New booking tool opens up England’s east coast - from Yorkshire to Essex!

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

A tailor-made trip to England’s east coast has now become radically simpler to create with the launch of a new Coastal Pass – an interactive booking tool which allows travellers to design their own itineraries and explore this coastline at the click of a button.

The Coastal Pass – www.coastalpass.com - showcases the diverse beauty of England’s east coast with interactive video spanning five counties, from Yorkshire to Essex taking in family favourite resorts like Skegness and Cleethorpes but also hidden treasures like Sutton-on-Sea, spreading across Norfolk’s 90 miles of expansive coastline, from Great Yarmouth and Cromer to the sweeping stretches of the Suffolk Coast.

The Pass focuses on six themes; top highlights, wildlife and nature, arts and culture, heritage, coastal life and active breaks, allowing visitors to devise and book a holiday tailor-made to suit them. More than 250 tourism businesses – bed and breakfasts, hotels, pubs, nature reserves, attraction and activity providers – are included on the Pass.

It has been developed by the National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) with funding from the Discover England Fund administered by VisitEngland. It is aimed at both domestic and international visitors and is being trialled with Dutch visitors who have easy access via the ports of Hull and Harwich.

“The Coastal Pass’ video content brings the rich diversity of the east coast to life in a new way,” says Samantha Richardson, NCTA director.

“Focusing on attracting a new audience, off-peak, visitors can create their own itineraries and book accommodation, places to eat and activities in one simple booking process. Furthermore, the Pass highlights some of the east coast’s less explored attractions – nature reserves, stately homes and some of the region’s excellent local food and drink.

“This unspoilt stretch of coastline is perfect for nature lovers offering the chance to watch seals and their pups, spot rare birds or for active holidays with its miles of coastal paths and nature trails. Equally the larger beach resorts of Great Yarmouth, Skegness and Lowestoft are a draw for families whatever the weather.”

The Pass’ Highlights-themed video offers an introduction to the region, opening with the chalky cliffs of East Yorkshire’s Flamborough Head, one of the most important seabird colonies in Europe, Frampton Marsh wetland nature reserve, the Georgian splendour of Sewerby Hall and Gardens and the old-world charm of Mersea Island, the perfect spot to feast on fresh native oysters.


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Notes to editors:

The National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) supports the growth of the visitor economy on the coast through the dissemination of good practice and the creation and interpretation of research that leads to exceptional visitor experiences.

It works with academia and the tourism industry nationally to raise the profile of coastal tourism and deliver solutions that address coastal challenges and help businesses maximise the opportunities for growth on the coast.

For further media information, please contact Sheron Crossman, Marketing and Communications Manager, Sheron.crossman@coastaltourismacademy.co.uk or tel: 01202 962565.

About the Discover England Fund

  • In November 2015, the Government announced a £40 million Discover England Fund; an unprecedented opportunity for English tourism. The Fund aims to deliver world-class bookable tourism products joined up across geographies and/or themes; including integrated transport solutions to provide an end-to-end customer experience.
  • The Fund supports the growth of one of England’s most successful export industries, inbound tourism. England saw record tourism spend in 2015 from both domestic and international visitors delivering economic growth and jobs across all the English regions.
  • The Fund will support a number of projects and pilots in year one (2016/17) to test and develop product development approaches and a small number of large-scale collaborative projects that create a step-change in bookable English tourism product for international consumers (in years two and three - 2017-19). A smaller funding pot for new one year projects and pilots, and continuation funding for existing round one projects that can demonstrate early learnings, will also be available.

About VisitBritain/VisitEngland

  • VisitBritain/VisitEngland is the national tourism agency – a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS)
  • Working with a wide range of partners in both the UK and overseas, our mission is to grow the volume and value of inbound tourism across the nations and regions of Britain and to develop world-class English tourism product to support our growth aspirations. For further information and to access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics visit www.visitbritain.orgor www.visitbritain.com and www.visitengland.comfor consumer information.