One of the UK’s top country house estates welcomed travel trade VIPS this week. Shugborough Hall was the superb venue for the Staffordshire Showcase event which hosted over 100 coach and tour operators and group travel organisers from all over the country. The estate was formerly the home of the fifth Earl of Lichfield – Patrick Lichfield.
Set up an opportunity to meet the cream of the Staffordshire tourism industry, the tour buyers were able to meet hotels, attractions, meal stops, venues and destinations face to face – all with bringing groups of visitors to Staffordshire the goal. A previous showcase event for Staffordshire based at the Wedgwood Museum and Visitor Centre two years ago helped boost group visits to the county.
Organised by Enjoy Staffordshire and Visit Stoke-on-Trent with support from UK group travel specialists Steve Reed Tourism from Hampshire, some of the county’s best and most loved attractions were at the event – including Alton Towers; The National Memorial Arboretum; Trentham Estate; Drayton Manor; Middleport Pottery; The Regent Theatre and Victoria Hall; The Trentham Monkey Forest and the Wedgwood Visitor Centre & Museum to name just a few.
The Moat House Hotel in nearby Acton Trussell hosted a special familiarisation evening for some of the group buyers the night before – they joined the many other delegates at Shugborough the next day.
Sam Hall is the Visitor Economy Manager for Stoke-on-Trent:
‘Staffordshire tourism businesses really did pull out all of the stops to yet again come up with a highly successful business-generating event. There’s no better way to get real bookings than to showcase in this way, says Sam. ‘The venue was top class and helped show Staffordshire to its best advantage.’ The tour operators enjoyed guided tours of Shugborough including the private rooms of Lord Lichfield as well as a delicious lunch during their visit there.
‘This was a tremendous effort by the team at Visit Stoke and Enjoy Staffordshire,’ says Steve Reed of Steve Reed Tourism Ltd.
‘Many of the exhibitors at the event will experience a growth in their group bookings as a result of the Showcase and this was an example of a great partnership between private and public sector working together to bring in new business.’
For more information on Staffordshire please visit http://www.enjoystaffordshire.com/
For more information on Steve Reed Tourism visit http://www.stevereedtourism.co.uk/
