THE ROYAL BOROUGH OF WINDSOR & MAIDENHEAD Visitor Management & Marketing Review of 2012 Executive Summary None of us really knew what 2012 would bring in terms of visitor numbers and spend but we were all certain that it was going to be a remarkable year and one that would not be repeated in most of our lifetimes. HM The Queen s Diamond Jubilee celebrations and the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games gave the Royal Borough an unprecedented opportunity to host a variety of events that would showcase the destination on the world stage. Economic problems rumbled on across Europe and North America and then there was the weather! After draught forced a hose pipe ban in March who could have predicted one of the wettest years on record? It is too early to know for sure how the tourism industry has performed nationally, regionally and locally however early estimates from VisitBritain for the period January to August indicate 0% change in volume of inbound trips compared with the same period in 2011, however, overseas visitor spend is up 3%. The South East experienced a small decrease in the volume of overseas visitor trips (down 0.4%) in the early part of the year however expenditure increased by 10%. Over the first eight months of 2012, both volume and value of tourism day visits taken in England increased by 11% compared with the same period in 2011. GBTS (Great Britain Tourism Survey) figures indicate that domestic overnight trips within England are down 2% year on year (January to August) although the amount spent has risen by 4% over the same period. The number of business trips taken has risen by 2% compared to the same period last year. Volume and value figures for the Royal Borough will be available when we carry out an economic impact study in 2013 but anecdotal evidence from tourism partners indicates mixed results with the majority either ending the year flat against 2011 or hitting targets for 2012. Like London, however, our businesses suffered the stay away effect of the Olympic Games and visitor numbers were significantly down during August. Thankfully visitors had merely postponed their trips rather than cancel them and the bounce back in September was immediate with Windsor Castle in particular reporting record numbers. Throughout this unusual year it was business as usual for the Visitor Management & Marketing Team. Working with local industry partners we tried to maximise every opportunity to encourage visitors to stay longer in the borough and spend more money in the local economy. Headline Figures 1.1 million unique visits to www.windsor.gov.uk. 218,500 worth of bookings placed with local accommodation providers. 90,000 over the counter and 8,500 telephone enquiries at the Royal Windsor Information Centre. 16,837 attraction and event tickets sold providing a further 374,000 to the local visitor economy. Press coverage reached over 145 million people and was valued at more than half a million pounds.
Digital More and more travellers are researching destinations online and there is more demand than ever before to access accurate and up-to-date information in an instant. In 2012 visits to Windsor.gov.uk topped 1.5 million (125,000 per month), more importantly we had 1.1 million unique visitors and 5 million page views. In November 2011 we launched our destination iapp and in October 2012 our Android app went live making it easier than ever before for people on the move to access information about where to stay, what to do, where to eat and shop locally. Our enewsletter was received by more than 20,000 people this year and has proved a valuable tool for tourism partners to promote seasonal offers, capture customer details through competitions and communicate what s on and why stay in the Royal Borough. There has been a lot to tweet about in 2012 and we now have more than 1,000 followers. Visitor Marketing Domestic Travel Trade We attended a number of exhibitions targeted at domestic group travel organisers, coach and tour operators namely Excursions and Tourism South East s series of Group Travel Fairs. We produced an online Travel Trade Guide featuring a full range of attractions across the borough interested in attracting groups. This is available to download from the website and was promoted to members of the Group Travel Organisers Association, UKinbound and the Coach Tourism Council. A small supply of hard copies was printed for use at exhibitions in 2012. Visitors also want to be able to purchase their trips online and this year 29% of accommodation bookings made through the visitor service were made online. Sales of accommodation, attraction and event tickets via the website rose 85% after the addition of a new box office system in April. A strong focus on search engine optimisation ensured the site retained its number one position on Google, Bing and Yahoo. Our continued membership of organisations such as GTOA, CTC, UKinbound and TSE allowed us to communicate events and activities in the borough with a large audience of domestic travel trade. On May 31st we were delighted to host James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland on his first visit to Windsor & Eton. He wrote afterwards, You have a truly unique and exceptional product in the Borough and from those I met, clearly, a huge passion for quality and welcome.
