The official tourism agency, Welcome to Yorkshire is working to grow the region’s visitor economy and today it revealed it has exceeded the target and the money spent by visitors in Yorkshire for 2009 has increased by 13%. (United Kingdom Tourism Survey – UKTS).

Welcome to Yorkshire say if this growth continues the region could see an increase of £744 million being spent by visitors for the year.

The results also show that Yorkshire was the fastest growing region during 2009 in attracting UK visitors compared to all other regions in the country, with the number of visitors up by a staggering 31% during the summer of 2009.

Gary Verity, Welcome to Yorkshire’s chief executive says: “I’m over the moon. This is an outstanding result. The hard work of the Welcome to Yorkshire team has paid off big time”.

Welcome to Yorkshire was launched last year with £30m funding over three years from the Government agency Yorkshire Forward. They set a target of growing the amount of money visitors spend in the region by 5%. Following the biggest ever marketing campaign to promote Yorkshire in the UK and overseas, which includes the branding of the Hull & Humber Clipper yacht and a campaign in the Far East, the organisation has today released figures to show dramatic growth.

Tourism is fast becoming one of the most important economies in the region with the estimated value of tourism to the region having increased from £6.3billion to £6.5billion. It’s estimated a quarter of a million people in the region now work in tourism related jobs.

Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Yorkshire Forward commented; “We know Yorkshire and Humber is a world class holiday destination and Welcome to Yorkshire has been key to promoting this both within the UK and internationally, with excellent results. Their high profile campaign has had a real impact in bringing more visitors to the region; providing a boost to Yorkshire and Humber’s economy and ensuring the tourism industry goes from strength to strength – all in the middle of a recession”.

Gary Verity adds: “The news shows how well we have been outperforming other UK destinations. London for example has had a tough year, it seems people want a great deal and they know that’s exactly what they’ll receive in Yorkshire. This is just the start; we plan to make our region the top destination in the UK”.

“The timing couldn’t be better. Our aim is to keep Yorkshire in the hearts and minds of people looking to book half term activities, Easter breaks and their summer holidays. The next stage of our marketing campaign goes live this week and lets people know ‘there’s a great deal going on in Yorkshire’. The new television ads will target people within Yorkshire and those outside the region to drum the message home. The campaign also includes national newspaper advertising and outdoor promotions in main London stations”.

Rosie Winterton, the Minister for Yorkshire and The Humber, adds: “These figures are fantastic news.  It’s very exciting to see that despite the recent recession, tourism in our region is going from strength to strength backed by a £30 million investment from Yorkshire Forward. 

“I congratulate the team at Welcome to Yorkshire and everyone in the tourism industry who deliver such an attractive and world class offer to our visitors – and I am sure our unique Yorkshire Welcome will ensure our tourism industry continues to grow.”

Welcome to Yorkshire will be revealing more about the success of the last year and ambitious plans for 2010 at the biggest tourism event to be stage in the region, the Y 10 conference on 22nd March at Harrogate International Centre. Anyone interested in attending should contact log onto www.welcometoyorkshire.net/Y10/Y10.aspx or contacting Welcome to Yorkshire on 0113 322 3531. Tickets to Y 10 are FREE and will be issued on a first come first served basis.

Visitors to Leeds, the Yorkshire capital, can book car hire in Leeds with Sixt.

Source: Welcome to Yorkshire

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A total of seven new tourism developments opened their doors in 2009 with a combined value of almost £90m and the potential to create up to 600 jobs.

These projects included the £25m Great North Museum, in Newcastle, which opened in May and has been visited by more than 600,000 people, doubling its target for the year. Saltholme Wildlife Reserve and Discovery Park, in Tees Valley, a £7m project, also opened in 2009 and has attracted 88,000 visitors.

The figures come from the Regional Tourism Investment Monitor, set up by Regional Development Agency One North East, in order to track investment projects with a value of more than £100,000.

Since it was set up in 2004 there have been 76 new tourism developments in the region bringing £382m worth of investment and creating 1,400 jobs, exceeding the target set in the Regional Tourism Strategy for 2005-2010 by more than £100m.

There are also a further 104 projects either under construction or consideration in the region, including Seaton Delaval Hall in Northumberland. The 18th century hall was saved from private sale by the National Trust after a huge public campaign to raise £6.3m, of which £3m came from public donations and £1m from One North East. The Hall is set to open this Spring.

