NEWSLETTER

Screen West Midlands, the regional screen agency for the West Midlands, giving all tourism business in Shropshire the opportunity to promote themselves to potential film crews and production staff who are looking for filming locations in Shropshire. If your property is used then film fees are usually paid on top of the obvious advantages of promotion.

Responsible for supporting, promoting and developing media productions who are wishing to shoot in the region, Screen West Midlands are currently developing an online database of available filming locations in Shropshire and the West Midlands. This online database of locations will be available for production staff and researchers to search and browse when looking for possible film locations.

As a Shropshire business, you are being given the opportunity to register on this database to raise awareness of your property as a possible filming location and to benefit from potential film production projects taking place in the region.

The recent filming for the already acclaimed Hollywood feature ‘Atonement’(starring Keira Knightley) in South Shropshire, highlights the economic benefits that filming can bring to the County. The estimated economic benefit for South Shropshire as a result of this filming generated an accommodation spend in excess of £300,000 with an additional spend of £4,000 for fees paid to extras. This spend was generated in only 5 weeks and demonstrates that not only does filming of this magnitude bring money into the County but it also generates income for accommodation and other local businesses. Another production to take place in the county was the film ‘Straightheads’ starring Gillian Anderson, which took place at Mawley Hall in Cleobury Mortimer last year.

As part of their location search, Screen West Midlands are looking for all type of properties, not just majestic castles and stately homes. Perhaps your property has a series of unique features that will attract the attention of a film producer, or is located in a fantastic setting with stunning views or perhaps it just has a certain something about it. It is surprising what film producers and researchers look for when searching for locations which is why all properties and locations can register on the database.

To register on the new database, visit www.screenwm.co.uk and download a registration form. Registration forms must be completed in full and submitted with a selection of images (both inside and out) to represent the property. Digital images are preferred but traditional images can be accepted and scanned.

This is a free service with no charges being made for registration on the database and property fees will be available to locations used by production companies. Properties registered on the database will initially only be identified by a reference number and county location with enquiries from potential film companies brokered by Screen West Midlands in the first instance.

For further information on this opportunity, please contact Screen West Midlands on 0121 2657120 or visit www.screenwm.co.uk

A date for your diary…as a member of Shropshire Tourism we would like to invite you to the next Shropshire Tourism (UK) Ltd AGM, to be held on Thursday 25th January 2007 at the Lord Hill Hotel in Shrewsbury. This is your chance to hear all that the company has planned for the next twelve months. You have the opportunity to put forward questions to our board and nominate your private sector representatives. Another key issue will be how the company is going to restructure following the creation of the new Destination Management Partnership (DMP).

You will have been sent the AGM attendance slip which needs to be completed and returned to us by Wednesday 10th January. You will also have received the agenda for the meeting, and you are able to view and download the minutes of the previous meeting and financial report from the website: www.stmem.com. If you would like a hard copy, please contact us and we will send one through to you. We hope you can attend and look forward to seeing you there.

As Shropshire Tourism members we are sure you will be aware of the importance of the web as a primary marketing tool for your business. Visitors are using websites far more than ever before and as this trend is expected to continue it is vital that you have your own bespoke site.

Shropshire Tourism can build you an individual bespoke website and host it too. We can provide you with a design to suit your needs, reflect your own branding and we can manage the site on your behalf. This includes marketing the site on all the major search engines, updating it as often as you wish and providing you with measurable statistics so you can track its effectiveness.

With the addition of two new web developers to the team at Harlescott Barns. Andy Holmes-Brown and Peter Harrison, we are more equipped than ever to cater for the web needs of our members.

So if you need a new website or want your old one re-designing please contact us.

For more information on our website services including individual bespoke websites visit the members website by clicking here

Shropshire Tourism will be launching two new bespoke websites in the New Year.

We know that many visitors to Shropshire come to the county with a specific type of day’s entertainment in mind. Therefore the brand new Gardens & Nurseries and Family Fun sites will be the ideal research tool for garden lovers and families to plan their day trips in the county.

For an annual fee of £65 (inc VAT), an entry on either of the sites will consist of 200 words of text and 2 images, also a link to your own website will be provided. Shropshire Tourism members can take advantage of the discounted rate of £52 (inc VAT) to appear on the site.

The sites are currently under construction, but you can view their progress at www.shropshiregardens.com and www.shropshirefamilyfun.com

Booking information for these sites was sent out with the Places to Visit booklet information, however if you would like further information please do not hesitate to contact Jodie Stephen at the Barns.

The team at the Barns have lots of exciting marketing campaigns planned for 2007.

