A Message from the Chief Executive

Welcome to the last newsletter I will introduce as Chief Executive for Visit Lincolnshire.

After 12 years in the post I have decided to pass over the reins, but looking back it’s been an honour and a pleasure working with tourism businesses throughout the years.

I have met some wonderful characters and truly inspirational people on my journey, and enjoyed leading the Visit Lincolnshire team in raising the profile of Lincolnshire as a quality visitor destination.

Looking back we’ve seen nearly £200 million of investment towards new and fabulous tourism facilities in Lincolnshire over the last 10 years, and together we’ve helped boost the overall value of the industry to £958 million – this is a massive achievement and something we should celebrate together.

However, the time has come for me to pass over the baton and let the company get a fresh perspective for future growth. And I feel this is just the beginning, the Directors have appointed my replacement who has the experience and passion to built on Lincolnshire’s already impressive growth in the visitor economy. I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Marc Etches, the newly appointed interim Chief Executive for Visit Lincolnshire. I am sure Marc will be writing to you soon.

Once again I would like to thank you all for your continued support throughout my years at Visit Lincolnshire and to wish you every success for the future.

I’m now looking forward to my new found leisure time and plan to visit the wonderful attractions I have been working alongside for over 10 years. So perhaps our paths will cross again sometime soon…

All good wishes,

Penny Baker,
Chief Executive, Visit Lincolnshire

Useful Link:
- Press release announcing Penny Baker leaving Visit Lincolnshire
- Bio for Marc Etches

Visit Lincolnshire’s new interim Chief Executive

After a competitive recruitment process the Board of Directors and Visit Lincolnshire are pleased to announce that Marc Etches has been appointed interim Chief Executive for Visit Lincolnshire.

Marc brings a wealth of experience to the role. He has spent much of his career managing and developing national and international tourism and entertainment businesses, including five years as the managing director of Windsor Safari Park followed by six years with Center Parcs; a company that set new standards for domestic tourism in the UK during the 1990s.

Having accepted a move to join the Walt Disney Company in Paris in the summer of 1998, he was persuaded to instead take up the role of managing director of Leisure Parcs Limited, owners of Blackpool Tower, and to lead the campaign for resort casino development as a catalyst for the economic regeneration of Blackpool.

In 2004, Marc left Leisure Parcs to set up his own international consultancy Insight, which provides public affairs, advocacy and strategic advice to public and private sector clients with an interest in leisure, hospitality, tourism, gambling and the creative industries.

Marc’s strong strategic background has grown from his experience of being a board member to Culture Northwest (2003-09), a body jointly responsible to the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA). Its objective was to champion England’s Northwest with a special focus on tourism, heritage, sport, performing art and leisure.

In 2005-06, Marc chaired the management board of a research project investigating ‘Climate Change and its Impact on Tourism’ managed by Sustainability Northwest and funded by the UK Government’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

When asked about his new post Marc said, “I am looking forward to working with Visit Lincolnshire and contributing to the team’s skills, knowledge and determination to highlight the county as a leading visitor destination against stiff competition elsewhere in the UK. The quality of the staff at Visit Lincolnshire, combined with the expertise of the Board of Directors was one of many things that attracted me to the role.”

Marc’s first task as Chief Executive will be introducing himself to Visit Lincolnshire’s members and tourism businesses. However, if in the meantime you have any questions please email Sharon@visitlincolnshire.com.

Visit England’s Chairman comes to Lincolnshire

Lady Cobham, Chairman of VisitEngland, visited Lincolnshire on Wednesday 24 March for VisitEngland’s Board of Directors meeting at De Vere Belton Woods Hotel.

VisitEngland's newly launched Strategic Framework for Tourism 2010-2020 was the main topic for the meeting. The strategy outlines the work to be done by public and private sectors to grow the UK’s £97 billion visitor economy.

Hosting such an influential person is a great achievement for Lincolnshire. We arranged a mini tour of the county for Lady Cobham so she could see what great visitor assets we have to offer. In the long run this first-hand experience of Lincolnshire could help reap rewards for the county and place Lincolnshire in the fore mind of our national partners.

A spring clean for visitlincolnshire.com

Our website, visitlincolnshire.com, attracts thousands of local people and visitors looking for day trips and short break ideas. Visitlincolnshire.com, along with our visitor guides, is the first point of call for people looking for places to stay, things to do and places to eat in the county.

Help us ensure your business information is up-to-date; share with us your opening times or seasonal activities and we’ll put them on the website – this is open to Visit Lincolnshire members and non-members. For more information please contact Gillian Richardson on 01522 561667 or gillian@visitlincolnshire.com.

