Travel PR news - Summer 2008

New website design and new tagline

In 2008, Travel PR enters its 12th year of operation with this new-style website and a new tagline – “travel, property and leisure”. Travel these days is so closely allied with second-home ownership and leisure in general that a slight change of emphasis, while still majoring on travel, seemed appropriate. We hope that you like our new website and find it interesting and informative.

Latest launches

• A SKI LAUNCH for AITO in September will be attended by all the key ski media.
• Explore’s Short Breaks launch at the Haymarket Hotel in London was well attended by the media, eager to learn more about the burgeoning short break market and the new tours on offer.
• The series of AITO Press Lunches and Suppers continue to be extremely successful, and places at these events are highly sought after in the media.
• Sunvil Discovery launched its Scandinavia programme at the Swedish Embassy in London in close cooperation with the West Sweden Tourist Board.
• A launch party for the latest Soundmap audio tour was held in Brick Lane to celebrate the fifth in the series.
• An excellent AITO MEETS THE MEDIA EVENT in January, with around 170 media meeting up with AITO members and AITO Affiliated Tourist Boards. This latter event is often proclaimed by media attendees to be one of the most useful events of the entire annual calendar. This year, up to 20 AITO members also recorded interviews for a radio station keen to increase its travel output – a useful extra option arranged by Travel PR.

Conferences

•  AITO’s Annual Overseas Conference, to be held in Marrakesh in November, is typically well attended by national media who find the event a useful opportunity to meet and network with the best independent tour operators in the UK.
• AITO Specialist Travel Agents again held its Domestic Conference in Warwick in January – an excellent opportunity to mix with the travel trade media and for tour operators and travel agents to compare notes about how to increase their share of the market while the major companies are busy merging and have their eye off the ball.
• AITO Specialist Travel Agents’ Overseas Conference for 2008 was held in Cyprus, from 12th to 15th June – a chance for agents to see the traditional, unspoilt side of Cyprus that many thought had been lost forever but which still flourishes in the mountain villages.

New Clients

We’re proud to have taken on nine new clients already in 2008:

Travel PR recently brought on board two new clients this September in Wilderness Scotland and Eye Photographic Workshops.

• Specialist adventure tour operator Wilderness Scotland offers inspiring holidays and wilderness experiences to some of the most remote and beautiful parts of the Highlands and Islands. Its activity-based breaks focus on wilderness walking, sailing, sea kayaking, canoeing, mountain biking, wildlife adventures, photography and winter trips for small and private groups. Self-guided walking and family adventures are available too. Established in 2000, Wilderness Scotland is committed to sustainable tourism, for which it has been recognised with many awards, and is passionate about the environment and communities it introduces to clients.
• Eye Photographic Workshops offers exclusive photographic breaks to unique locations in Wiltshire, Scotland, Kenya, USA and Mallorca and non-residential photographic tuition at a studio in West London. Run by Michael Potter - a photographer with 20 years experience of film and digital techniques who has been engaged worldwide on photographic projects – the courses are ideal for a unique holiday or team-building exercise, in stunning, hand-picked settings. Group sizes are kept small to ensure plenty of one-to-one attention, bespoke options are available in locations of the client’s choice.