Helping hand for Shropshire's tourism businesses
Visit Shropshire has launched a new free membership to support the county's tourism industry.
Like many sectors, the tourism industry has been hard-hit by the coronavirus outbreak and has had to adapt over the last two months in reaction to the lockdown.
Visit Shropshire, the new tourism association for the county, was due to launch a new website and branding to promote Shropshire regionally and with partner, Visit Britain, internationally – but this had to be put on hold.
Instead, the team has launched a free membership scheme to support businesses during this time and give them their own designated page on the new Visit Shropshire website due to launch next month.
Shropshire project leader Mark Hooper said: "We have needed to completely change our plans for 2020, in response to the Covid-19 crisis.
Covid-19 coverage:
"After lockdown came into place we recognised that our role as a destination marketing organisation for the county would need to drastically change, as promoting Shropshire as a place to visit now would have been going against government guidelines.
"We also knew that our businesses will now more than ever need advice, support and guidance to get through these incredibly challenging times."
Businesses that sign up for the membership will receive weekly email updates, support via phone or email and other opportunities for the future.
Project lead Sarah Creighton said: "The response we have had so far has been amazing and we now have over 300 businesses signed up.
"We want to ensure that Shropshire’s tourism industry remains strong post Covid-19, especially since we had only recently been recovering from the effects of floods in parts of the county. We are communicating on a regular basis with our industry body, Visit England, and are working closely with Shropshire Council to ensure our members get access to all the financial measure set up by government."
Mark added: "We are currently working with Visit Britain on a system to ensure visitors feel safe to visit in the future and how businesses will need to adapt."
To sign up, go to the Visit Shropshire Facebook page or get in touch with Mark or Sarah at info@visitshropshire.co.uk or 01743 261919.
