Minutes of BBT meeting 29th November 2011 – Talgarth Mill
Attendees: Nicola (Punch) Maughan (Director General), Andrew Fryer (Deputy Chair), Carol Williams (BBNPA), Alison Kidd & Peter Williams (The Prospectory), Nia Harries (Buckland Hall), Susie Gaskell (Priory Mill Farm), Michael Cunningham (Erwood Station Craft Centre), Brian Post (Ty Tal B&B), Linda Groves (Old Radnor Barn B&B), June Scarbourgh (Carno Farm), Carl & Annette Durham (Black Mountain Activities), Jeff Calligan (Mountain & River Activities), Mark Soanes (Call of the Wild), Gwen & Idris Jones (Penydre Farm Holidays), Katy Smith (Smithy’s Bunkhouse), J & Marianne Cahill (Lletty Cottage), Caroline Danby (Brecon Beacons Holiday Cottages), Anna Heywood (Drover Holidays), Fiona Walker (Llandovery Chamber of Commerce), John Lilly (Dragon Electrical Vehicles), Steve Sharp (Merryfields Barn), Amy Mackintosh & Paul Caldicott (Swan at Hay), Rhian & Ryan Thomas (Llangorse Rope Centre), Susie & James Suter (Gliffaes), Tom Hadfield (Visit Wales), Sharon Birch & Jon Everington (Glasbury OEC), Catherine Maggs (Brynich), Patrick Vyvyan Robinson
Apologies: James Hitchings (YHA), Nicky (The Hours), Gary Evans (SWOAPG / Hawk Associates), Ty Morwydd, Brecon Mountain Railway, Williams Welsh Walks, Elizabeth Jefferys (Chair), Richard Tyler (BBNPA)
Welcome & Talgarth Mill – the project:
Andrew Fryer welcomed everyone to Talgarth Mill and Alison Meachum introduced the Mill project. Since the Talgarth Mill was featured on the Village SOS TV programme 13,000 people have visited the Cafe and Mill. The aim of the business is to provide local jobs for the community and help the regeneration of the town. The mill employs both part time and full time people. The cafe operates as a franchise operation. As well as operating as a tourist attraction there are school groups who now visit for educational tours and these are proving very popular. There has been a positive knock on effect for the rest of the town. There are a number of volunteers involved whom include college students to retired people. All of the gifts sold in the shop are made by local people and there is also cooperation with the other local Village SOS winner Myddfai whose products are also sold in the shop.
Carol Williams, Tourism Growth Officer from the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority reported on some of the other tourism work that has been happening in Talgarth. ‘Destination Talgarth’ has been supported by Collabor8 funds and has the remit is to improve the tourism offering in the town. Their work has included improving the Talgarth website and creating walks in and around the town as well as producing a town map listing what else people can do locally. A food leaflet has been produced and more has been more made of the local mountain bike routes – Talgarth has the only ‘Black Killer Route’ in the Park. Also a Talgarth calendar was created, which has sold very well. The new Rural Alliances fund will hopefully continue to work with Destination Talgarth once the Collabor8 funds end.
BBT update:
• The Brecon Beacons Marketing Coordination group has appointed Peter Gill & Associates (a Cardiff company) to complete the branding consultation for the area.
• The brief for the destination website is live on Sell2Wales with interviews planned for the first week of January 2012. The finished site is anticipated in June 2012. This new website will bring together the BBNPA visitor content with the business website. Decisions are still to be made about:
– User reviews
– Online booking
– Social media platforms
– Business profile categories
• Press & PR breconnews@gmail.com
Alexandra & Frank Marr require ideas and images for a Brecon Beacons advent calendar. Hoping to produce a short blog post every day before Christmas. Most inventive ideas and best images will be featured. Christmas and wintry ideas……
They also require late availability and offers over the Christmas / New year period and any events – offers get mailed out every Monday.
October Press & PR Report :
Dutch journalists hosted for 4 days – 9 businesses helped
Fromers guide – 4 day itinerary planned
MTB journalists hosted for 2 days
Coverage:
3rd October – The Independent travel section – Hay-on-Wye Walking Festival
5th October – The Times – Special Offer
15th October – full page feature in the Times on great converted barns to stay
21st October – The Mirror – Monmouthshire Walking Festival
In addition the Marrs fielded 32 press requests: The types of requests being fielded are ‘Biking in the Brecon Beacons’, ‘Bushcraft’, family holidays, cycling trips, foraging trips, Green accommodation in the BBNP, most obscure tourist sites, Book towns, luxury accommodation with unique interiors, best country escapes, Halloween events, best Christmas accommodation, yoga weekends, affordable ideas and accommodation for half term, pet friendly accommodation with good images, remote hideaways, retreats….