International Travel Trade The Royal Borough has been involved with Tourism South East s Go! Asia campaign since it began seven years ago. The campaign s key focus has been China and Hong Kong in Asia, Australia and New Zealand in the Pacific and South Africa. Activity includes representation at domestic and international events, hosted visits and PR and all of this is supported with a brochure, a website and USB sticks loaded with factsheets and press information. In 2007 TSE joined forces with trade partner, China Holidays, one of the largest outbound tour operators in China (operating as Hello Britain in China). In 2012 the Royal Borough has featured in or had representation at: Destination Britain & Ireland exhibition Bangkok Chinese Embassy familiarisation visit Tourism South East brochure Chinese version Hello Britain Directory China Trade Sales Mission Shanghai China International Travel Market Hello Britain e-newsletters TSE Trade e-newsletter to 631 international trade contacts. In The Netherlands we featured on the South East stand at Vakantiebeurs, one of the largest consumer shows in Europe. In Paris collateral in French was presented at a Meet the French Trade event and in Germany TSE s consultant made three visits to the country as part of the German Trade Mission. The Borough was represented in meetings with key German tour operators in major cities across the country. All these activities were supported with collateral including USB sticks, sales/fact sheets in French and German and web pages. And in London we attended the VisitBritain International Business Exchange to promote the Borough to representatives from their overseas offices and the European Tour Operator s event March Market Place where we had 60 meetings with operators over two days. Business Tourism We are part of the London Heathrow Gateway campaign run by London & Partners, the official convention bureau for London. The website features a range of hotels with conference facilities close to Heathrow Airport along with opportunities for leisure extenders, transport links and options to visit other parts of the UK. The Borough s proximity to the airport makes it ideal not only for meetings and events but also for pre and post conference activity and leisure breaks. Northern Europe is still important in terms of target markets for the Royal Borough and working again with TSE we participated in various trade activities designed to raise awareness of all the destination has to offer. In Brussels we were represented at Travel! The Workshop targeted at group travel organisers, tour operators and travel trade associations in Belgium and The Netherlands. The Royal Borough is also featured on VisitEngland s dedicated meetings industry website MeetEngland offering suggestions for venues and incentive travel.
VB TV stats: Viewed in 216 countries worldwide Unique monthly users 1,344,737 Average video views 2.15 per visit Bounce rate 18.92 Facebook fans 755,178 Our business tourism activity is supported by our Official Venues Directory which is printed biennially and appears on the website as an e-brochure. Our venues partners also receive full listings within the conference and events section of the website. Consumer Marketing Whilst most of our activity focuses on working with influencers i.e. the travel trade, press and media, some of our initiatives target consumers directly and in the last couple of years we have participated in TSE s Time For Us campaign. Targeted at the domestic short breaks market this campaign provided the royal borough and its partners with a range of national coverage including: ½ page editorial feature in the Sunday Telegraph supplement March 25th Entry on the Time for Us website A flash banner advert on the Time For Us website for 5,000 impressions. Inclusion in two e-newsletters We set up our own partner channel on VisitBritain TV linked through Windsor.gov.uk and featuring various promotional videos from the Borough, local attractions and hotel partners. A two-day visit to Ascot, Windsor & Maidenhead has been filmed and will be added to VisitBritain TV and the Royal Borough channel early in 2013. We recognise that whilst many visitors like to do their initial research online there are many that still like to receive information in a printed format. This year we produced a suite of literature including:
Media We have a very strong focus on press and PR activity which this year gave us a return on investment of 33: 1. In 2012 the value of PR coverage far outperformed previous years and reached an advertising equivalent value of 598,000. Coverage of the Royal Borough was seen by 145 million people. With features still coming in these figures are set to rise even further. In the last 12 months we hosted 31 press visits and assisted another 20 enquiries from writers around the world including Japan, India, Hong Kong, the Middle East, Brazil, Poland, India, Taiwan, USA, Canada, Australia, Amsterdam and Spain. Both episodes were reproduced online (audience 4 million) plus 3 homepage links. Each link was worth c 30,000. During the Olympic fortnight we organised stand up locations for broadcast rights holders such as Nine News Australia and BandSports Brazil. We also worked with NBC to arrange filming within Windsor Castle as part of a series of short stories about London and the Home Counties. We managed 24 filming requests and made arrangements for another 22 crews including 13 international film crews from China, USA, Brazil, Spain, Italy, Australia and the Middle East amongst others. We were represented at media events at the Tower of London and aboard the Orient Express. We even organised the official launch of the London 2012 GB Rowing Team on the Long Walk in Windsor. Coverage has been extensive, for example in China two 25-minute episodes of Afternoon Tea (chat show style programme) filmed from the Long Walk with Windsor. gov.uk mentioned at the end of each episode reached an audience c. 60 million.
