Tourist Information Centre Open Day
Top Screen Media have installed a new interactive media kiosk in Wakefield Tourist Information Centre. There are advertising and listing opportunities available though this new kiosk and there are lots of ways to advertise and to interact with customers old and new.
If you would like to find out more about this opportunity and about all that the Tourist Information Centre based in the Bullring, Wakefield has to offer ring Melanie Armitage on 01924 303620 or Alice Garlick on 01924 303717. Click here for advertising rates
White Rose Awards for Tourism
Yorkshire's Tourism Oscars: Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Awards are now open for nominations. Members of Welcome to Yorkshire are eligible for entry with a closing date of 30 May 2012.
Wakefield Council is leading the way with submissions for Wakefield Tourist Information Centre - a former White Rose Award winner on two occassions, and Wakefield Festival of Food Drink and Rhubarb - a former finalist.
To find out more go to www.whiteroseawards.com
Pontefract Liquorice Festival
Now in its seventeenth year, Pontefract Liquorice Festival will take place on Sunday 8th July 2012, to celebrate this unusual plant, the many wonderful products created from it and its historic association with the town.Tangerine Confectionery are the proud sponsors of the 2012 festival and will work closely with Wakefield Council to ensure another successful festival attracting thousands of visitors into Pontefract. To find out more click here
Visit Britain/Visit England
Visit Britain is Britain's national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain worlwide and developing Britain's visitor economy. Visit Britain has launched a campaign to encourage UK businesses and the UK public to invite friends, family and past customers based overseas to visit Britain during 2012.
More than one in four visits to the UK from overseas in 2010 were from people who were visiting friends or relatives, that's 8.4 million visits in total.
For the opportunity to advertise offers for 2012 as part of the "Holidays at Home are GREAT"campaign click here
To find out more click here and then click on advice/getinvolved/vfrttoolkit
Good News for Partners
Deli Central in Wakefield has been nominated for Deli of the Year 2012. This prestigious award is sponsored by Olives Et Al and judged by some of the UK's leading food experts.
Deli Central and The Orangery have partnered to offer a new wedding package. For more details click here
Wakefield Hotels and Attractions Group
The Wakefield Hotels and Attractions Group, led by the tourism sector, meets to discuss practical ways of working together to encourage visitors to Wakefield district.
The date and time of the next meeting will be announced shortly
To find out about all the private-sector-led communications pathways click here
Group Travel Newsletter
Following recent communication with group travel organisers, a newsletter has been developed to inform operators about major festivals taking place in the district. Additional information was provided on logistics and suggested itinerary ideas, promoting the wide range of visitor attractions on offer and interesting places to visit.
The newsletter was the first of its type and was emailed or posted to all operators included on our database. Our aim is to grow this database to ensure news about Wakefield is communicated as widely as possible. If you know of any operators who would like to be included on our database, please ask them to contact us.
Future editions of the newsletter are planned to be distributed in March, August and October next year. If you offer exclusive accommodation rates or provide special arrangements for groups which you would like to promote in future editions, please contact the team to discuss on 0845 601 8353 or email tic@wakefield.gov.uk There is no charge for this service. To view the newsletter click here.
The Campaign for Lighter Evenings
The Campaign for Lighter Evenings supported by the Tourism Alliance and the Automobile Association amongst others proposes that the UK undertake a system of Single/Double Summer Time (SDST) for a three year trail period in order to make better use of the hours of daylight that the country receives.
To find out more click here
London 2012 Games
Wakefield is on the route of the 2012 Olympic Torch as it makes its 8,000 mile
journey around the UK ahead of the start of the London Olympics. Some of the landmarks the Torch will visit were announced on 7th November 2011. Wakefield, Castleford, Pontefract and Ackworth Moor Top are among more than 1,000 villages, towns and cities through which the Olympic Flame will be carried by Torchbearers. The Torch will also be carried through Yorkshire Sculpture Park. To view the map of the route though Yorkshire and Humberside click here. To find out more click here.
To find out about Branding Protection Information 2012 Games click here and scroll down.
Back le Bid
Welcome to Yorkshire has officially launched its formal bid to host part of the Tour de France 2016. The region will go head-to-head with Barcelona, Berlin and Scotland.
A Back le Bid campaign is now being launched ahead of a visit by the Tour's organisers to the region in May.
For more information on how to support the bid please visit www.yorkshire.com/lebid or call Peter Dodd at Welcome to Yorkshire on 0113 322 3523.
Love British Food 2012
British Food Fortnight moves from its traditional autumn slot to run at the same time as the London Olympics (27 July to 12 August) making it one of the largest participation events taking place during the Games.Operating under the banner "Love British Food 2012", it is a national celebration of the diverse range of food that Britain produces. Love British Food promotional packs are now ready. These packs will give you everything you need to run a really strong promotion in your establishment. Click here to find out more www.lovebritishfood.co.uk/taking-part/promotional-material/pos-love-british-food-2012
Quality Edge Extra
Visit England, the English Tourist Board, has just published the revised "Common Standard" for assessing hotels in the UK. Visit England played a lead role in the review, identifying several areas for change to focus more on quality and less on facilities.
To find out more go to www.visitengland.org
Unity Hall - Be part of it
Unity Hall is close to being restored to its former glory and being turned into a vital new hub for the city and the 21st Century - as a nationally acknowledged music, theatre and arts venue, a thriving conference centre and a hot-bed for smart new business innovators. Unity House (Wakefield) Limited is aiming to source £200,000 through initial equity funding. Individuals and organisations can each buy up to £20,000 in shares, with the minimum investment being £200.
Click here for more information.
Grand Central Railway Company
Grand Central Railway Company has recently been working on re-focusing their website to encourage passengers to explore Yorkshire. The website receives an average of 313,000 page views each month, so it is a really good way of letting lots of people know what they can experience when they visit.
It is absolutely free to be featured on the site. To see an example of featured attractions go to www.grandcentralrail.com and click on Places to Go and View Destination. If you wish to promote your venue send your details including web address and image to Kate.Thorpe@grandcentral.com
Kirkgate Station
An ambitious multi-million pound project to begin redeveloping Kirkgate station in August this year, is being spearheaded by Groundwork Wakefield. The scheme aims to bring this historic building back to everyday use with the help of its partners, Network Rail, Northern Rail, Wakefield Council, Rail Heritage Trust, Metro and Grand Central and local residents.
To find out more click here
The Queen's Diamond Jubilee
Celebrations and events throughout the UK will mark 60 years of The Queen's reign in 2012. The celebrations will centre around an extended weekend in 2012 on 2, 3, 4 and 5 June.
To find out what is being planned to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee and how you can take part click here.
