website pages Radio advertising Poster advertising Editorial coverage Press trips

9 Essex Discovery Coast Aim of campaign: To give the Essex coastline a sense of identity To raise awareness of Essex coastal product Aid in promoting Essex as a versatile visitor destination Drive visitors to the website: visitessex.com/discoverycoast Discovery Coast Campaign received European funding of 112,000 over 3 years

10 Press coverage

11 Overseas Marketing - Holland House of Britain Dutch tour operator and travel agent Working in partnership with Visit Essex House of Britain is developing, promoting and selling short break packages to Essex suitable for the Dutch and Belgium markets on the following themes: Heritage Maritime Coast Countryside & Gardens Outdoor activities Press trips twice a year next one March 2013

12 Press coverage

13 Website and e-marketing

14 Activities Regular content update E-brochure on website Social media: Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Flickr like us, follow us work with us. Consumer e-newsletters Partner channel on visitbritain.tv

15 Shows and exhibitions Vakantiebeurs (Utrecht, Holland) January Tourism & Leisure Show 21 Feb Southend Air Show 25 & 26 May Tendring Show 13 July Clacton Air Show 22 & 23 August Essex Country Show 14 & 15 Sept

16 Print 2012 Essex map 32,000 copies printed for distribution within Essex 2013 Essex visitor guide 40,000 printed copies distributed via national Tourist Information Centres and at the various shows and events Visit Essex is attending. E-brochure also available via website.

17 General press coverage

18 How can you get involved? Become a member Send us press releases and event details Send us special offers for our monthly e-newsletter Offer competitions we can use to promote via a number of platforms Follow us Twitter and like us Facebook Send us your video for promotion on our You Tube channel Get involved in campaign planning by joining a campaign sub group Be a Visit Essex advocate recommend a friend Tell us your training needs Let us know your views via questionnaire

19 Business Tourism 2013 Activities we will be undertaking: Venue Showcase at Crowne Plaza Docklands 7 February 2013 Familiarisation visit in April 2013 M & IT (Meetings and Incentive Travel) magazine feature in May 2013 Venue Showcase at the Southend Cultural Centre on 19 June 2013 Essex supplement in the July 2013 edition of Conference News Exhibitions: Square Meal in September 2013 and Office in October 2013 PR and advertising Venue research

20 Business Tourism 2013 How can you get involved? Become a member Participate in showcases and exhibitions Become part of the sub group Complete research Follow us on twitter and LinkedIn Put our logo on your website Send press releases and special offers for newsletter

21 Visit Essex team: Lisa Bone, Strategic Tourism Manager. Tel: , Elli Constantatou, Tourism Marketing & PR Manager Tel: , Carol Jolly, Membership & Business Tourism Manager Tel: , Correne Dedman, Tourism Officer Tel: ,

22 Tourism in Tendring Mike Carran

23 What does Tourism mean to Tendring? Worth nearly 345m per year 7,500 jobs 15% of employment Nearly 4.5 million day & staying trips who are they, what are their patterns and what do they think?

24 What do our visitor s think?

25 What do we know about our visitors? Where they are coming from How they research On average what they spend What they think

26 Our Visitors?

27 Promoting Tendring

28 Clacton-on-Sea Brightlingsea Dovercourt Frinton-on-Sea Harwich Thank you for listening! Jaywick Manningtree Mistley St Osyth Walton-on-the-Naze

29 Name Title Jo Beard Director, ASK Learn & Develop

30 What makes Customer Service Excellent And How to Achieve It

31 If you make customers unhappy in the real world, they might each tell six friends. If you make customer's unhappy on the internet, they each tell 6,000 friends. Jeff Bezos, founder Amazon.com

32 Customers

33 Service

34 What makes Customer Service Excellent?

35 The Service Experience Product Processes People

36 The Customer is Always the Customer

37 Thank You What Questions do you have?

38 Delegate List First Name Surname Organisation Michael Carran Tendring District Council Jo Needham Tendring District Council Sarah Daniells Tendring District Council Cllr Peter Halliday Tendring District Council Louise Parkes Tendring District Council Michael Brown Frating Parish Council Elli Constantatou Visit Essex Jo Beard ASK Learn & Develop Brian Jennings Frinton & Walton Heritage Trust Jeanette Thomasson Leisure Centre, Tendring District Council Jane Hodges Bufo-Villae Guesthouse Janet King Bufo-Villae Guesthouse Josie Watson Blue Badge Guide Essexdaysout.com Iain Senchell Firs Caravan Park Tim Barrott Ardleigh Parish Council Toby Durston Valley Farm Caravan Park Rick Ackroyd Park Resorts Limited Jenine Collier J&MTravel Mannningtree & District Business Chamber William Weatherill J&MTravel Mannningtree & District Business Chamber Danielle Frei Lifehouse Imogen Baxter Lifehouse Martin Rayner Mistley Parish Council Kerry King Manningtree Town Council Andy Jeffery West Cliff Theatre Tim Sutton Seafronts; Tendring District Council Trisha Brett Beth Chatto Gardens Rob Turner Highfields Caravan Park Mary Radford Travel Lodge Maggie Lulham Robins at Marsh Barn Ray Lulham Robins at Marsh Barn David Housman Adelaide Guest House Pauline Housman Adelaide Guest House Emma Housman Adelaide Guest House Gerald Swinscoe Homestead Lake Park Cllr Karen Yallop Brightlingsea Town Council Tracey Pulford Brightlingsea Town Council John Wade The Cliff Hotel Mr Oleggini The Chudley Guesthouse Mrs Oleggini The Chudley Guesthouse Mandy Rosier Edinburgh Woollen Mill Colin Farnell Harwich Society Andy Rutter Harwich Society Michael Bridges Gnome Magic L Sang Gnome Magic Melissa Diplock Princes Theatre; Tendring District Council (Miss) Y Clarke Cracksteaks Farm Josie Sharpe Blue Flag Café Robert Sharpe Blue Flag Café Paul Nash Clacton Zoo Toni Nash Clacton Zoo Mike Bateson Mike Bateson Consulting Billy Peak Magic City and Clacton Pavilion Kerith Ririe Jaywick Martello Tower Ian Taylor Streets and Seafronts; Tendring District Council