UK: Everything old is new again

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.