Gardens & Gourmet poised to boost visitors to Peak and Derbyshire
Key overseas markets in Europe and the USA are set to be targeted as the Peak District and Derbyshire celebrates news that it is one of several tourist boards to win a share in a £40 million push to promote England to the world.
Tourism bosses at Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire are delighted to be among five leading destinations to successfully bid for £240,000 from a first-year pot of £6.5 million in national tourist board VisitEngland’s Discover England Fund (DEF).
The tourist board will work in close collaboration with colleagues at Visit Kent, Marketing Cheshire, Visit Essex and Visit Herts to develop a Gardens & Gourmet project showcasing each area’s outstanding gardens and first class culinary offer.
The first-year DEF funding will be complemented by a total of £85,000 in in-kind contributions and match funding from the five destination teams.
It will focus on both established markets such as Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands and the USA, as well as potential staying visitors from the UK, as part of VisitEngland’s strategy to ensure that England stays at the cutting edge of the competitive global tourism industry.
The main aim will be to create bookable packages for international tourists that will not only admit them to attractions, but will also feature insider tips, local recommendations and interactive media to give them a compelling and high-quality experience of the English countryside.
As well as playing a prominent role in the national offer, Marketing Peak District and Derbyshire will develop its own cluster of gardens and gourmet experiences, building on existing partnerships to involve leading attractions, places to stay and eat and personal recommendations and fresh perspectives from local ambassadors.
Research will be carried out from now until the end of March 2017, with a view to launching the packages next spring, in advance of the new RHS Chatsworth Flower Show 2017, which will be staged from June 7 to 11.
Jo Dilley, Managing Director at Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire, said:-
“This is great news for the area during VisitEngland’s Year of the English Garden, and also as we look forward to the launch of the first-ever RHS Chatsworth Flower Show, which will be the focal point for much of our activity,
“Like the other destinations involved, the Peak District and Derbyshire has an extremely strong gardens and food and drink offer, and this will give us the opportunity to develop strategies to market it more effectively and bring in more staying visitors from both the UK and around the world.
“We’ll also be incorporating one of our unique selling points – the ancient custom of Well Dressing, exclusive to the area – as an added bonus, and look forward to working with a range of partners to capitalise on both our individual and shared assets in an increasingly competitive global industry.”
The project is one of seven unveiled at the start of the three-year DEF campaign by VisitEngland to capitalise on England’s wide ranging assets – everything from golf and long distance walks to seafood and a self-guided activity app.
Competition for cash was fierce. Sally Balcombe, Chief Executive of VisitEngland said:-
“We had an exceptionally high number of submissions, far outweighing the allocated funding available. Following a rigorous applications process we are delighted to work closely with those excellent winners on building world-class bookable tourism products showcasing the best of England to international and domestic visitors.
“The destinations in this successful project feature outstanding gardens and local food and drink offers, which will give visitors a new, high-quality sensory experience of rural England.”
