Visit Dorset, the partnership responsible for promoting Dorset has successfully delivered three exclusive events for local tourism business over the last few months.
Free events in Blandford, Christchurch and Weymouth in October and November brought a total of 133 individual businesses together to discuss and celebrate digital marketing in the tourism industry.
Events were held at the Hall & Woodhouse Brewery in Blandford, The Kings Arms in Christchurch and the Nothe Fort in Weymouth. Tourism businesses were treated to ‘on the sofa’ debates on a range of topics including social media, digital engagement, strategy development and how to generate more bookings. All debates were beginner-friendly and facilitated by Nigel Barker, digital marketing adviser for Department of International Trade in the South West.
The Visit Dorset team were joined by panels of industry leading speakers that included representatives from, but not limited to, the global agency Crowd, The MacGuffin Project and Salad Creative. The debates focused on the impact digital innovation and marketing can have on a tourism business in Dorset.
Nick Thornley, on behalf of the Visit Dorset Tourism Partnership, said: “We were thrilled with the fantastic response from tourism businesses to our series of events. We received great feedback from numerous attendees that enjoyed learning how digital technology could boost their profile.
“Our Nothe Fort event was oversubscribed, highlighting just how much interest flooded in from businesses across the county to engage with this topic. We hope to offer similar events in the future.”
Nigel Barker, digital marketing adviser for Department of International Trade in the South West, added: “I am delighted to have worked with Visit Dorset on their recent series of events. The digital world never sits still for very long and is now the number one medium for researching and booking holidays globally. It was great to see so many eager to learn businesses in Dorset and engage in friendly debate with them about how best to push their business forward.”
Visit Dorset supports local businesses by providing a platform for visitors to easily plan and book their visit to Dorset. The official tourism website for Dorset, www.visit-dorset.com, receives over 2 million visits each year and includes a dedicated industry area for members which provides a hub of up-to-date information and resources for the county’s tourism trade.