If all of the projects on the monitor come to fruition they will bring a further £1bn worth of investment into the North East visitor economy.

Other developments which opened in 2009 are: Rockliffe Hall Hotel, near Darlington, a major private investment worth £50m; Seaton Lane Inn in Seaham, a new boutique hotel worth £900,000 and the Xcel Conference Centre in Newton Aycliffe, a £5m project which opened in December and offers a 1,000 seat auditorium and exhibition centre.

Stacy Hall, Director Communications & Tourism at One North East said: “Accelerating the rate of investment in the North East’s tourism offer is an integral part of the regional tourism strategy.

“The level of investment in 2009 was fantastic and the overall investment in tourism since the investment monitor was established has already surpassed targets which were set out in the 2005-2010 Regional Tourism Strategy.

“What is particularly significant is that much of this investment was led by the private sector, which demonstrates the levels of confidence in the North East economy. This includes high quality accommodation across the region such as the Hilton Hotel in NewcastleGateshead, Radisson Blu in Durham and the newly opened Rockliffe Hall in Tees Valley.

“Continued private and public investment in tourism developments will ensure that the region’s visitor economy will be able to benefit from the current ‘staycation’ trend.”

For more information on North East England go to www.visitnortheastengland.com, for car hire in Newcastle visit sixt.co.uk.

Source: visit north east england

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However tourism in Spain could be given a much needed boost after the Government announced plans to encourage film production in some of the countries holiday resorts.

One of the first productions to benefit from the accommodating plans is Knight and Day a action comedy film starring Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz. The movie will be filmed in the Spanish cities of Cadiz and Seville and it’s hoped that scenes such as the one’s filmed in Cadiz showing bulls running through the centre of the city will draw visitors in to the charming destinations in the south of Spain.

Although the Spanish inbound holiday market is dominated by visitors from other European countries the Spanish Government are keen to increase the number of visitors from further infield in particular the lucrative US outbound market.

The latest push won’t be the first time Spain has benefitted from the silver screen, the 2008 film Vicky Cristina Barcelona was, unsurprisingly, filmed in Barcelona. The Canary Islands are also taking advantage of the potential benefit from featuring on the big screen having recently agreed to partially finance the remake of the 1973 classic Papillon which will be produced by the famous Hollywood producer Branko Lustig, in the hope of boosting tourism.

Book car hire in Spain with Sixt.

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Vienna is not only the capital of Austria, but also one of its nine federal states. St. Stephen’s Cathedral, considered the center of the city by its inhabitants, is located 16º 22’ 27’’ east of Greenwich at 48º 12’ 32’’ northern latitude, and 171 meters above sea level. The city covers 415 square kilometers and is divided into 23 districts. With woods, grassland, parks and gardens accounting for almost half its area, Vienna is the city in Europe with the highest ratio of green space.

“Urban green” such as Stadtpark (with the most frequently photographed motif in the city, the golden Johann Strauss monument) is joined by the woods and grassland of Prater, the extensive Schönbrunn Palace Gardens, sections of the Vienna Woods, vineyards, farmland and the wetlands of the legendary Danube River. During the summer temperatures rarely rise above 30º C, during the winter hardly ever fall below -5º C.

From Roman Camp to Capital of the Republic

Vienna’s history goes back to the first century A.D., when the Romans founded the military camp Vindobona. The city of Vienna was first mentioned in documents in 1137. Around 1155 the Dukes of Babenberg chose it as their residence, and from 1282 it was where the Habsburgs reigned from for more than six centuries. Today’s cityscape is dominated by the Baroque, which for the main part originated during the reign of Empress Maria Theresia. Emperor Franz Joseph I also put his imprint on the city when he leveled the city walls in 1857 and oversaw the completion of the splendid Ring Boulevard. He died during World War I after reigning for 68 years. In 1918 Vienna became the capital of the Republic of Austria.

In 1945, it was again proclaimed capital of the Republic of Austria. In 1967, the city became one of three United Nations headquarters alongside New York and Geneva, and in 1995 joined the ranks as a capital city of the European Union.

