Registrations are now open for The Great West Way Travel Trade Marketplace, taking place from 21-24 November in Windsor. The flagship annual trade event, led by VisitWiltshire, will bring buyers and suppliers together to package products and destinations from England’s Great West Way.
International and domestic trade buyers are invited to attend the four-day event, starting with a private tour and drinks reception at Windsor Castle, followed by a VIP evening at De Vere Beaumont Estate.
On Friday 22 November, there will be a series of one-to-one appointments in The Castle Hotel, Windsor, where tour operators and wholesalers will meet with attractions, hotels, transport, ground handlers representatives and other sectors of the route’s tourism infrastructure, with a view to contacting their products and selling them to their customers.
Attendees will be the first to see the new Great West Way Travel Trade Directory, featuring over 300 local businesses – a key tool in helping trade develop bookable products along the route. There will be also an extensive Delegate Directory ensuring buyers and suppliers have all the information required to continue to develop business relationships, working together to bring bookable packages to market.
On 23 & 24 November, buyers will be taken out on the route for a first-hand look at what it has to offer. Attendees have a choice of three Discovery Visits: Highlights of the Great West Way, and Travel Through Time along the Great West Way. Each has been designed to showcase the routes’ key places to stay, eat, drink amongst other things to do.
Florence Wallace, Head of Travel Trade said, “We are delighted that this event is so popular for buyers and suppliers. Last year we welcomed 40 buys and over 50 launches, so hope to exceed these numbers. we are keen to continue our partnerships with Official Tour Operators offering one-to-one assistance in helping them develop new Great West Way theme programmes, whilst facilitating business introductions with a range of Ambassador suppliers.”
Since the launch of the Great West Way Ambassador Network in April 2018, 230+ top tourism businesses, destinations, and attractions along the route have signed up to support the project as Ambassadors. There are now also more than 50 Tour Operators either already selling or developing on-brand Great West Way tour programmes since the launch of the Great West Way Official Tour Operators programme in May 2018.
For more information about Great West Way on their website or to book your place now.
