Press release 23 December 2014
SALISBURY TO HOST NEW SOCIAL TRAVEL CONFERENCE CELEBRATING BRITAIN’S TOURISM INDUSTRY
23 December 2014
A new conference - Social Travel Britain 2015 - for travel and tourism businesses and their communications teams will take place in Salisbury, Wiltshire from 17-19 April 2015. The conference will also feature the first ever UK Social Travel Awards recognising the best digital innovations and social media campaigns in British tourism over the last 12 months.
The new event will showcase the best initiatives in digital marketing and social media and address the key issues that are shaping Britain’s digital marketing future. There will also be extensive opportunities for workshops, industry debates and sector knowledge sharing between delegates.
Conference organiser, Mark Frary from Travel Perspective, explains:
“The requirements of successful tourism marketing are unrecognisable from even a few years ago. For many tourist boards and tourism marketers it is also difficult to distinguish between the great opportunities the sharing revolution offers, and the pitfalls. Social Travel Britain will bring together the best brains in destination and attraction marketing, with the bloggers and digital innovators who have played integral roles in recent successful campaigns. The conference is about inspiring new ideas, showcasing how storytelling works online, and empowering tourism professionals to tackle the phenomenal change that engaging digitally brings to their roles.”
Social Travel Britain will take place at Sarum College in Salisbury, a suitable choice considering the Wiltshire city will undoubtedly be Britain’s hottest destination to visit in 2015 with travel guide publisher Lonely Planet listing it among the top 10 cities in the world to visit next year.
Social Travel Britain will feature sessions such as ‘Blog it and they will come…’ featuring David Coulthard, Marketing Director, Salisbury Cathedral, looking at bringing a cathedral into the digital age and supporting the 800 year anniversary of Magna Carta. Delegates, including many of the country’s best travel bloggers, will also learn about and visit other attractions across Wiltshire. Post-conference opportunities include a smartphone photography tour of Cathedral Close, a visit to Salisbury Cathedral to see one of the four original and best preserved 1215 copies of Magna Carta within a new Exhibition and an early morning stone circle access tour of Stonehenge.
David Andrews CEO, VisitWiltshire says;
“Wiltshire has been a special place to visit for a very long time, so we’re delighted that Travel Perspective has chosen to bring this important conference to Salisbury. In order for VisitWiltshire to continue to achieve record numbers of tourism visits and spend for Wiltshire, it is essential we continue to invest in our digital and social media activity, so this is a fantastic opportunity for us to attract some of the country’s best tourism marketeers, travel bloggers, tweeters and Instagrammers to visit, and write about, Wiltshire.”
Social Travel Britain is organised and delivered by digital and editorial consultancy Travel Perspective, the brains behind the Social Travel Market seminars at the travel industry’s annual World Travel Market. As well as those marketing destinations, the conference will also bring together some of the travel sector’s most prestigious social and digital influencers. Tickets cost £145 per person, including attendance at the first ever Social Travel Awards. A further 15 per cent early-bird discount applies for bookings made before 31 January 2015. An exclusive discounted rate for bloggers applies at just £50. Discounted accommodation in Salisbury is also available to delegates.
To book or register your interest to attend, visit www.travelperspective.co.uk/salisbury.
For further information please contact call Mark Frary, Travel Perspective on 07710 410407 or Steve Keenan on 07940 143223.
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Editors’ Notes
About Travel Perspective:
Travel Perspective is a digital agency and editorial consultancy that works with travel and tourism brands worldwide. The company has run the hugely successful social media seminars at World Travel Market in London for the past four years. Founders Steve Keenan and Mark Frary have worked for national and travel trade newspapers and magazines for many years, including The Times and Sunday Times. They are passionate about the new ways of promoting travel and tourism.
Contact: Sarah Rathbone at Siren Communications on sarah.rathbone@sirencomms.com, 020 7759 1150 or 07595 055882.
About VisitWitshire:
VisitWiltshire was established in August 2011 and is the official Tourist Board for Wiltshire. It is a private sector organisation representing over 550 partners. VisitWiltshire's priority is to grow the county's visitor economy by raising awareness of the destination and generating additional tourism visits and spend. Wiltshire's Visitor Economy currently generates an estimated £1.4billion and supports over 27,000 jobs.
Contact: PR Manager Florence Wallace flowallace@visitwiltshire.co.uk www.visitwiltshire.co.uk. Tel: 01722 341309 or 07436 588860