Imperial Romance and World-Class Art

Natural History Museum of Vienna

Vienna owes its universal appeal to the way it excitingly combines imperial nostalgia with a highly creative cultural scene, responsibly cultivating a precious heritage and charming traditions whilst taking on board the latest trends. Architecture dating from imperial times has left an indelible mark on the city. Magnificent edifices, predominantly in baroque, historicism (“Ringstrasse”) and art nouveau styles, and the city’s grand scale cause you to forget that this is the capital of the small Republic of Austria with only eight million inhabitants. In Vienna, you re-live the romance of a long-lost empire.

Yet it is not only the city’s imperial architecture that renders it a city of beauty. Vienna also boasts world-renowned museums, art collections and works of art. The Kunsthistorisches Museum (Museum of Fine Arts) houses the world’s largest collection of paintings by Bruegel, while numerous works by Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele are exhibited at the Belvedere and the Leopold Museum in the MuseumsQuartier.

MuseumsQuartier, a cultural attraction of international standing located in the city center close to famous museums, opened in 2001. Covering 45,000 square meters it is an architecturally fascinating combination of baroque (the former Imperial Stables) and future-oriented design by architects Ortner&Ortner. With 60,000 square meters of usable floor space on eight different levels, it is one of the ten largest cultural complexes in the world, offering a unique mix of uses.

Key attractions include: the Leopold Museum (mentioned above) with the world’s largest collection of Schieles and works by renowned modern Austrian artists such as Klimt, Kokoschka and Gerst; the Museum of Modern Art, Architkturzentrum Wien, and Kunsthalle Wien. Two festival halls (seating 1,000 and 300) are used for high-profile events such as the Vienna Festival, the International Dance Weeks and even for pop concerts. A children’s museum, a children’s theater, an information center for youngsters, and a number of attractive restaurants, cafés and shops complement the rich array of cultural offerings.

The Albertina houses the world’s largest collection of graphic art, spanning 60,000 drawings, some million prints and an extensive collection of photographic and architectural material. After several years of renovation, it reopened as a modern gallery in 2003, and now you can enjoy good food as well as art in the Albertina’s Do & Co restaurant.

Yet another top-caliber attraction and a place to experience the baroque is the Liechtenstein Museum. After a period of “exile” brought on by the Second World War, the outstanding collection of the Princes of Liechtenstein returned to Vienna in March 2004. The Liechtenstein Museum in the restored, baroque Garden Palace of the Princely Family boasts over 200 paintings, sculptures and pieces of decorative art.

One of the world’s most extensive collections of Rubens is joined by prominent works by van Dyck, Lucas Cranach and Raphael, as well as compositions by Rembrandt, van Ruysdael and Hamilton. The Palace’s magnificent library – previously closed to the public – may be visited, and a further highlight is the unique frescoes by Johann Michael Rottmayr.

On April 24, 2004 – 150 years after the marriage of Empress Elisabeth (1837–1898) and Emperor Franz Joseph I – the Sisi Museum opened at Hofburg palace. The exhibits on show include a number of Elisabeth’s personal belongings including a replica of the dress she wore on the eve of her wedding, her morning coat, and the monarch’s parasol, fans and gloves. A walk-in reconstruction of the luxury state railway carriage used by the travel-mad empress can also be viewed.

City of Music – Traditional & Modern

The Burgtheater

In addition, ambitious exhibitions are frequently mounted. All this ensures an extraordinarily rich cultural program throughout the year, making Vienna one of Europe’s leading cultural centers.

Vienna, as a city of music, enjoys a paramount reputation around the world. No other city has been home to so many composers of international renown. Some, such as Schubert, Strauss, Schoenberg and Berg were born there, others, such as Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, Brahms and Mahler chose to live there.

It boasts one of the world’s finest orchestras – the Vienna Philharmonic – as well as the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and several other orchestras and ensembles of note. The Vienna State Opera is one of the world’s leading opera houses, and is joined by three more in the city (Theater an der Wien, Volksoper, Kammeroper).

The Vienna Boys’ Choir enchants music lovers the world over. In addition to classical music, Vienna has also made its mark as a city of musicals, and recent successes in electronic music show that the avant-garde is also taken seriously in Vienna. A very special way to enjoy music is presented at the House of Music – a unique high-tech voyage of discovery into the phenomenon of music – where sounds become visible, organ pipes may be walked on and visitors can become virtual conductors and composers, all on an area of 2,000 square meters. Yet a further attraction is the Mozarthaus Vienna which was opened on January 27, 2006 – Mozart’s 250th birthday – in his former residence at Domgasse.

