Businesses brand the Broads as "Britain's Magical Waterland"
Tourism businesses are working together to promote all that is best about the Broads in a new campaign which brands the area as ‘Britain’s Magical Waterland’.
The Broads Tourism Forum has been working with the Broads Authority to create a new image for the area which is one of Norfolk’s biggest tourism assets and one of the country’s most popular destinations for boating holidays as well as a national angling hotspot and a haven for some of the UK’s rarest birds and wildlife.
The results were unveiled on Thursday 1st July in Norwich along with a drive to raise quality and visitor experience through the East of England’s first gold standard course to improve customer service.
The campaign describes the Broads, which is a member of the National Park family, as “a magical place where land and water, people and nature meet.”
The launch was held in two hour long sessions at The Forum in Norwich at 3pm and 6pm for invited guests from the tourism and business community and members of the media. A series of presentations will explain the thinking behind the brand and its importance and will unveil the new Broads tourism website www.enjoythebroads.com
Ian Russell, chairman of the Broads Tourism Forum, explains: “We need to create a new awareness and perception of the Broads, ensuring that it is understood by all as a unique destination. It is vital that we promote the Broads in a way that is consistent, contemporary and recognises the needs of tomorrow’s visitor, playing to our strengths and working towards the recognition of the Broads as a destination for all seasons.”
A toolkit of marketing resources is available for use in promotional material to enable all Broads businesses to unite in one clear message.
The event saw the launch of East of England Tourism’s new customer service training course, Welcome Host Gold, which puts emphasis on destination knowledge. The course is a new strand of the Welcome to Excellence programme which is recognised as the national industry standard for customer service training. The Broads is the first destination in the East of England to sign up to the course.
The Broads Authority also relaunched the Broads Quality Charter - a guide to good service and eating - to ensure Broads hostelries are among the best. The scheme, which was pioneered in the Broads, now forms the basis of the national accreditation scheme backed by Visit England.
As green tourism becomes increasingly important to visitors, more businesses will be encouraged to take part in the Broads Authority’s Green Tourism Business Scheme which is already well established throughout the Broads. The Authority and the Tourism Forum are exploring the idea of extending this to the first ever green grading scheme for hire boats which will give hire yards the opportunity to enter this relatively new market in an affordable way.
The funding to brand the Broads and set up the new www.enjoythebroads.com website has come from the European Regional Development Fund’s Interreg Two Seas programme as part of a project called STEP, (Sustainable Tourism in Estuary Parks), which promotes green tourism.
Link to Brand Guidelines
http://www.broads-authority.gov.uk/visiting/broads-branding-guidelines.html
02/07/2010
