The free-to-enter group travel show Great Days Out is to take place on Saturday 9th February at EventCity in Manchester, and is to be delivered in partnership with national tourism board VisitEngland this year.
EventCity: the venue for Great Days Out 2013.
Established more than 30 years ago, the one-day show has been run by the Visit Manchester tourist board for the past nine years, and brings together group-friendly attractions, hotels and transport providers with group travel organisers, and tour and coach operators, offering a place to pick up new ideas for group visits and make fresh contacts for help in planning itineraries.
New for 2013 will be the introduction of a VisitEngland Pavilion, which will focus on themes ranging from culture and countryside to coastal and heritage, with representatives on hand to offer advice on what England has to offer.
The show will also host live demonstrations in the Entertainment Arena, indoor pursuits such as a climbing wall, an interactive gaming station and a Go Ape Segway course in the Activity Village, and local produce to sample in the Farmers’ Market.
To register for free go to http://greatdaysout.com/visitors/visitor-registration/
For more information on attending, telephone Shay McGinty on 0161 237 1010 or email shay.mcginty@marketingmanchester.com.
For more information on exhibiting, email Deborah Faulkner at deborah.faulkner@marketingmanchester.com.
Alternatively, visit www.greatdaysout.com for general information.
EXHIBITORS
For a full list of exhibitors click here http://greatdaysout.com/exhibitors/full-list-of-2013-exhibitors/
Greatdays at Great Days Out
Exhibiting at Great Days Out in February will be the team from Cheshire-based tour operator Greatdays, who will be keen to showcase to GTOs the company’s range of UK and European sightseeing tours.
In 2013, Greatdays will be launching a range of group day trips throughout the south west, which are outlined in the new 16-page Day Trips brochure, with 12 specially-selected days out featured.
At the show, the team will also be displaying brochures featuring a range of other products, such as the Autumn, Christmas and Spring brochure, with copies for GTOs to take away.
For further information telephone 0161 928 9966
The best of Britannia
Representatives from the Britannia Hotels Group will be on hand at Great Days Out to tell GTOs about the company’s latest four-star acquisitions – The Royal
Hotel in Scarborough, The Royal Bath Hotel in Bournemouth and The Daresbury Park Hotel in Warrington, all of which will enhance the national accommodation provider’s ever-expanding portfolio of properties.
In 2013, the group are offering a range of discounts and benefits for groups, as well as a comprehensive range of upgraded packages.
For more information telephone 0161 923 0307
Seeing the BBC
Tour the BBC’s newsroom.
Exhibiting at Great Days Out will be the team from BBC Tours, who in April 2013 will be launching a brand new tour of BBC Broadcasting House at London’s Portland Place.
Visitors will have the opportunity to peek inside the inner workings of the BBC flagship building, which has been undergoing a major refurbishment over the last 10 years and is home to BBC News, The World Service, BBC Weather and BBC Radio.
While all tours are tailored around the working building’s daily activities, a typical day will see a team of guides give an insight into the history and day-to-day life of the organisation, and will include stops at BBC News and other departments where visitors can take part in a radio drama or try their hand at presenting the news and weather.
Tours last approximately one and a half hours. Advance booking is required for groups.
For more information telephone 0370 901 1227
Making a great show
Watch an international sheep shearing competition.
Great Days Out will see the team from the Great Yorkshire Show exhibiting, who will be keen to promote the agricultural show to group organisers.
Taking place from 9th to 11th July at the Great Yorkshire Showground in Harrogate, the show will be celebrating its 155th anniversary in 2013. 130,000 visitors are expected to attend, all keen to enjoy the best from the world of farming and country life the event showcases.
As well as demonstrations of country skills such as dry stone walling, fly fishing and gun dog training, there will be fashion shows with presentations by national and regional designers, live music from local bands including The Yorkshire Volunteers Band, a Cookery Theatre and a Garden Show, giving GTOs plenty to experience.
Visitors will also be able to sample some of the best local produce the area has to offer in a food hall, and take in the thrills of a number of International Sheep Shearing and other animal competitions.
For more information telephone 01423 541222
Collette call in
Travel to the gardens of Kyoto with Collette Worldwide Holidays.
Exhibiting at Great Days Out will be representatives from Uxbridge-based tour operator Collette Worldwide Holidays.
The company operates a range of tour packages well-suited to groups, including a new collaboration with the Royal Horticultural Society that will see the launch in 2013 of ‘RHS Garden Holidays’ – an exclusive range of tours throughout Europe and beyond.
Each destination visited on the tours has been selected for its horticultural interest, and a range of garden-themed activities are offered to interest plant enthusiasts and budding gardeners alike, as well as visits to classic sites and attractions.
One such tour, ‘Portugal’s Gardens featuring The Azores and Lisbon’, is a nine-day trip based largely on the island of St Michael in the Azores, and includes opportunities to visit Sete Cidades (Seven Cities), Terra Nostra Park and Gardens and Riberia dos Caldeiroes Natural Park, and includes time in Lisbon and Sintra.
Another,’ Gardens of American History’, takes visitors from New York to Philadelphia over 11 days, including stops at the Brandywine and Shenandoah valleys, Williamsburg in Virginia and Washington DC.
The tours are led by a dedicated tour manager, with an RHS-selected horticultural expert on most to ensure the best experience and level of expertise is available to groups.
For more information telephone 0800 804 8710.
Wild at heart
Spot the tigers at the West Midland Safari & Leisure Park.
Groups interested in wildlife and adventure will want to seek out the team from the West Midland Safari & Leisure Park in Bewdley, Worcestershire, who will be exhibiting at Great Days Out.
The park, which celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2013, is home to an array of animals, from Indian rhino, cheetah, white lions, tigers, giraffe, African wild dogs and elephants – all of which can be seen on the park’s four-mile self-drive safari – to penguins, several species of lemurs, and Somali sheep, pygmy goats and Cameroon sheep in the ‘African Village’.
Those with a taste for adrenaline-pumping action will also enjoy the park’s amusement adventures rides, such as Rhinocaster!, Zambezi Water Splash and Venom, which are certain to get the blood racing.
The park offers a range of discounts and benefits for groups of 12 or more, as well as the new ‘Safari Drive and Dine’ experiences, all of which the team will be happy to discuss at the show.
For more information telephone 01299 400700
