An Exciting Time for Northamptonshire’s Visitor Economy
Having been invited to the Growing Northamptonshire’s Visitor Economy conference this week, I was thrilled to be part of the audience listening about Northamptonshire’s visitor economy, its future potential and how companies can contribute to making the county a better place to live and work.
Having read the Tourism Strategy of Northamptonshire and attended a meeting at Northampton’s Museum and Art Gallery about Grow Northamptonshire’s visitor Economy, it is evident that there are many tourism products that businesses can incorporate into what they currently offer to visitors, including there being many opportunities for businesses to create products through collaboration and innovation. While the report does highlight issues of sustainability, accessibility, and employment, it also considers the variety of tourism markets and how the development of new products and services could better serve them, whether this is through the likes of our blue and green infrastructure or history and heritage attractions.
The conference showed how much potential there is for Northamptonshire's tourism economy to grow and turn into a must-visit destination that is inclusive, sustainable, and accessible to everyone. Listening to Rachael Gills, Visit England’s Regional Development Lead for the Midlands and East of England, about Northamptonshire being credited as a Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), it became clear that if the county was lead, managed and marketed in a coordinated manner it would not only become a desirable place to work and live, but also enhances its perception among both domestic and internation visitors.
It was great to hear from the regional Director of Sales, Lizzie Harwood, of Sedgebrook Hall and Martin Lyons the manager of about their sustainability achievements. Like many accommodations, Sedgebrook Hall has a wide range of guest services, however they have taken note of how they can make each aspect of the hotel more sustainable, that not only benefits the environment but the customer experience. I would personally say that Sedgebrook Hall is a role model for other accommodation providers that are looking at cutting their carbon footprint.
It was fantastic to hear from Jake Hill, Sale Executive of Trapp’d, the UK’s number 1 escape room and rage rooms. I personally was very intrigued to hear how the company has integrated historical elements from places like Chester House into their virtual experiences. I actually spoke to Jake and his assistant Chloe after the presentation as it is the 350th anniversary of the Great Fire of Northampton next year. In my opinion, it would be fantastic if Northampton Town Council and Trapp'd Limited worked together on a project that not only explained the background of this historical event but also fully immersed the person. If done well, this could be the first virtual dark tourism experience and serve as a model for many others.
Sneak Peek
I wanted to share with you another preview of my book, A Guide to Dark Attractions in the UK. Since I haven’t actually shared an entry page, I thought it would be good to give you a taster of what places will feature in my book and what these will look like. The page spreads feature around three to four places, some of which have photographs so you can enjoy a visual image from the comfort of your own home. Some of the places feature sketched images giving a bit of a flare to each of the page spreads. Having a few entries on each page spread allows the reader to pick up the book, read an entry, and put it down to return to later. This means you don’t feel rushed to read it and you can turn to any page that interests you. It is also beneficial for traveling as you can get an understanding of what other places are in close proximity to the place you are visiting.
Feel free to head over to my Facebook page and comment your thoughts on the post that contains this sneak peek. Over the next few weeks, I plan on capturing a few images to fill up some page space in my book. I also want to focus refining my presentation that I’ll be delivering to a group of students at Oxford Brookes University on 11 April 2024.
