Agenda item

Visitor Manager Update

To receive an update on the above titled item by Julia White, Visitor Manager.

Minutes:

Julia White, Visitor Manager outlined the above titled item. Members were told that traffic to the online shop and box office was up by 28% compared to 2017. There had been mixed performance across all visitor attractions with some ticket sales up as much as 55% and others had been down by 30%. Members were informed that there were 17 hotel partners signed up to the concierge scheme and that ths had been the best year to date for Windsor Castle ticket sales. Traffic to the windsor.gov.uk site was up by 22% year on year and visits to the website during May were the highest on record. Members were told that uptake to Twitter was up by 22%, Facebook was up by 17% and Instagram was up by 44%. It was recorded that May 2018 was the best month for every social media channel/platform with similar performance in October. There had been twice as many new followers compared to previous records. Visit Windsor had risen on social channels from position 50 to 20 in the English Tourism Social Media Index. The Forum were told that coverage tracked to date had an estimated value of £714,457 and that the total estimated reach was £32.3 million.

 

Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Events

 

Members were told that there had been an average reach of 17,000 per month on Twitter and LinkedIn. Followers included, event agencies, event executives, Senior PAs, venues, bloggers/influencers and tourism industry partners who regularly retweeted posts to their wider audiences.  Members were told that the Twitter audience was comprised of 70% UK following and 24% from USA/Canada. Email marketing had been sent to over 3000 event executives, PAs and Corporate bookers. The Open rate on emails was 18% and a click rate of up to 10%. There had been two successful Solus campaigns for Amber Lakes and Sir Christopher Wren Hotel with great responses on their event and sales promotion. The Forum were told that enquiries through the agency partner were valued at £800,000 and that confirmed bookings to date were £127,790. There had also been six hosted buyer trips in 2018, the BNC Show and networking event, MeetGB, partnerships with P.A life and Meet Beyond London.

 

Tourism Action Plan 2017-2020

 

Members were updated on the three task groups, Marketing and Product, Travel and Transport and People. Members were told that the Marketing and Product Task Group had been looking and developing Windsor as London’s Country Estate. Work was being carried out to ensure that Windsor was looked at as a family discussed destination and to grow business tourism across the Royal Borough. The Travel and Transport Task Group had been looking at routes and the On Demand Bus Services along with Bike Hire Schemes across the locality. Members were told that the People Task Group had been working on the skills gap and perceptions of the industry through research conducted by Dr Karen Cripps at EBC. The Forum were told that English Tourism week was scheduled for the 30th March to 7th April 2019 and that the focus was to promote careers in the Tourism and Leisure industry. Further work was being carried out to seek new talent and to promote apprenticeships.