Merry Christmas from Visit West

Visit West's Managing Director, Kathryn Davis, looks back on 2023:

As we come towards the end of the year, it is time to take a breath and thank everyone for their support this year. It has been a year of some change, but with so much to be proud of from the DMO and tourism operation delivered through Visit West.

This year we have achieved our official Local Visitor Economy Partnership accreditation from Visit England, launched our regional Destination Management Plan and moved offices from a 5 storey Georgian building into a one room, nine desk office. Two individuals, Helen Applin and Laura Valentine, have received awards from their peers nationally in recognition of their excellence and contribution to the industry, something we are all immensely proud of.

During a year when Bristol celebrated its 650^th anniversary, Bristol Beacon reopened and the UIPM Laser Run & Modern Pentathlon World Championships came to Bath, there are so many highlights experienced by the team that it would be exhaustive. I began to list my own personal highlights which were way too long to post.

Members of the Visit West team have been representing the region and its destinations and businesses in events across the world. This has included business events sales missions in the USA and international trade shows IBTM, IMEX Frankfurt, and the Meetings Show, the last of which took place in London where we welcomed stand partners along. At CHS Birmingham, the Meet Bristol and Bath stand was the largest (and tallest) in the room! Visit West was also invited to join a trade event in Bordeaux timed to coincide with the visit of King Charles III. 

We have continued to develop our work and partnerships with the travel trade, including one of our best ever workshops for local businesses looking at how to maximise opportunities. We have delivered sales missions and trade events in France, Germany and the USA, as well as closer to home with the domestic group travel market.

The marketing team have delivered a series of consumer campaigns, and the websites have been seeing record numbers of visits, especially Visit Bath that surpassed the total number of visits for 2022 in mid-November. We have seen a phenomenal amount of press interest from across the world, which has led to coverage both on and off line that has reached millions.

Closer to home, we are thrilled that membership has reached record levels during such a challenging time for businesses, and we have run events every month across the region sharing insights, showcasing venues, and offering networking opportunities.

Thank you to our Board of Directors, to our members and most of all to the amazing Visit West team who are an absolute pleasure to work with. This is just a snapshot of the team’s tireless work to ensure that the region has a strong, robust and sustainable Visitor Economy. 

More will be shared at our Annual Conference in January, but for now, I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays and thank you once again for your incredible support that inspires us to do more.  We cannot deliver this work without you and cannot begin to say how appreciative we are for all the thanks and best wishes shared with the team this year.