Lifestyle: Imperial Nostalgia & Contemporary Trends

The juxtaposition of what is traditional – coffeehouses and wine taverns with typical Viennese congeniality – and what is modern – events such as the Life Ball and the Festival of Electronic Music – conveys a lifestyle that appeals to the modern tourist. A choice between relaxation and serenity, or action and stimulation, that can be made depending on your mood.

Vienna at Night

During the summer, Viennese and tourists alike throng not only to Prater park with the famous Giant Ferris Wheel, but also to the Copa Cagrana on Danube Island – which boasts Europe’s largest open-air party in June. Beach atmosphere can also be soaked up at the numerous riverside bathing areas along the Danube Canal where summer sun is accompanied by cool drinks. And the wine tavern districts on the gentle hillsides of the Vienna Woods extend an invitation to seriously “study” Vienna and its wines.

Tourist Information & the Vienna Card

The Vienna Tourist Board is happy to be of service to Vienna’s many visitors. City maps with a list of museums, hotel guides, a monthly calendar of events, gastronomy tips and other information in many languages are all available free of charge by calling +43 (0)1 24 555 or mailing info@vienna.info. Hotel enquiries and reservations are also taken. The website www.vienna.info features an extensive database of events and many useful hints for your stay in Vienna.

The Vienna Card costing EUR 18.50 is a 72-hour rover ticket granting not only unlimited travel on Vienna’s public transportation system, but also a number of discounts. It is available at Vienna hotels, the Tourist Information Office, travel agencies and public transportation sales counters. Holders of the Vienna Card can take advantage of over 210 price reductions and special deals, from discounted museum admission to shopping offers.

The central Tourist Information Office of the Vienna Tourist Board is located just behind the Vienna State Opera at Albertinaplatz (corner of Maysedergasse, 1010 Wien). In addition to general information and assistance in obtaining hotel accommodations, this information center also arranges entrance tickets, guided city tours and provides bureau de change services, daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Visit sixt.co.uk for car hire in Vienna from Sixt

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I met up with Anke at the recent World Travel Market and it was immediately very clear that she has a real love of travel and culture. In particular, Anke is keen to promote some of the lesser known hidden gems out there such as her home town of Rostock in Germany, hence this (hopefully the first of many) article.

We are really proud to have someone with so much knowledge and experience of travel contributing to the blog and I hope everyone will give her a warm welcome in the comments!

Over to Anke!

Rostock is a fairly large town on the Baltic seaside of former East Germany. Yes, it’s the Baltic. I hear Baltic is a Cockney equivalent for brass monkeys. Does that mean it’s horrendously cold?

Actually, no! The weather is temperate, with temperatures very similar to London (without the rain, for most of the year), lovely warm summer days during the main tourist season June – August around the 30 Celsius mark, and water temperatures in the low 20 Celsius.

But let’s start with the essentials. Rostock is the economic centre of the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. It has about 120K inhabitants and is doing well in all sorts of areas (so don’t expect to see East German deprivation.) Outside Rostock, and further inland from the sea, there are mostly fields of wheat and rape-seed, and further south there are huge areas of forests and lakes to explore.

The East-German Baltic coast, and the whole of the area with its laid-back charm, open spaces, forests, castles, and the well-documented health benefits of sea bathing, were hugely popular tourist destinations during the 40 years when Rostock was part of the GDR, (even before that people came from Berlin to enjoy the seaside.

Home of the oldest seaside resort in Germany

Heiligendamm is actually the oldest seaside resort in all of Germany and has a memorial stone to prove it.)
Travel restrictions during the Socialist days meant that East Germans didn’t have a huge choice of great beaches to travel to for their summer holidays.

Bucking the tourism trend

Right after the German reunification, most East Germans followed the well-trodden tourist paths to the shores of Mallorca, Greece, etc. It’s in the last 10 years that the German Baltic coast has regained its popularity, but now with all of Germany flocking there for the summer.

Hotel bookings are, in fact, bucking the trend and going up from last year, and it’s advisable to book ahead if you’re going anywhere from June to mid September.

