Attracting more visitors to the district and encouraging them to stay for longer is the driving force behind a brand new website and an exciting new partnership.
Canterbury City Council, Canterbury Business Improvement District (BID) and Visit Kent have joined forces to create a brand new Visit Canterbury website and a dynamic new alliance that will promote our corner of the Garden of England with a single voice.
The new Visit Canterbury website and its associated social media accounts are now managed by Canterbury BID, which is both investing and providing staff resources to run the platforms.
By bringing the public and private sector together to shape the platform, Visit Canterbury is in a strong position to compete for visitors on the national and international stage.
The new website has been designed by Visit Kent, a not for profit organisation that is recognised as one of the country’s leading Destination Management Organisations, working with partners across the county to target UK and overseas markets to raise Kent’s profile as a premier destination, improving quality and skills within the industry, and growing investment in tourism.
What better time to launch the new website than Christmas, when Canterbury is a leading retail destination for visitors looking for a festive trip? Boasting more than six miles of Christmas lights, Christmas markets, grottos and pantos, a fantastic choice of shops and restaurants, not forgetting Christmas services in Canterbury Cathedral, there is plenty to enjoy.
Visit Canterbury is the hub for all Christmas content and the key platform for anyone planning a trip. The platform already has an audience of more than 25,000 people through social channels alone.
With influencer trips and cross platform marketing campaigns running throughout the festive season, the reach will continue to expand and support the district at this key time of year.
Leader of Canterbury City Council, Cllr Ben Fitter-Harding, said: “It is no secret that we’ve felt the way we promote the district and encourage people to visit so they can enjoy everything it has to offer has needed a massive injection of energy and better dedicated resources for some time.
“By the city council, the Canterbury BID, Visit Kent and key stakeholders coming together we can draw on our passion for the district and our overwhelming pride in it, our expertise, our creativity and our relationships with the wider world to market the district more powerfully than ever before.
“Not only will that boost business and create jobs, a key component of the council’s Corporate Plan, but also provide a strong foundation to shout from the rooftops to the wider world about the improvements we hope to bring using the cash on offer from the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
“By having a single, more powerful voice to promote the benefits of the district, we will also convince people it is a fantastic place to invest in, work in, study in and live in.”
Lisa Carlson, Chief Executive of the Canterbury BID, and her team are focused on making the Visit Canterbury website something people will want to engage with.
She said: “Working together we are able to ensure the Visit Canterbury website is packed full of really rich content that entices people to visit the district.
“That has never been more important, as destinations compete across the county and the UK for visitors and turbulent economic times means that visitors are demanding more from their spending.”
Deirdre Wells OBE, Chief Executive of Visit Kent, believes boosting the district’s tourism trade will bring wider benefits too.
She said: “A strong visitor economy can be an amazing catalyst for a wider recovery and economic growth.
“Positioning the district at an appealing destination for a UK break will also deliver benefits to residents through attracting investment into the area and making it somewhere people are proud to call their own.”
Despite the challenging economic climate, recent VisitBritain research showed that 73% of UK adults are still intending to take an overnight trip in the UK next year.
Deirdre commented: “consumers will be making trade offs when making decisions about where to visit so as a destination we’ll need to work even harder to compete with other places around the UK and convince people that Canterbury is the perfect base for exploring everything the District and wider county has to offer.”