Lincolnshire’s tourism businesses also have access to our new online booking system, this allows visitors to pre-book and pay for tickets / accommodation online. This can help boost sales for your business as 80% of visitors choose to look and book online. For more information please contact Clare Fryer on 01522 561666 or email clare@visitlincolnshire.com.

Lincolnshire’s BOBI success

A special thanks to all our businesses that supported our Lincolnshire stand at the UK’s largest travel exhibition, Best of Britain and Ireland, last week. The event, in London, placed Lincolnshire side by side with leading destinations all over the UK.

In total five businesses and partners joined us, they included Waddington Air Show, The Olde Barn, Spalding Flower Parade, the Coast and De Vere Belton Woods Hotel.

Ben Callaghan, Sales & Marketing Manager from the Olde Barn in Grantham said “I was unsure of what to expect from the event, but thanks to Visit Lincolnshire, who invited us to take part in BOBI, it provided us with the opportunity to meet contacts we would never have had the chance to meet face to face otherwise. There was a steady stream of visitors representing quality business opportunities over the four day event, some of whom have already been converted into customers. I’d like to thank Visit Lincolnshire for enabling us to be a part of this national event and hope we can be there again next year.”

BOBI is an annual event, if you want to know more about future events and exhibition opportunities email keren@visitlincolnshire.com.

EnjoyEngland Excellence Awards 2010 – celebrate success in Lincolnshire

We’d like to invite you to enter this year’s regional awards and to join the elite of Lincolnshire’s tourism businesses. So, how do you go about taking part?

Why should you enter?
Do you want to build your business and attract new customers?
Do you want to raise the profile of your business with the media?
Do you want to receive FREE constructive professional feedback on your operation?
Do you want to stand out from the crowd?

Who is eligible?
All tourism businesses, no matter how large or small – from the smallest tea shop to attractions welcoming over 100,000 visitors each year.

What do you have to do?Decide which category you would like to enter (you may enter as many as you like).
Please check the eligibility criteria which will be available shortly.
If you are not eligible for one, you may be for another!

Register your interest by emailing sharon@lincolnshiretourism.com and the application form and guidance notes will be sent by return for completion.

When do you have to complete by?
Completed hard copy application forms need to be with the Sarah Gravelle or Sally Porter at Visit Lincolnshire, Beech House, Waterside South, Lincoln LN5 7JH by 3.00 pm on Friday 28 May 2010.

2010 Categories include:
Access for All
Bed & Breakfast/ Guest Accommodation
Best Tourism Experience
Business Tourism
Caravan Holiday Park
Large Hotel
Outstanding Customer Service
Pub Experience
Self Catering
Small Hotel
Small Visitor Attraction
Sustainable Tourism
Taste of the Region
Think Family
Tourism Event of the Year
Tourist Information Centre

Award Diary Dates

Monday 19 April - Win Awards, Win Visitors! Workshop @ The Petwood Hotel - get help with your application!
Friday 28 May 2010- Completed applications to be received by Visit Lincolnshire
June 2010- Short Listing
July/August 2010- Mystery Shop
September 2010 - Final Judging
Thursday 7 October 2010 - Regional awards
April 2011- National awards

The Celebrating Excellence Booklet is available on Monday 5 April 2010 if you want one please contact sharon@visitlincolnshire.com.

‘Harness the Power of Web Marketing’ with Susan Hallam

Members and non-members have been invited to attend Susan Hallam’s latest Web Marketing conference on Friday 14 May with discounted ticket prices.

Visit Lincolnshire members can receive a half price ticket (£175 instead of £350) until Wednesday 31 March. Contact susan@hallam.biz and quote your membership reference number, if you need reminding of your number please speak to fiona@visitlincolnshire.com or ring 01522 561676.

Grant funding may also be available, as long as you have five or more employees who need to learn more about internet marketing. If this applies to your business you can claim 100% funding for the first £500, and a further £500 is available at a 50% match. To apply for grant funding please email Susan directly (susan@hallam.biz)

VisitBritian invites you to ‘Get involved with the 2012 Olympic Games’

VisitBritain have launched a new tourism website, in partnership with London 2012’s Nations and Regions Group. Its aim is to help tourism businesses get involved in the Olympic Games.

If you work in tourism and want to know more about the London Olympic Games and Paralympics Tourism2012Games.org is the website for you.

Get an insight into the UK’s preparation to host the biggest event in the world and find out how your business can make the most of the Games. You can even sign up to the Tourism 2012 Games free e-newsletter.