British TV was also keen to film in the borough and we hosted ITV filming Ade in Britain and Come Dine With Me and the BBC for the ONE Show. Our online media centre provides journalists with a one stop shop for story lines, filming locations and protocols. Our PR, LiveTourism, worked with tourism partners to create: Itineraries including River Thames (by foot, bicycle and boat) 6 x top 12 themed ideas Jubilees, Proposals, Royal things to do, Live like a Royal, Olympic Connections, Royal occasions 3 x media spokespeople (including Alain Roux) 6 x filming locations 5 x stand-up filming positions Royal Windsor Information Centre Over the course of the year 90,000 people made an enquiry at the Information centre. A further 8,500 telephone calls were made to the centre. Over-the-counter enquiries in 2012 were equally split between borough residents, overseas visitors and UK travellers showing how popular the service has become with local people who benefit from a town centre box office facility and preferential rates. The top three reasons to visit the information centre were for general information on the area, to buy tickets for attractions and events or a specific enquiry. With a 90% satisfaction rating for customer service it seems the team did a great job of welcoming visitors from all over the world. The accommodation booking service remains an important part of the service provided by the team and despite increased competition from commercial online booking engines this year we placed business locally valued at 218,500. We work with all types of accommodation from five star hotels to B&Bs and self-catering properties in all parts of the borough and some further afield. Our promotional film features on the home page of Windsor.gov.uk, on YouTube and on our partner channel on VisitBritain TV. It has been used to promote the Borough at events with our twin towns in Europe and introduces every WorldHost training course delivered by East Berkshire College. It even appeared on the big screens on the Long Walk during The Queen s Muster and Parade. In 2012 we branched out into the events market winning accommodation contracts for the Royal Windsor Horse Show, the Diamond Jubilee Pageant, Windsor Festival and the World Rowing Championships in 2013. A lot of work has been done to encourage weekend and short breaks and the team has supported local attractions, event organisers and accommodation providers with the Concierge Scheme and a new box office facility.
We ve made it easy for our accommodation partners to offer their guests a variety of packages including an overnight stay. Customers have also benefitted from an easier way to build their own itineraries and purchase online. The result was sales of 16,837 tickets since April with a value of 374,000 to the local economy. In 2012 RWIC Box Office supported: The Diamond Jubilee Pageant Royal Windsor Horse Show Windsor Spring Festival Windsor Festival The Globe Theatre Windsor Contemporary Art Fair Royal Ascot Windsor Ice Rink Festivo The Messiah Legoland, Thorpe Park, Chessington French Brothers Boats, The Savill Garden Ascot Racecourse, City Sightseeing Windsor & Eton Brewery, Guided Walking Tours The Information Centre also acts as agent for Windsor Castle/hotel packages. Working with the Royal Collection Trust the team manages a scheme which allows hotels to promote the castle as part of a weekend or short break. There is no other way for approved hotels to get a better deal on Windsor Castle tickets and rather than having an agency voucher, which would need to be exchanged at the Castle admission centre, hotel guests are given a ticket giving them faster entry to the attraction. Skills & Training In partnership with People 1st and East Berkshire College we introduced Principles of Customer Service. This world-class training has seen 100 local front line staff take part in its first year. We worked with Tourism South East to improve the welcome offered by the Borough s taxi drivers. Nearly 70 hackney carriage drivers attended Welcome Host training ahead of the London 2012 Games. 200 of our local Olympic volunteers enjoyed a World Host Ambassador workshop designed to improve their local area knowledge and customer service skills. London 2012 The rowing and canoeing events at Eton Dorney were a triumph. We offered the best of British hospitality to National Olympic and Paralympic Committees, spectators and media from across the globe. As a destination, we worked on improving our welcome mindful that many spectators would be on their first visit to the Royal Borough and we wanted to encourage them back again in the future. We focussed on training front line staff, making improvements to accessibility for those travelling with a disability and ensuring that our visitor information was relevant and easy to find. The Royal Borough was in the spotlight like never before with an estimated Games time TV audience of 4 billion worldwide. In 2012 the following hotels sold nearly 3,000 Windsor Castle tickets combined with an overnight stay: Holiday Inn Maidenhead Sir Christopher Wren s Great Fosters Marriott Slough/Windsor Hilton St Anne s Manor Grovefield House Hotel Runnymede-on-thames Sunningdale Park The Grange Beaumont Estate Oakley Court Hilton Bracknell The Royal Adelaide The Bull Hotel This level of positive exposure supports the building of a sustainable future for businesses in the local leisure, travel, tourism and hospitality industries for many years to come.