The campaign supporting the Shropshire & Welsh Borders brochure has already kicked in with requests for the 2007 brochure winging their way in the post. We are well prepared with thousands of pre-packed envelopes of the 2007 brochure waiting to be mailed out in response to the national advertising campaign which starts after Christmas.

We have also started an email campaign which has purposely been sent out before the Christmas break targeting previous enquirers for the Shropshire brochure. The results have been encouraging showing a 30% response rate. We will be doing some follow up conversion in the New Year to see if the respondents actually booked to visit our fair county as a result of the campaign.

The team at the barns will certainly be getting their creative juices flowing in the New Year as further e-marketing campaigns are planned throughout the year.

Yet, another new member benefit for you!

Shropshire Tourism has negotiated a 10% discount with Ryan Insurance on Bed & Breakfast insurance premiums for Shropshire Tourism members.

If you run a Bed & Breakfast you will no doubt have some form of insurance cover in place. However, are you certain that your insurance policy includes the extra cover you need, essential to running a successful B&B? For example does your current policy include the following?

*Full accidental damage cover to include damage caused by paying guests
*Public liability cover to include your paying guests
*Full theft cover, should the unspeakable happen and a guest was to steal from you
*Cover for guests’ personal belongings
*Loss of income, e.g. following a fire, storm or flood

If you haven’t got all of this cover in place you could be leaving yourself vulnerable in the event of a claim. You may think that a domestic home insurance policy covering your buildings and contents is enough. The simple fact is most ordinary domestic policies will not include any of the above cover.

The Bed & Breakfast policy from Ryan Insurance Group may not necessarily cost a great deal more than you are paying already, in fact you may find you pay less as you only need to buy one policy instead of maybe two or three.

For peace of mind check out your current insurance arrangements, so all you have to worry about are your guests.

For further information, please contact Jodie Stephen at Shropshire Tourism on 01743 462462. Or visit the official Ryan Insurance Group website www.ryan-group.co.uk Remember to mention that you are a Shropshire Tourism member if contacting Ryan Insurance direct.

Shropshire now has a new platform from which to specifically promote the range of walking, cycling and riding routes that the County has to offer with three new bespoke activity websites.

Commissioned by Shropshire County Council and constructed by Shropshire Tourism, these new websites which can be viewed at www.shropshirewalking.co.uk, www.shropshirecycling.co.uk and www.shropshireriding.co.uk have been designed to help develop these important niche markets for Shropshire. Each of the websites are fully searchable with many of the routes in downloadable leaflet formats.

The websites also feature accommodation sections which not only enables accommodation providers to promote their business to potential visitors but also enhances the content and appeal to the prospective user. Businesses who wish to feature within the websites must have, alongside their National grading, a current grading under the new National ‘Walkers Welcome’/ ‘Cyclists Welcome’ scheme. Run by Visit Britain the scheme promotes accommodation providers that have the necessary facilities to specifically cater for the needs of walkers and cyclists. This criteria for inclusion ensures that the accommodations listed on the sites are suited to the specific needs of walkers and cyclists therefore enabling an enhanced visitor experience.

If you would like more information on these sites, please do not hesitate to contact us.

You can tell it's Christmas when the advertising information for the Places to Visit booklet drops through your door!

The popularity of the booklet continues to increase each year, no surprise really, as the handy booklet is the perfect guide for the visitor to carry around with them as they plan their day trips whilst on holiday in the county.

The detailed booklet covers a wide selection of Shropshire top attractions, including historic houses, gardens, farm attractions and everything in-between.

Don’t miss out on your chance to be included in the booklet, send your booking forms in ASAP! If you need further information please feel free to contact Jodie.

As a new member benefit for 2006/07 Shropshire Tourism members are now eligible for a 15% discount off new applications for AA inspections, and renewals or applications with Quality In Tourism (on behalf of Visit Britain).

In order to apply for the discount you just need to provide the AA or Quality in Tourism with proof that you are a Shropshire Tourism member, this can be in the form of your membership certificate, at the time of application.

For further information please contact us here at the barns.

Just a reminder for you to keep a regular check on your member web entry on the www.shropshiretourism.co.uk website and keep us updated on any changes you may have, particularly 2007 prices.

Our aim is to keep the site as fresh and up to date as possible, we are here to support you and your business, so please feel to call or email us with any changes to your web entry.

The team at the Barns would like to thank you for your continued support and wish you a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2007!

Shropshire Tourism - Harlescott Barns - Harlescott - Shrewsbury - Shropshire -  SY1 3SZ

Tel: 01743 462462

Fax:01743 462035