Coming soon – We’re working with Lincolnshire Sports Partnership to hold a county based conference specifically for tourism businesses, the aim will be to explain how to get involved and reap the benefit of working with Sports Associations to maximize the potential of 2012.

Free Business Workshops throughout April

Have a look at these free business workshops run by the NE Group based in Boston.

If you’re interested in learning more about team work; speed networking or managing effective teams we think you’ll find this website useful.

Calling all heritage & cultural attractions

The BBC has launched a new History Campaign for the summer holiday and needs help from cultural and heritage businesses to get as many children and families involved as possible.

History is a major theme for the BBC this year and many programmes will be shown on TV as a result. To compliment the programmes the BBC wants to work with local businesses to help inspire families across the UK get ‘hands on’ with their past to help them discover history in their local area. As a result they want to provide businesses with Holiday History Packs bursting with ideas that will inspire heritage and cultural attractions to run family activities. In return any activities provided will feature on their website.

For more information email helen.sykes@bbc.co.uk.

Lincoln Book Festival – become a friend & attract visitors

Events act as a hook for attracting visitors and we need your help to promote the Lincoln Book Festival on 12th – 16th May. The programme has just been launched and can be viewed on the Book Festival’s Website from 25 March onwards.

If you want to support the festival please contact Sara Bullimore (sara.bullimore@googlemail.com). You can become a ‘Friend of the Festival’ by paying a small subscription fee, this will give you priority access to the headline events; or you can just request festival brochures, posters and other promotional material to display in your business.

Useful links
- Follow the festival on Twitter! /lincolnbookfest
- Become a Book Festival Fan on Facebook
- For the box office call (01522) 873894 or http://www.lincolndrillhall.com/

Did you know Lincolnshire has Robin Hood connection?

It’s not long now until the release of the new Robin Hood movie starring Russell Crowe (sorry, but I can’t get the vision of Robin Hood, Men in tights out my head).

In anticipation on this, (the movie, not Russell in tights) we have been researching any connections Robin Hood had to Lincolnshire.

We’re doing this because when the movie is launched it will get global promotion and Lincolnshire could get a little slice of the cake– like we did for The Da Vinci Code and The Young Victoria.

Although none of the movie was filmed in Lincolnshire, people following the Robin Hood Movie Trail or story of the man himself will want to visit places that have connections to him…. and Lincolnshire is one of them!

Work is been done by us, VisitEngland and Experience Nottinghamshire to develop movie trail maps. But in the meantime have a little read of these….

• To get a sense of how big Sherwood Forest really was go on a Lincoln Cathedral roof top tour and see the boundaries where the forest use to border Lincolnshire. Sherwood Forest came within 6 miles of the Cathedral!


• Lincoln Castle is the only place in the world where you can see the Magna Carta and the Charter of the Forrest together.


• The material that his clothes were made of was from Lincolnshire, it was called “Lincoln Green”.


• The library in the Cathedral has one of the very first hand written rhymes of Robin Hood. Dr Nicholas Bennett resident at the cathedral said “Lincoln Cathedral’s Library is of major importance in Robin Hood studies. It has the first hand written rhyme / verse which refers to Robin Hood.
  The verse reads (In modernised form), ‘Robin Hood in Sherwood stood, hooded and hated, hosèd and shod’. This is the earliest surviving written rhyme of Robin Hood in existence anywhere. We display this in the Library exhibition every year.” See the copy on a visit to Lincolnshire.


• Robin Hood was known as ‘robbing the rich to feed the poor’ and it would have been Lincoln’s ‘rich’ he robbed at city events as it was the closest most affluent city to him.


• The Sheriff (or Shire Reive) of Nottingham administered Lincolnshire as part of his area of jurisdiction.

Fingers crossed for the Oscars

When we heard ‘The Young Victoria’ movie (partly filmed in Lincolnshire) had been nominated for several Oscars we excitedly dusted off our posh frocks and waited with starry-eyed hope…

Alas, our golden invitations failed to drop through the letter box. But if the Young Victoria were to scoop a little gold man this weekend it would, once again, put the movie and it’s filming locations into the global spotlight.

This would be fantastic news for Lincolnshire! We’ve already had one bite of the cherry when the movie was released, because people wanted to visit the set locations and follow the footsteps of their favourite stars - like Emily Blunt (who played Victoria in the movie).

Keren from our office spoke to Rod Whiting at BBC Radio Lincolnshire this morning on the subject - if you missed what was said you can hear it here on the stations ‘listen again’ weblink.

Useful links

• BBC Radio Lincolnshire ‘Listen again’
• Film locations in Lincolnshire