Our work Leisure Excursions for Cruise and Conference in Southern England
The Leisure Excursions for Cruise and Conference in Southern England project was one of several initiatives to receive funding from the UK Government’s £40 million Discover England Fund.
It focused on increasing the global competitiveness of Southampton and Plymouth as cruise ports and maximising the economic impact of the annual influx of two million international cruise passengers annually that dock on England’s south coast.
The partnership created a new suite of bookable, commissionable leisure excursions to make both ports more attractive to cruise operators and to encourage more of their customers to step ashore and explore the cities and surrounding counties of Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall – rather than simply use the ports as a stepping stone to excursions outside the local area.
Ambition
The aim was to encourage cruise passengers to stay local for longer and to persuade them to spend more time in Southampton, Plymouth and the wider Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall areas by providing an enhanced shore excursion programme.
It would showcase the area, promote regional options for tourists close to the ports and, as a result, boost businesses and the visitor economy.
Action
Four Marketing Agency was brought on board to drive a media campaign highlighting the exciting new excursions and the historical and cultural attractions around the two port cities.
A strategic media relations campaign was devised, extensive, bespoke lists of key press and influencers were curated and personal invitations were issued to a wide range of journalists and writers to maximise media exposure.
Result
A successful media campaign which highlighted the partnership’s key aims across local, national and international publications. More than 20 pieces of coverage with more than 2,828,000 opportunities to view were achieved in publications including Group Travel World and Cruise Trade News. Keen interest was also generated among numerous journalists, at home and abroad, eager to take up the offer of a press trip to the area with several potential visits in the pipeline.