Great Spa treatments are easily found everywhere – look out for the word Wellness. Try the biggest German island Rügen, or the small resort of Kühlungsborn (where I was born!)

There is a 5 star Grand Hotel in Heiligendamm, which has won the award for the German hotel of the year , lots of great camping, holiday flats and houses you can rent by the week.

Rostock has loads to see and do

Rostock has a lot of sights to offer if it’s not beach weather. It’s a beautiful Hanse town with a great town centre to walk around in and shop, has one of the greatest zoos I’ve ever seen, a museum ship, lovely historical buildings, even a Stasi museum if you’re interested in recent history.

For an insider tip: there are several international cruise ships landing in Warnemünde every day. Get yourself into one of the guided tours they are bussed into town for, you’ll have the full walking treatment of Rostock, and in English as well.

Annual Hanse Sail

A huge annual attraction is the Hanse Sail, one of the biggest sailing events worldwide, where a huge number of restored classic ships in all shapes, sizes and styles visit. It is even possible to go on a day tour on some of them while they are there.

Full Of Surprises

The most surprising thing about this sleepy part of East Germany, with its tiny narrow-gauge steam-powered railway called Molli which serves 3 towns which are just over 10 miles apart, is that the worldwide only exclusively Frank Zappa themed music festival is held every August in Doberan, a small town 10 miles outside of Rostock. Including international bands and most of the musicians who origially played with Zappa.

There is always a great choice of cultural events, including open-air theatre and classical music. The nightlife is varied but be prepared that nights out start late. Try a glass of Rostocker, the local lager, in one of the pubs – I recommend the Kogge – and have some seasonal fish dishes in one of the hugely interesting restaurants.

It is advisable to know a few words of German if you venture outside Rostock. In Rostock itself most people will speak at least basic English.

For more pictures – mein-urlaub-in-mv.de
For more information check out the Central Tourist Board

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So the 2009 World Travel Market is finally here (well in a few hours anyway..) and as it is the first time I have attended I am really looking forward to the next four days.

In addition to my primary role at Sixt of Search Engine Optimisation, a large part of my time is dedicated to working on the blog, both from a technical and content perspective and one of the things that I am particularly looking forward to over the next few days is trying to meet up with other bloggers, particularly those in the travel space.

Our primary aim for the Sixt blog is to provide genuinely useful and interesting information for our readers and I firmly believe that the best way to do this is to provide content from a wide variety of sources and to ensure that we have a mixed and varied range of voices speaking from different perspectives.

In order to succeed with achieving our aims, it is also essential that we support and contribute to other blogs and in addition to hopefully finding some great contributors for our blog, we are also looking for opportunities where we can contribute to others so if you have any thoughts about ways in which we might be able to help, then let us know!

If you run a blog and have any ideas for collaboration then feel free to pop by stand EM2010 and ask to speak to me (Mike) and I hope you all have a great WTM 2009!

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Users of car hire could soon have an extra reason to make the trip to Madrid.

Officials at Spanish football giants Real Madrid are considering building a theme park in the north of the city.

This £135 million Disney-style complex will be sure to be packed full of exciting treats and adventures for users of Madrid car hire, should it get the go ahead.

Andreas Veilstrup Andersen, executive director at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Europe, commented that this could attract more people to the city.

He said: “Theme and amusement parks are very strong drivers of tourism – this could also very well be the case with the Real Madrid Park.”

Mr Veilstrup added that European theme complexes have continued to perform well during the economic downturn, suggesting that they are still managing to attract users of car hire.

Those looking to visit an amusement park in the UK could take out car hire and drive to Alton Towers, Thorpe Park or Drayton Manor.

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The recession is a good thing for holidaymakers heading to London from around the world, an expert has said.

Helen James, communications manager at UKinbound, suggested that tourists jetting into the UK may be able to get more for their cash, car hire in London users may be interested to learn.

She said: “Exchange rates mean that overseas visitors from Europe, the US, Japan and many other countries have been able to save up to 30 per cent in comparison to last year’s prices.”

Ms James added that, because of this, it can be argued that there have been positives for UK tourism because of the downturn.

Holidaymakers using the extra cash available to them due to the current exchange rates as a reason to visit the capital may want to opt for London car hire and visit sights and attractions such as Buckingham Palace, the London Eye, the West End theatre district and Big Ben.

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