VISIT LINCOLN - 2015 REVIEW Visit Lincoln is the Destination Organisation for Lincoln and the rural hinterland. A public/private sector partnership supporting growth in the visitor economy and raising awareness of the area. GROWTH IN THE VISITOR ECONOMY City of Lincoln and Central Lincolnshire (including North Kesteven District Council and West Lindsey District Council). IN NUMBERS. CENTRAL LINCOLNSHIRE 2011 2014 Increase in 700 jobs supported Increase of 700,000 visitors Increase of 74m Source: STEAM Data. 2015 figures will be available in 2016. Priority sector for driving growth in the region - as identified by GLLEP. It is about Products, People, Promotion, Competitiveness, Infrastructure and Environment A great place to visit makes a great place to live impacts on creating an identity and sense of place VISIT LINCOLN PARTNERSHIP GROWTH & MILESTONES Visit Lincoln was established in 2011 by Lincolnshire Chamber of Commerce and Lincoln BIG - with an annual income of 60,000 2011 Developed a Destination Management Plan for Lincoln and a Business Plan for Visit Lincoln along with a strong brand identity for Lincoln 2013 Now is The Time - identified need to ensure we maximised 2015 as a platform for growth and that supporting growth in Lincoln would benefit the rural hinterland 2015 Visit Lincoln annual income of 260,000. 76 private sector members. Largest above the line marketing campaign for Lincoln ever delivered. Results of this are shown below. STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS Additional financial support for 2015 Magna Carta year from: Lincoln BIG City of Lincoln Lincoln Castle Ruddocks (High Street) Bishop Grosseteste University Plus: 26 Corporate Partners & 36 Visit Lincoln Partners
2015 MARKETING CAMPAIGN TAKE TIME & DISCOVER LINCOLN Delivered a national marketing campaign to raise awareness of Lincoln and the surrounding area - that reached over 20 million consumers through print, outdoor, digital, PR and events. National & International Hosted an event (pictured) at the Library of Congress for US tour operators & travel trade with British Embassy & VisitEngland, supported by GLLEP Attended World Travel Market with the Magna Carta 800 committee, supported by Lincoln Cathedral and Lincoln Castle. Outdoor 48 sheet & digital billboards across Nottingham, Peterborough & Leicester. April October National Press advertising Daily Telegraph, Sunday Telegraph, The Guardian and The Yorkshire Post. April June MPU on Telegraph travel page; text links in editorial bulletins, travel bulletin and bespoke email to Telegraph travel database.
LINCOLN CASTLE REVEALED - ENHANCED MARKETING at KINGS CROSS, LONDON Digital screen and underground takeover funded by Lincoln Castle Revealed Lincoln Castle Revealed contract - hosted 38 press visits over two years. Visit Lincoln PR - hosted 11 press trips A Luxury travel blog - 7 blogs on this international travel blog site - reaching around 20,000 readers every time Highlights included: Petwood Hotel & Woodhall Spa in The Times Daily Mail feature Lincoln castle as the best Christmas Market in Europe. The LA times featured Lincoln as a 'British Star' About London travel blogger featured the great Magna Carta Weekend Family Travel Times Blog featured 2 family short breaks in Lincoln DIGITAL MARKETING - The call to action across the 2015 marketing activity was to drive visitors to visitlincoln.com to inspire them to find out more about the wider offer and take a short break. 80,000 unique visitors a month 66% increase in traffic 2014 2015 40% increase in individual pageviews Traffic spikes - Early April; Lincoln Castle opened, National Campaign and 800 Experiences launched, Outdoor Cinema at Lincoln Castle on Facebook June 13th - Great Magna Carta Weekend June 28th - British Cycling National Championships
August Bank Holiday - Steampunk Festival All content on visitlincoln.com is mobile optimised. Over 60% of visitors use mobile devices to access the site. 800 Experiences demonstrates the wide range of things to experience in Lincoln; reflecting the message 'Take Time & Discover' Continual development of site to ensure it is up to date, offering the best user experience and benefits businesses listed on it. Social Media Posts were seen more than 600,000 times in October across social media. 56% increase in 2015 compared to 2014 10,000 people a month visit the website through Facebook or Twitter. 67% increase in 2015 compared to 2014. 'English Tourism Social Media Index' rated Lincoln 22nd in the country for destination management social media presence and 2nd in the East Midlands! Plus: 13,500 of (trackable) accommodation bookings referred through visitlincoln.com 14,000 of ticket sales including Tour Lincoln, Joint Ticket and Doddington Hall Halloween Walks, Halloween Ghost Bus Tours, and the Barons' Auction Online Advertising Targeted regional and national audiences using events as a hook. Targeted users in London around the special service trains from Virgin Trains East Coast and people searching for Magna Carta related terms on Google. From May to November the adverts were seen by over 12m people.
