Visit Nottinghamshire, the official tourist board for the city and county, will be teaming up with Nottingham Castle to showcase this fantastic tourist destination and flagship visitor attraction to hundreds of global travel trade buyers at ExploreGB Virtual (1st – 5th March 2021) in a bid to drive international tourism as soon as it is safe to visit and confidence returns.
This flagship virtual event will accommodate all time zones – meaning that the Nottingham team will be able to forge long-lasting business connections with international buyers from both long and short haul destinations, helping to drive tourism to the city and county and boosting bookings to support the recovery of the hard-hit tourism sector.
The virtual exhibition booth contains inspiring information, imagery and video content about Nottingham as a tourist destination, showcasing how visitors can follow in the footsteps of Robin Hood, discover underground caves beneath the city streets, stop for a drink in the oldest inn in England, see stunning architecture, explore award-winning parks and green spaces, experience the vibrant cultural offer and much more.
The team will highlight the exciting developments at Nottingham Castle, one of the region’s major tourist attractions located at the heart of the city’s regenerated Castle Quarter. The “Castle of Curious Rebels” will offer a contemporary and creative retelling of history, art and industry, with one of the most eagerly awaited experiences an innovative and immersive exploration of the legend of Robin Hood. The Castle promises to be a must-see tourist destination for everyone from history-seekers to art buffs and families, from both domestic and international markets.
To further boost the recovery of the tourism sector, Visit Nottinghamshire is also investing into its website to integrate digital marketplace TXGB to allow visitors to make direct bookings for attractions, experiences and hotels, has launched a new Nottingham toolkit to help other businesses promote the city to visitors, and is refurbishing the Nottingham Tourism Centre to bring Robin Hood centre stage, encouraging visitors to discover the legend for themselves at Nottingham’s tourist attractions including Nottingham Castle.
Kinga Kapias, Marketing and Communications Manager at Visit Nottinghamshire said:
“Despite the challenges of COVID-19, Nottinghamshire is at a really exciting point in its history. Once reopened, Nottingham Castle is set to become Nottingham’s flagship visitor attraction and is anticipated to welcome in excess of 300,000 visitors a year, post the Covid pandemic. This will help supercharge the recovery of our tourism sector, with local tourism and hospitality businesses expected to feel the benefit of its presence in the months and years to come. It is vital that we make the most of this opportunity, and industry events such as ExploreGB will help us to get our world-class destination in front of global travel trade professionals and drive international tourism to Nottingham as soon as the sector reopens and confidence returns.”
Sara Blair-Manning, Chief Executive of Nottingham Castle said:
“The reopening of Nottingham Castle will be truly transformational for Nottingham, re-emphasising the city as a key destination on the tourist map and boosting the local economy. Attending ExploreGB alongside Visit Nottinghamshire will enable us to bring this world-class attraction to both domestic and global markets, helping us to achieve our ambitious targets of welcoming more than 300,000 people through the doors every year once the tourism sector recovers. We’re looking forward to engaging international travel trade professionals in conversation about our key themes of Robin Hood, rebellion and creativity, and opening up our ‘Castle of Curious Rebels’ to the world.”
VisitBritain Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said:
“ExploreGB Virtual gives travel industry suppliers and destinations from across the UK the chance to promote their outstanding tourism products and services to top global buyers and forge valuable, lasting business connections.”
“This flagship global trade event will also keep the UK front of mind as a competitive, leading destination, inspiring future travel and broadening travel itineraries as visitors explore more and contribute to local economies.”
Image credit – Tracey Whitefoot and Nottingham Castle Trust.
Posted on 01 March 2021
