Soft-launch of new Coastal Pass to Dutch market!

New holiday booking tool for England’s east coast trialled at Dutch travel show

The National Coastal Tourism Academy is soft-launching a new Coastal Pass at Vakantiebeurs this week in Utrecht, the Netherlands, to encourage Dutch visitors to explore more on the east coast of England and be inspired to create their own itineraries. The Coastal Pass is funded by The UK Government’s Discover England Fund and administered by VisitEngland.

The Pass allows holidaymakers to devise their own itineraries by watching interactive videos. It condenses the marketing and booking process and draws attention to stretches of coastline little explored by international visitors.

Holidaymakers will be able to select accommodation, places to eat and days out all at the click of a button.

The Pass features new film highlighting the beauty of England’s east coast; extending from the port of Hull through to Harwich, taking in the resorts of Skegness and Cleethorpes and 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.

“Visitors from the Netherlands have easy access through the major ports of Hull and Harwich, so attracting Dutch visitors and highlighting the wealth of attractions across the east coast region seemed a natural fit,” said Samantha Richardson, NCTA director.

“The Discover England Fund encourages international visitors to explore the regions of England and Dutch visitors aged over 45 are a growth market. This age group often has the flexibility to travel off-season so we’re demonstrating what this coastline offers year-round and making it easy for them to design their own itineraries,” she said.

The Coastal Pass focuses on six themes; nature and wildlife, touring through history, active holidays, arts and culture, coastal life and the ‘must see’ attractions on the east coast. It covers five counties, East Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex.

“By producing stimulating digital content we hope to inspire visitors to book a coastal visit and use this innovative technology to discover new options and create bespoke personalised itineraries,” added Samantha Richardson.

“There’s enormous untapped potential on England’s east coast. We know visitors from The Netherlands enjoy active trips and we hope this Pass will increase cycling and walking breaks with accommodation, activities and travel all in one central site.”

VistitBritain/VisitEngland Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said:

“This project allows visitors to choose exciting coastal activities that appeal to them individually and book them collectively, getting them out exploring new areas of England and driving tourism from the important Dutch market.”

Visit Hall 11, Stand DO12 to see the Coastal Pass in action and find out more from the National Coastal Tourism Academy’s Sarah Loftus.

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Notes to editors: The National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) is a Coastal Communities Fund project that analyses the nature of coastal tourism to help boost jobs and the coastal tourism economy. It works with academia and the tourism industry to bridge gaps in research, visitor experience, training and skills. Having worked initially in Bournemouth with the local tourism industry and Bournemouth University, the NCTA is now working with coastal resorts nationally.

For further media information and to arrange a press trip through the Coastal Pass, 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 British 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 has seen record tourism spend in the past year 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.