After the tropical heatwave of last summer, it’s
almost reassuring to see the Great British Summer is back to its
true form – that is to say, all over the place.
Sweltering days followed by freak lightning storms might be bad
news for holiday parks and seaside resorts, but it’s good
news, perhaps, for cities and cultural attractions.
Superbreak sales director Ian Mounser said changeable weather
was one reason why bookings for heritage cities had become
“slightly stronger” than those for coastal resorts.
And with history and heritage making a welcome return to our TV
screens, could it be we British are starting to get a little more
interested in our country’s past?
Mounser added: “Evidence suggests customers want to do something
on a short break. They may not be ‘culture vultures’
but they do want a little more from their time away.”
Embassy Leisure Breaks manager Anna Bishop agreed that the
heritage market is now in a stronger position than ever.
“Programmes such as BBC2’s Restoration prove people are
taking pride in their local community. Seeing people campaigning
like mad to protect their heritage has to encourage a wider
curiosity.
She added: “In the past there’s been a resistance to
patriotism and flag waving, but the climate is changing.”
The key strength of heritage cities such as Bath, Chester and
York is their year-round appeal. Visitors can combine trips to
local museums or attractions with a hotel stay to create a
value-added product.
But selling heritage breaks demands a certain amount of
knowledge about a destination and its attractions.
“It can be a hard sell for agents, especially as history
isn’t taught all that much in schools any more,” said
Bishop.
That’s an important point, backed up by research
undertaken by the BBC. Figures released to coincide with the launch
two weeks ago of its new series, Battlefield Britain, seem to show
our heritage now has as much to do with Hollywood as history.
Half of all 16-34 year olds questioned by the BBC did not know
Sir Francis Drake led the English to victory against Spain. One in
five thought it was Columbus while some, rather dubiously, had
their money on Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings.
Funny, perhaps, but worrying. However, blockbusters have been
good news for tourist offices worldwide.
The Lord of the Rings, for example, brought hoards of hobbit
hunters to New Zealand. Mindful of this, VisitBritain produced a
movie map this month to coincide with the latest screen version of
King Arthur, starring Clive Owen and Keira Knightley. You can order
the map at visitengland.com/movies or tel: 0845 456 2003.
Alternatively, text ‘king’ to 84118.
VisitBritain sales and marketing manager Claire Hancer said the
map features information on all the sites associated with the film,
such as Arthur’s supposed birthplace at Tintagel in
Cornwall.
“VisitBritain has done some great consumer campaigns and if they
could bring trade knowledge up to par it would be fantastic,” said
Bishop.
She added willingness from agents to sell the UK has come on in
“leaps and bounds” in the past two years and products such as movie
maps can only serve to help.
“If heritage breaks didn’t sell we wouldn’t feature
them,” she added. “We’re not talking about thousands here but
we’re happy to showcase it if it opens up another side of the
market.”
- VisitEngland is the latest tourist office to put its agent
training programme on-line with the Travel Weekly academy. Launched
last week, the themes of the programme are experience, discovery,
exploration, and relaxation in England. Visit www.travelweekly.co.uk and
click on ‘Academy’ for details.
