Attracting and Welcoming Walkers and Cyclists

About the workshop:

This workshop is an informative resource for adapting and preparing your facilities in order to become more walker and cycle friendly.

Key areas of this free one day workshop include:

• Benefits of walking and cycling tourism
• The local offer
• Understanding walkers and cyclists
• Marketing, welcoming and providing for guests
• Inspiration from other tourism businesses
• Understanding your visitors journey
• Developing immersive cycling and walking experiences
• Getting the most out of walking & cycling festivals
• Followed by Q&A

The workshop offers tremendous value to tourism businesses seeking to enhance their appeal to a broader audience.

The workshop will be presented by Experiential Tourism Expert Chris Brant from Unmissable England. Chris has worked with hundreds of tourism businesses across the country in developing experiences and supporting businesses to adapt and welcome walkers and cyclists. Chris is no stranger to the Peak District having worked previously for the Peak District National Park Authority.

The workshop provides invaluable insights into the growing trend of sustainable and experiential travel. With a focus on walkers and cyclists, businesses can learn how to align their offerings with eco-friendly practices, tapping into a market of environmentally conscious travelers.

The workshop equips participants with strategies to create engaging and authentic experiences that resonate with those seeking a slower, more immersive exploration of destinations. By understanding the preferences and needs of walkers and cyclists, businesses can tailor their services to cater to this demographic, leading to increased customer satisfaction and loyalty.

There is a growing trend toward experiential travel, and walkers and cyclists often seek unique and immersive experiences. Tourism businesses that cater to these preferences may find increased demand. In the second half of the workshop we will deliver training on how businesses can develop new bookable experiences aligned to these audiences.

We will conclude by looking at successful walking and cycling festivals and how businesses can get involved locally.

About the trainer:

Chris Brant. Chris has a wealth of knowledge, skills and experience in developing immersive visitor Experiences that tell the stories of a destination, working with a wide range of businesses; from photographers, restauranteurs to rangers and farmers. With a wealth of knowledge on pricing, duration, capacity, distribution and travel trade, Chris works with businesses across England in developing the perfect unmissable Experience. He has over 20 years experience working in the tourism and marketing industry. In 2020, Chris developed and delivered a series of eight online interactive workshops for Visit Kent’s Interreg EXPERIENCE tourism development project. Each workshop was themed with around 30 businesses participating. Similar to this brief the workshops were 2-3 hours in length and designed to take businesses through the process of designing a new visitor Experience and an impartial look at taking their products to market. Chris was the Project Manager for VisitEngland’s Discover England Fund programme in nine National Parks, developing and creating over 70 brand new visitor Experiences to take to market. In 2019, Chris and the team at The English National Park Experience Collection won VisitEngland’s Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award for developing the diverse range of Experiences; from living like a roman on Hadrian's Wall, kayaking through the Broads and treading in the footsteps of National Park Rangers. Chris worked with key overseas markets including North America, Germany and Australia. The Collection shared the stage at a number of international tourism shows, and Chris welcomed international media and tourism representatives from around the world on regular FAM trips. Chris has recently returned to the National Park’s DEF programme providing business support as a consultant, helping businesses to onboard to TXGB and OTAs and adapting Experiences that were for the travel trade market to be domestic consumer ready. Chris is an Experience Maker himself running a series of visitor Experiences from home in the Cotswolds, from baking scones in a thatched cottage to a wine and gin Experience.

This project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) and is delivered by East Midlands Chamber. To be eligible to attend this event you must be a business based in one of the following districts: Amber Valley; Ashfield; Bassetlaw; Broxtowe; Chesterfield; Derby; Derbyshire Dales; Erewash; Gedling; High Peak; Leicester City; Mansfield; Newark & Sherwood; North East Derbyshire; Nottingham; Rushcliffe; or South Derbyshire.

Host or Publisher Accelerator