English Tourism Week celebrating staycations

Whilst many of you aren’t directly involved with the tourism industry we all enjoy the wealth of what our green and pleasant land has to offer in our leisure time. It just happens to be my business and specifically in celebrating Suffolk. It’s the end of English Tourism Week, with events all across the country within the holiday industry highlighting the level and vibrancy of our visitor experiences and focussing on the economic impact that our industry has on our nation.

I have been involved with a number of events recently as I am apparently a ‘Key Tourism Partner’. That’s what they tell me anyway. 🙂

I am actually off today to another event that I shall blog about another time, which is ‘Suffolk Unlocked’. More about that on that blog.

English Tourism Week is the initiative of Visit England; those lovely people who awarded us our Gold standard for all our Suffolk holiday cottages last year. It is designed to:

* Heighten the profile and awareness of of tourism amongst ‘decision makers’, the media, those of us who make our living in the industry and people looking at doing so

* Increase awareness with those outside the industry including local residents. When I was building my holiday cottages, my builder (Suffolk born and bred) could never understand why people would want to have a holiday in Suffolk and it was a constant source of our heated debates during the working day. I do think he did it most of the time just to wind me up though! There are so many who simply don’t see the incredible sights and experiences smack bang on their doorstep. The focus is also to attract visitors from abroad to experience England

* And for those of us in the industry, it enables us to have a national framework for local destinations and attractions, business people and organisations to draw upon as part of our marketing strategy

The patron of English Tourism Week is none other than HRH the Prince of Wales. Anyone else see the irony there? Surely the Duke of Cambridge or the Viscount of Stonham Aspal would have been less so? The letter that Prince Charles sent to accept can be seen on the Visit England website.

The English Tourism industry is responsible for contributing £97billion to our economy! As I have said, my interest is in Suffolk tourism; people choosing Suffolk to take their holiday or short break. That’s why I spent years building my holiday cottage business here. I knew that Suffolk was popular with visitors seeking the more tranquil side of holidaying, so I’m just trying to increase my share of that £97billion by doing my bit. 10% will do.

I wrote a blog recently about what we have to offer holidaymakers in Mid Suffolk, which is predominantly the natural, unspoilt countryside, which is why I choose to live and work here. Of course we have a plethora of fabulous pubs, restaurants, coffee shops, delis, gift shops etc. which are a real pull for holidaymakers, but my holiday cottage guests tend to sandwich these wonderful gems with the clear skies, country walks and abundant wildlife.

We have so much to offer in this country; far too much to start listing. I am in no way anti foreign holidays; I love Italy in particular, but the great thing about Suffolk, or wherever you live is that it is all within very easy reach. So whilst those of us who work tirelessly in the industry keep working for you to enjoy everything England has to offer, please don’t forget everything on our doorstep that makes England great.