Travel PR News
Ruth Stanbridge joins Travel PRThe Travel PR team is delighted to welcome Ruth Stanbridge, who joins us as Office Manager & Accountant. With financial skills honed from nine years working in the City of London and a great interest in travel, Ruth is looking forward to combining both in her new role. More information about Ruth here.
Travel PR represents The Aurora Zone for a second seasonTravel PR is delighted to be representing The Aurora Zone for a second winter season. This after last season went very well…
A brand of Activities Abroad, The Aurora Zone was the UK’s first (and remains its foremost) provider of energetic ‘Aurora-hunting’ trips – small-group tours that dramatically enhance travellers’ chances of seeing the Northern Lights by utilising various modes of transport, advanced geophysical forecasts and experience-based local knowledge. It also offers much more leisurely alternatives for less-active types. Trips visit Finland, Norway and Sweden, and include activities such as snowmobiling, husky-sledding and a photography lesson.
According to NASA, 2012 is the period of the Solar Maximum – when the Aurora Borealis will be at its most vivid for 50 years – making this season the best opportunity to see them until 2030. NASA says that 2013 will likely provide almost-as-fantastic Northern Lights-viewing, too, so now is very much the time to go and see this natural phenomenon.
Travel PR round up hosted on Telegraph.co.ukWe had some fantastic success recently when Telegraph.co.uk’s travel pages hosted, in its entirety, a quirky press release we’d produced for our client Holidaysplease.co.uk. Written by us using suggestions from Holidaysplease.co.uk, the release outlined ten bizarre beaches around the world (Holidaysplease.co.uk being a long-haul specialist). Telegraph.co.uk used this for a light-hearted, interesting gallery article, with valuable weblinks at either end for our client.
Travel PR welcomes new client Pride of Britain HotelsTravel PR is now representing Pride of Britain Hotels, a not-for-profit consortium of 43 privately-owned independent British hotels that provides, first and foremost, superb hospitality to its guests. Styles of property include castles, manor houses, country mansions, spa hotels, contemporary properties, stately homes, inns and even a cruise ship. Locations range from coastal, waterside and countryside – some with beautiful grounds and parkland surrounding them – to bustling cities. Member hotels include Bailiffscourt Hotel, Calcot Manor, The Goring, The Devonshire Arms, Hartwell House and Spa, Lords of the Manor and The Swan at Lavenham. The consortium is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2012 and is proud to be the official hotel partner to the National Trust.
Travel PR now representing NaturetrekTravel PR’s latest client is Naturetrek, the UK’s leading wildlife-tour specialist. Offering around 375 expert-led tours, Naturetrek takes its small groups everywhere, covering all continents and many oceans in between, from spring birdwatching in Armenia to classic African safaris in Zambia. Specialties include birdwatching trips, botany tours, bear, whale & tiger-viewing, polar cruises and photography holidays, with every trip led by expert naturalist guides and boasting a strong sustainable tourism ethic. Unusual offerings include seeing dragonflies in Bulgaria, wildlife-watching in Belarus and a jaguar safari to Brazil’s Pantanal. A burgeoning tailormade programme is available for those preferring to travel privately.
Twitter: the big 5,000Saturday 10 March was a momentous day for our much-admired Twitter account as it accrued its 5,000th follower. The account, easily the most successful of any UK PR company, has seen numbers consistently grow since its launch less than two years ago. This achievement feels even more impressive as we follow less than 500 people, and have never resorted to the ‘follow-to-be-followed’ tactics that many of our rivals employ.
To celebrate, Richard, our Head of Social Media, spoke to Tom Doggett Marketing about the account’s success, and exactly why he thinks it works so well.
For details of our other social media work, go here.
London’s Holiday Apartments joins Travel PRTravel PR is pleased to announce that it is representing London’s Holiday Apartments, which offers high-quality self-catering accommodation and holiday apartments in key locations across London. Properties typically sleep from 2-12 people and range from ultra-modern studio apartments in the heart of the city to large comfortable family homes in the quieter outskirts. The website is packed with information on where to eat, drink and visit while in the capital, as well as dedicated Olympics section, live availability and online booking functionality, and a ‘talk to us’ live help service.
There’s no changing their minds now!Travel PR’s Steph and Helena have now set up fundraising pages for the one-day, 26-mile charity trek that they’re doing on 13 May. Organised by our client Discover Adventure, the London Stadia Trekathon takes in the sites of the Olympics 2012. If you would like to show your support, Steph is raising money for Alzheimer’s Society, here; and Helena is raising money for Lyme Disease Action, here.
Beach-side signing: Travel PR signs a contract with the Costa Alentejana tourist board (Turismo do Alentejo Litoral) – 10 February 2012The President of the Costa Alentejano tourist board, also the Mayor of Grândola, Carlos Vicente Beato, and Sue Ockwell, founder director of Travel PR, signed a contract to promote this little-known area of the Alentejo, Portugal, amidst acres of white-sand beach adjacent to the Comporta Cafe, Comporta Beach, close to the Troía Resort peninsula and just south of Lisbon. In early February, the skies were blue, the sun shone brightly and diners ate outside – quite a contrast with the snow back in the UK.
Click here for YouTube footage.
Click here for Storify journal.