• The BBT Facebook page www.facebook.com/thebreconbeacons is a place for local businesses to join in the ‘conversations’ and post images and ideas – it is also where the weekly offers are posted
• http://breconbeacons.wordpress.com There are plans to improve the blog in terms of SEO work and content.
BBT Member Benefits:
• BBT leaflet distribution is proving useful to BBT members and is being reviewed for 2012 when a new price list and routes will be issued.
• Pavey, a well respected insurance company is still offering discounted rates to BBT members (details will be sent out with renewal notices)
Grants & support
Details of all tourism support is hosted on www.getactive-beacons.co.uk/news
Tourism Investment Support Scheme (TISS) Visit Wales 0845 010 8020 ….tiss@wales.gsi.gov.uk
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/tourism/investsupport
Sustainable Powys – grants available
tourism.trade@powys.gov.uk 01874 612281
Business Support:
www.business.wales.gov.uk/newsletter
BBT Member Fees 2012
The proposed member fees had been mailed to all BBT members before the meeting with the request for any objections to be raised by November 25th. None had been received nor were there any objections from the floor. These fees will therefore form the basis of the 2012 renewals.
The rise was to help support the added opportunities that businesses are now getting to profile themselves on the blog and facebook pages as well as the chance to send offers and stories out via Alexandra Marr. The new destination website will also significantly enhance the profile that businesses will have by the end of the year.
Hay Walking Festival – follow up report
Anna Heywood reported back on the first Hay Walking Festival which happened in early October this year. The idea for the festival came from feedback received from the 2009 town questionnaire which showed that the most people were coming to Hay and walking but that normally the town was only known as the town of books.
The Festival was at a time of year when normally business was slack. There were 23 walks plus talk and events. The themed walks were the most popular. The publicity worked very well and the event also used existing Hay events. 280 walk tickets were sold, out of a possible 315 showing very good take up levels. There was very good feedback from participants, 60% of the participants were from the Hay area – the remainder from further afield. 2012 will see it extended to a 5 day festival and will be held on the 11th to 15th October 2012.
B-Bug project – summary report
Peter Williams reported on the B-Bug trial which ran over the Summer and explored the issue of travel in the Beacons. From a Beacons wide transport study conducted in 2010 it was shown that people staying in the Beacons often travel quite long distances while on holiday. When they won the Green Dragon’s Den at Hay Festival in 2010 two B-Bugs was developed.
The B-Bug aims to explore a green alternative to the car and to see if visitors would use them. An electrical charging network was created around the Beacons and the B-Bug made people think about their journeys and how to keep their trips local and using local businesses.
While not a car replacement it does work well as a short car journey replacement. It offers a fun alternative and actually had an impact of behaviour and travel patterns.
It is hoped that the B-Bugs might become a regular sight in the Beacons in the future – difficulties with regard to insurance & hiring the vehicles is being researched. See the presentation – here
Technology and the Tourist
Tom Hadfield, Regional Digital Strategist from Visit Wales introduced the Digital Tourism Business Framework Partnership (DTBFP), which is reviewing the use of technology in Wales and educating people on how to improve the offering here. It is also a grant programme for businesses in convergence areas.
Visitors to Wales have a high expectation of what they can do when they arrive via smart phones, notepads and websites going forward need to anticipate this. There are new technologies like QR codes which could be incorporated quite easily into the tourism industry. Concerns were raised that in a rural area where there is intermittent broadband and mobile connectivity not only were our visitors not accessing what they need but that businesses are unaware of the opportunities they could be offering online. Any queries re innovation and support can be directed to Tom. The Powys RDPfunds will help Powys businesses with an IT review and Medwrn can be encouraged to match some of the courses being offered under the scheme in other areas.
Tom’s presentation can be viewed here
tom.hadfield@wales.gsi.gov.uk 07896 917 077
http://wales.gov.uk/topics/yourism/digital/?lang+en
BBT 2012 meeting dates:-
Tuesday, 31st January 2012
Tuesday, 27th March 2012 – AGM
Tourism In Action Conference:
- Tuesday the 13th March 2012