Events widget The 'widget' which allows all websites to have a live feed of events direct from visitlincoln.com Pictured here, lincolncathedral.com homepage with the widget displayed in the bottom right corner PRINTED PROMOTION MATERIAL Physical information promoting Lincoln and supporting visitors in destination. Half a million pieces of print distributed through the year 250,000 Map pads In destination print Trails; Aviation Roman 70,000 City guides Pre visit and in destination guide to what to do, where to stay and what s on in Lincoln and rural hinterland ALSO PRODUCED BY VISIT LINCOLN: Lincoln Christmas Market Souvenir Guide Tour Lincoln leaflets Joint Ticket (Cathedral & Castle) Walks & Ride timetable Lincoln Barons Charter Trail Little Book of Big Deals Supported by advertising. MEET LINCOLN Growing awareness of Lincoln and Lincolnshire as a business tourism destination The Meetings and Events industry is worth over 39billion to the UK economy Visit Lincoln operates a free venue finding service - increase in enquiries of over 70% in Converted over 60,000 worth of business Average conversion rate of 30% (industry average being less than 15%) Employ services of Lychee 3 agency to represent the destination with key agents; generated 400k of meetings enquiries Attended The Meetings Show industry event Grown database of potential leads to 650 Generated media coverage in titles such as Conference News
MeetLincoln.co.uk Key website with up to date information about all Partner venues from Belton Woods in Grantham to Forest Pines in Brigg. Reflects venues, accommodation and reasons why Lincolnshire makes a great destination for events World Host and Lincolnshire Ambassador Supported programme that delivered free customer service training to over 700 staff in leisure & hospitality Important that customer service and the welcome is excellent Cultural Destinations In the second year of the Cultural Destinations 300k ACE funded project, Lincoln BIG is the accountable body, Visit Lincoln the destination partner. Funding to support new and existing events. Delivered a series of Culture Connects workshops Conference Date 9 February 2016 Accessible Destinations 1 in 5 visitors have access requirements and visitors with access needs spend 3bn a year on short breaks. Lincoln is one of 7 destinations working with VisitEngland on this national project Supported 8 local businesses through training, mystery shopping, specialist visits. Resulted in a Lincoln feature in the Express and a guide to accessible destinations in England International Marketing Great UK Challenge Fund. Targeted at US trade & operators. Focussing on themes of Magna Carta, Robin Hood & Pilgrim Fathers. Working with neighbouring Nottinghamshire. Has highlighted a need for product development. US visitors are looking for experiences; guided tours; behind the scenes; something special to bring the place to life.
www.lincsandnottstours.com England's Heritage Cities Lincoln is aligned with 11 of England s heritage Cities, consortium that shares best practice, lobby for the importance of heritage cities and some marketing. Recently awarded Great UK Challenge Fund to promote heritage cities offer in France - direct to consumer. Research & Intelligence New online system T-Stats will enable us to capture destination performance. Accommodation Occupancy Footfall Attraction visitor numbers Car parking data And more, to fully understand correlations between information and plan effectively Pictured; Visitor Information footfall 2013/14/15 In 2016 - will be updating Lincoln's Destination Management Plan aligned with the national strategy. It is not Visit Lincoln s strategy, it belongs to the destination. What do you want to see in it and what are the priorities? Products People Promotion Competitiveness Infrastructure & environment LOOKING AHEAD: 2015 is not a one-off - or we shouldn't let it be. We need to see this as our new baseline and build upon it. English Tourism Week Discover Lincolnshire Weekend - 15-16 March Forthcoming Opportunities: Lincoln Cathedral Connected, The Lawns development, Transport hub, Sincil Street and market development, Bomber Command memorial, grow business tourism through Meet Lincoln, develop cycling and accessible destinations, work across borders with partners. Charter of the Forest 2017 anniversary & Battle of Lincoln. THANK YOU for your support. To find out more visit visitlincoln.com/about Or contact us. Emma Tatlow, Head of Visit Lincoln emma@visitlincoln.com