Vacations to America joins Travel PRTravel PR is delighted to be working with Vacations to America, which offers an extensive range of fly drive, escorted and tailor-made tours across the entire 50 states of the United States of America. Its new 2012 brochure is separated into seven key regions – New England, Great Lakes and the North East, the South, Florida, California, the West and the rest of the USA and Canada. The trips cover popular and lesser-known routes and activities, as well as unique accommodation that is often unavailable to book from the UK, including charming country inns, small luxury hotels and private villas.
Acclaim for our Hot Destinations mapThe most recent, 2012 edition of Travel PR’s annual Hot Destinations gmap has been gushed about in National Geographic Traveler’s (the original, US version of the magazine) blog, Intelligent Travel.
AITO Collection – Exclusive PreviewOn Tuesday 31 January, Portuguese Ambassador, Joao de Vallera, hosted the Association of Independent Tour Operators’ (AITO) Collection – Exclusive Preview at his residence in London’s Belgravia. The evening saw the launch of the 2012 Member Media Contacts booklet and gave AITO members the opportunity to discuss their 2012 travel programmes with assembled representatives of the travel media. A video of the event is available here.
Travel PR welcomes new client Peter Sommer TravelsTravel PR is delighted to be working with new client Peter Sommer Travels. Specialising in archaeological and cultural tours, gulet cruises and private charters, Peter Sommer Travels offers holidays across Turkey, Greece, southern Italy and Sicily.
AITO Agents’ domestic conference, 2012Over the weekend of 14-15 January, Travel PR’s Sue and Steph attended the AITO Specialist Travel Agents’ domestic conference – held this year at the Chesford Grange Hotel in Warwickshire. The event saw the largest gathering of truly independent agents and operators in the UK travel sector, with a record number of more than 200 delegates taking part.
A Great Little SurpriseCongratulations to Viv Hudson, founder of Great Little Breaks, who only went and got married to her beau, Jim Findlay in a surprise ceremony on 23rd December!
Lawrence of Morocco joins Travel PRTravel PR has been appointed to represent Lawrence of Morocco – a family-run business (headed by father and son team, Chris and Max Lawrence) with over 45 years’ experience in tailor-making holidays to Morocco.
Travel PR to take part in London Stadia TrekathonTravel PR’s Steph Reed and Helena Hamlyn are set to take part in our client, Discover Adventure’s, 26-mile London Stadia Trekathon, which takes place next May. This unique expedition gives people the chance to see for themselves venues in the capital that will be used for the London 2102 Olympics.
4,000 and countingOur Twitter account reached a staggering 4,000 followers at the end of November; an especially impressive figure given that we follow less than 500 tweeters ourselves.
Great Little Breaks launchesWe have lift off! Travel PR’s newest client, Great Little Breaks, launched on Monday 28 November with a sophisticated party at the Millennium Mayfair London Hotel. A champagne afternoon tea was served, followed by champagne and canapés for journalists and Great Little Breaks’ strategic partners.
Meet the travel experts in Twickenham: Sunvil at Strawberry Hill HouseTravel PR worked alongside one of its main clients, the Sunvil Holidays group, to ensure the smooth running of its ‘Meet the Travel Experts’ event at Strawberry Hill House on Saturday 19 November. Twickenham-based Sunvil and its sister companies Expert Africa and GIC The Villa Collection invited clients and friends to spend an inspiring day at the newly-renovated historic Gothic castle to learn about the destinations it offers.
Artistic Director or Music at Tresanton, Noam Greenberg, interviewed on BBC Radio 3Travel PR is pleased to share this link with you to listen to Noam Greenberg, Artistic Director of Music atTresanton, on BBC Radio 3′s In Tune programme on 15 November (58 minutes in).
The Mayor of Vilnius at World Travel MarketTravel PR enjoyed working with the Mayor of Vilnius (famous for this brilliant You Tube video) and the Lithuanian Tourist Board at this year’s World Travel Market. On Monday 7 November, the Mayor was interviewed by journalists and bloggers on the Lithuania stand and hosted a private evening reception where guests were treated to Baltic amber vodka, Lithuanian beer and traditional cuisine.
British Guild of Travel Writers’ Annual Awards DinnerTravel PR rubbed shoulders with the great and good at the British Guild of Travel Writers’ Annual Awards Dinner, held on the evening of 6 November at London’s Savoy Hotel. Traditionally held on the eve of World Travel Market (runs 7-10 November at ExCeL), this annual black-tie event brings together some of the UK’s top travel journalists for a lovely evening of anecdote sharing and award giving.
Launch of ‘Tales from the Fast Trains by Tom ChesshyreTravel PR’s Sue Ockwell and Karen Carpenter attended the launch of ‘Tales from the Fast Trains’, by The Times’ Tom Chesshyre, held in the Foyles bookstore at London’s St Pancras International station.
Make Holidays Greener WeekThe Travel Foundation’s ‘Make Holidays Greener’ week is now in full swing.
Sue Ockwell made Trustee of Lyme Disease ActionTravel PR’s Founder Director, Sue Ockwell, is delighted to have been made a Trustee of Lyme Disease Action.
New Client Win – CampayaTravel PR has welcomed Campaya to its stable of clients.
British Guild of Travel Writers’ Member Event – LondonTravel PR’s Founder Director, Sue Ockwell, attended a British Guild of Travel Writers’ (BGTW) member event on 21 June 2011.
Travel PR Twitter site in Top 100Travel PR is thrilled to see its Twitter account named as one of ‘100 Must Follow Twitter Accounts’
New Client WinsTravel PR is delighted to announce the addition of two new clients to its diverse portfolio.