The Discover England Fund’s US Connections project has organised the UK’s first National Tour Guiding Conference, as part of a bid to attract more US visitors.
It will take place on 9 November 2018 in Drapers Hall, an historic venue in the City of London.
The conference will support the development of the tour-guiding sector across England, by sharing best practice, research and insights, innovations and enabling tour guides to network.
Amanda Lumley, Executive Director for Destination Plymouth and US Connections Project Director, said: “Research demonstrates that there is a significant demand from US visitors to have a guided tour while in the UK, allowing them to meet local people and bring stories to life through immersing themselves in the heritage and history of England.”
The event will provide tour guides with tips for making their tours ‘bookable’ and accessible to international audiences, and offer networking opportunities for all types of tour guide – from Blue, Green and White Badge guides, to ancestral guides, driver guides, volunteers and local greeter schemes, costumed and character-led guides.
There will be speakers from organisations including Wanderlust, Unique Devon Tours, Kuoni Global Travel Services, XV Insights, Robin Hood @EzekialBone, Visit Cambridge and Beyond and VisitBritain.
Emma Thornton, Chief Executive for Visit Cambridge and Beyond – the lead partner supporting the delivery of this event – said: “Visit Cambridge delivers guided walking tours for around 80,000 visitors each year and tours form a very significant part of our business.
“A key priority for us is to continue to develop and innovate with our tour product and this conference, which is the first of its kind, offers an exciting opportunity to bring the national guiding community together to explore opportunities in this area.”
US Connections is a collaboration between 13 destinations, led by Destination Plymouth, to develop tourism products in the lead-up to 2020, a year which marks the 400th anniversary of the Mayflower’s historic voyage from Plymouth to the New World.
It is one of several successful projects to benefit from the UK government’s £40 million Discover England Fund.
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