Destination Marketing Today August 5, 2022
Happy Friday!
- Introducing the DFW Discovery Trail
- Newcastle: Seek Off Beat
- VisitScotland’s Beyond the Boat Seafood Tourism Initiative
INTRODUCING THE DFW DISCOVERY TRAIL
A Trail Gets a Name
The Fort Worth to Dallas Regional Trail officially has a new name: The DFW Discovery Trail.
How We Got Here
The North Central Texas Council of Governments recently concluded a public forum that sought feedback and a public vote on the final two trail name and logo pairings. DFW Trinity Tail was the second choice.
To develop an inclusive, recognizable and memorable name and brand for the trail, NCTCOG collaborated with stakeholders from the five cities and groups such as tourism bureaus, sports event organizations, bike groups, river and natural environmental advocacy groups and cultural groups. Ideas and feedback from the public during the previous virtual open house in November 2021 played a significant role in the development of the name and brand.
The new logo will be customizable, which will allow using different colors and/or animals for different trail segments passing through each of the five cities.
Survey participants also shared local destinations along the trail that they felt were important for trail signage to showcase, places where residents access the trail and how they use the trail.
Looking Forward
When complete, the DFW Discovery Trail will run more than 60 miles. Over 50 miles of the trail, which spans Fort Worth, Arlington, Grand Prairie, Irving and Dallas, are open. A ribbon cutting is targeted for early 2024. The trail is envisioned as a regional, state and national attraction for recreation, tourism and large events.
NEWCASTLE AIMS TO INCREASE AWARENESS
Going For It
The City of Newcastle has set its sights on capturing more of the lucrative leisure tourism market.
Details
Maintaining the colorful ‘Newcastle’ brand with the new tagline and campaign ‘Seek Off Beat’, City of Newcastle aims to increase awareness of the city’s diverse mix of tourism offerings, driving both day and overnight visitation to Newcastle.
The new tourism brand will be in market for stage one of a multifaceted campaign on 4 August 2022 for an initial period of eight weeks.
Quotable
“Our new tourism tagline ‘Seek Off Beat’ taps into the curiosity of potential visitors by encouraging them to look beyond their existing perceptions and discover a vibrant, sophisticated city with stimulating culture, history and coastal experiences,” the DMO said.
Big Business
Prior to COVID-19, Newcastle’s thriving tourism industry contributed more than $945 million to the local economy each year and supported 4,920 jobs, with the city welcoming more than 5.1 million international and domestic visitors.
By continuing to raise awareness in a way that appeals to visitors from outside the region and abroad, Newcastle’s future as an international tourism and major events destination is bright.
SEAFOOD TOURISM INITIATIVE HAILED AS SUCCESS
Partnership Success
More than 20 businesses so far have taken part in a mentoring program aimed at promoting seafood tourism in Scotland.
The Niche Cause
The initiative, Beyond the Boat, is run jointly by trade body Seafood Scotland and tourism authority VisitScotland, which provided mentors and speakers, and contacts for already successful tourism businesses.
The aim of each session was to provide advice and expertise to help seafood businesses create memorable and authentic food tourism experiences to attract visitors from the UK and internationally.
Case Study
John Farley from Sutherland’s of Portsoy, who took part of the programme, said: “As the company is situated in what can only be classed as an idyllic coastal setting, it seemed logical we looked to tourism as another channel for generating sales and brand awareness. Whilst the traditional two-day boat festival held in Portsoy brings in an estimated 20,000 visitors, we want to attract visitors from further afield, and saw ‘Beyond the Boat’ as the perfect mentoring programme to help with this vision.