Supporting Local Businesses Industry Statistics and Research in 2012 we commissioned Tourism South East to carry out an Economic Impact Study for the Royal Borough. The report showed that tourism in the Royal Borough was worth more than 578 million and employed 9,000 people, a modest growth of 3% in both areas year on year. The findings were widely distributed to local industry partners and made available on the website. We regularly distribute industry statistics and updates via email including VisitEngland and VisitBritain reports, TRI Hospitality Consulting HotStats reports and relevant regional and government reports. Sector Meetings Throughout 2012 we coordinated sector group meetings bringing colleagues together to discuss issues, share information and steer the work of the Visitor Management Team. Council Liaison The team continues to act as liaison for local businesses with other council departments including Planning, Town Management, Environmental Health and elected Members. Networking Through workshops, meetings and events we bring local businesses together to, for example, share best practice, explore packaging opportunities or maximise marketing resources. Online Support & Guidance We worked on building up the useful documents and links on Windsor.gov.uk and our 2012 Olympic Games site at www.windsor.gov. uk/2012. Useful information includes visitor surveys, the Visitor Management Strategy, sustainable tourism, diversity and equality. Plans for 2013 2012 was an exceptional year but it will be the third quarter of 2013 before we understand the full economic impact of the local visitor industry. Our plans for the year ahead aim to capitalise on the boost in media exposure and greatly improved perceptions of British friendliness, humour and welcome overseas. Strategic We will review our Visitor Management Framework to confirm which actions have been delivered, which have not and identify new initiatives. We will consult with the industry to determine new delivery opportunities. We will look for new product development opportunities in Maidenhead. Events and Activities In February we will host the UKinbound Convention in Windsor. As part of English Tourism Week in March we have organised a VIP day trip to Windsor & Eton. We are the tourism partner of She Runs Windsor taking place for the first time on the May Bank Holiday. We are the box office and official accommodation agent for the World Rowing Cup at Dorney Lake in June, The Spring Festival and Windsor Festival. Digital We will investigate options to refresh the visitor website and bring a wider range of commercial opportunities to our industry stakeholders. We will launch an e-newsletter to inform our business partners about our activities and the benefits of working with the VM&M Team. We will look to increase our use of social media to promote the destination to a wide audience of potential visitors. Marketing Our online Travel Trade Guide will be updated and distributed to trade organisations. We are adding themed itineraries and accommodation solutions to encourage groups to visit a wider range of attractions and to extend their stay in the borough. The annual suite of publications is already produced and being distributed nationwide. We will continue our involvement with Tourism South East, VisitEngland and VisitBritain in overseas marketing initiatives to influence international travel trade to visit and stay in the borough.
We will work with local partners to decide how best to promote the destination to the domestic short breaks market. The MICE market will continue to be a focus and we will look for promotional opportunities for venues across the borough with VisitEngland, London & Partners and other relevant trade organisations. Media Working with the press and media will remain a strong focus for us in 2013 and we hope to build on the excellent achievements of the last three years. Our relationships with the press offices at TSE, VisitEngland and VisitBritain are already very good and we will continue to capitalise on every opportunity presented by them to host press trips and facilitate filming requests. Royal Windsor Information Centre The box office will be developed further and by working with more event organisers there will be increased opportunities to encourage accommodation bookings and longer stays in the borough. There will be further promotion of the Concierge Service and we want to encourage more hotels and guest houses to take advantage of the ticket packages on offer. We want to offer more multiticket discounts and a wider range of attractions and events. We will organise familiarisations visits for our own team and front line staff from local businesses to raise awareness of what the borough has to offer and inspire cross promotion and joint working. Skills & Training With our partners at East Berkshire College and People 1st we will re-launch the WorldHost training and encourage more businesses to train their front line staff. We will look to introduce additional short courses to suit business needs in all sectors of the local industry. We will meet regularly with HR Managers and the Borough s Grow Our Own Team in order to under stand skills gaps and training needs in the hotel sector. Supporting Local Business In addition to the annual Economic Impact Study we will commission visitor surveys for Windsor & Maidenhead. The final reports will be distributed to our stakeholders. Sector meetings will continue throughout 2013 and the Visitor Management Forum will bring all sectors together on a quarterly basis to meet with Royal Borough elected members and officers. As ever the team will be distributing regional and national research, policy and guidance documents as and when they are published and are always on hand to offer advice and support to tourism, leisure and hospitality businesses across the royal borough. Contact Us Julia White, Visitor Manager, T: 01753 743918 E: Julia.white@rbwm.gov.uk Barbara Hunt, Information Centre Manager, T: 01753 743933 E: Barbara.hunt@rbwm.gov.uk Charlotte Stewart, Web Marketing Executive T: 01753 743920 E: charlotte.stewart@rbwm.gov.uk