• Swindon & Wiltshire News
• Monday July 4 2022
• Author Name: Peter Davison

New initiative launched to support tourism businesses on the Great West Way

Great West Way – the multi-modal touring route following the A4, railway and Kennet and Avon Canal between London and Bristol, taking in Berkshire, Wiltshire, and Bath – has launched a key new initiative to increase the number of visitors experiencing the region and provide a boost to the economy in destinations along and around the route.

As part of a wider campaign targeting UK and international travel trade, a newly updated digital edition of the Great West Way Travel Trade Directory will be distributed to over 2,000 UK and international tour operators and travel agents with the help of national tourism agency, VisitBritain.

The directory includes around 500 attractions, activities, places to stay, eat and drink, specialist tours, visitor attractions, and a range of themed itineraries to help travel agents and tour operators to create inspiring packages and tours to the area.

Florence Wallace, Great West Way’s head of travel trade said: “With many post-Covid travellers prioritising the safety and security of booking packaged travel through tours operators and travel agents, we know it is vital to reach these intermediaries and to place Great West Way at the top of their minds when creating UK tours and packages.

This latest edition of the Great West Way Travel Trade directory is our best resource yet and a true ‘bible’ of information for the travel industry, highlighting the extraordinary variety of unique and quintessentially English experiences along and around the Great West Way.”

The directory is part of a wider programme to promote Great West Way to UK and international travel trade, and to make it as easy possible to do business with tourism businesses along the route.

The programme includes support and training provided to a network of around 100 Great West Way Official Tour Operators, and a popular annual Great West Way Marketplace which brings together travel buyers and the region’s suppliers, facilitating them to do business together and send more visitors to destinations along the route.