As ever, we have had a great mix of projects over the last year. Some of these are highlighted below:

Looking at how best to inform the visitor

• We have followed up past work on information systems with a review of Bath TIC.

• We have also looked at how the London Ambassador Scheme can be developed and promoted to a wider range of stakeholders by the LDA and undertaken evaluations of the Britain and London Visitor Centre and the InfoBike project on the South Bank.

• Our work for Visit London has included our fourth year of providing Marketing Surgeries to the tourism departments of the London Boroughs and developing a Marketing Toolkit (a compendium of 80 simple tips) for the same parties.

• This work for VL has included a number of website reviews for local destinations (Greenwich, Camden etc) and we have also helped English Heritage think through their proposal for a composite website portal for Stonehenge.

Making tourism more sustainable

• We continue to promote a more sustainable approach to tourism development and management. At a policy level, we have been engaged by the Tourism Sustainability Council to develop and test guidance, in the form of a draft manual, for the introduction of an international accreditation service which can be applied to individual certification schemes for sustainable tourism enterprises.

• At a practical level, we have been working for 9 Protected Landscapes in the South East on a major project to develop holiday packages and experiences which are rooted in the special qualities of these areas and involve rural tourism enterprises which are signed up to a sustainable approach.

• We are also involved in projects in the Cairngorms (tourism strategy, ongoing), St Lucia (agro-tourism development) and the National Forest (a new strategy and action plan).

• Other tourism strategies we have completed over the last year include North Wales, Bridgend and Rhyl/Colwyn Bay.

Meeting visitor needs at attractions

• One of our more unusual and challenging briefs this year has been the preparation of an interpretation strategy for the National Memorial Arboretum near Lichfield. This included a detailed analysis of potentially sensitive themes around the subject of Remembrance and the preparation of a concept for communicating appropriate stories and messages.

• On the strength of our work for the Heritage Lottery Fund (writing ‘Thinking about…. audience development’), we have also been involved in two successful HLF bid proposals at Fulham Palace and Lichfield Parks and are currently working with CBA on an ADP for Brooke Park in Derry, Northern Ireland.

Accommodation development

• We have had a range of accommodation projects this year including a strategy for hotel development in Bath, a feasibility study for a new privately owned country house hotel at Silverstone and we are currently working on a social enterprise proposal for self-catering accommodation in South Wales.

 Cruise tourism

• Cruise tourism has played a part in a number of our previous projects, most notably in the Cayman Islands, but this year we have been involved in two detailed cruise terminal projects.

• The first was for the Mayor of London, reviewing the potential for a new terminal in central London. Enderby’s Wharf is now slated for opening by 2012.

• We were then commissioned by Gravesham BC to consider the options for cruise provision on the lower Thames.

Evaluating performance

• We worked with Roger Tym on an evaluation of the LDA’s information programme, ‘Building the Visitor Welcome’ and are currently working with SQW on an evaluation of the Yorkshire Regional Tourism Programme.

  Project Archive