IP members are being invited to promote their businesses on a special landing page on the Visit Isles of Scilly website in the run-up to this year’s Walk Scilly festival.

Walk Scilly 2015 takes place from 11th to 17th April. This year it will be bigger and better, with 24 walks overall. As well as the old favourites, new walks include an exploration of Tean, a channel crossing between Tresco & Bryher, beachcombing with an artistic twist, and a spring-time wildlife watch.

All promotions and marketing activities, which kick off next week, will lead to a special landing page on the Visit Isles of Scilly website: visitislesofscilly.com/walkscilly. The Islands’ Partnership will be promoting the event heavily through PR, social media, digital posters at Lands’ End Airport and on the Scillonian III, and through the regular Visit Isles of Scilly e-newsletters which go to its targeted 30,000-strong database.

“We expect a heightened level of activity for this landing page during the promotional period, particularly as we announce the full programme in early February, and highlight new features and walks in the lead up to the festival,” says IP Tourism Coordinator, Amanda Pender. “This is why we are offering a limited number of IP businesses the opportunity to feature on this landing page with a direct link to their business listing within the Visit Isles of Scilly website.”

The introductory offer for this Walk Scilly promotion is £150, which includes two free half-day Walk Scilly tickets for businesses to use either for themselves or for a promotion they choose to set up themselves.

The Isles of Scilly is set to benefit from a new “Scilly Events” team designed to spearhead the growth of events-led tourism across the islands. Funding for the new initiative has been secured following the successful application to the Government’s Coastal Communities Fund, by the Islands’ Partnership, the body responsible for leading the tourism industry on the Isles of Scilly. The sum awarded - £202,750 - will commence from 1^st April 2015 and continue through to 31st December 2016 and will allow for the creation of two full-time posts as well as supporting ICT, specific event equipment such as marquees and outdoor sound systems, marketing expenditure and other overheads.

The Islands’ Partnership submitted the application with the aim to grow Scilly’s visitor economy and the short-breaks market through event-led tourism. It will form part of an integrated package of measures designed to stimulate further our recovering tourism economy, and enable the business community to expand its offer.

The Islands’ Partnership has demonstrated already the value of hosting events to attract new visitors to Scilly, particularly in the shoulder seasons, and also to offer greater variety and interest to our regular visitors since taking over the Walk Scilly festival two years ago and also by hosting the comedy event headlined by Russell Kane in September 2014. The Scilly Events funding will enable the events calendar to upscale significantly.

“We are absolutely delighted to have been awarded this pot of money and are most grateful to the Coastal & Community Fund,” says the Islands’ Partnership’s Tourism Coordinator Amanda Pender, who put the application together. “This is a huge fillip for the Islands’ Partnership and a game changer for Scilly’s tourism and business sector in that we now have a dedicated resource to develop fully an annual events programme which is every bit as rich and unique as our natural environment. The project will support opportunities for business development, diversification and expansion, employment and volunteering,” she continues. “Scilly Events will use the islands’ outstanding environmental credentials and work with the IP’s existing marketing initiatives to promote the islands as a compelling destination of choice amongst a new audience as well as add interest and variety for our regular visitors.”

“Events are proven to be an incredibly effective means of driving tourism growth and contribute almost £40 billion to the national economy,” adds David Jackson, Executive Director Islands’ Partnership. “We know that potential visitors are booking for distinctive and authentic experiences and the Scilly Events team will be able to capitalise on this and enable businesses across the islands to enjoy a greater share of this market.”

If you’re a business operator on Scilly interested in targeting and reaching overseas markets or visitors, this is an opportunity not to be missed…

Following recent workshops delivered on island with Export Cornwall, Scillonian businesses are being offered an unique opportunity to work with Export Cornwall to access direct support that will increase our understanding of the possibilities of trading in overseas markets. This offer is open to both to tourism and non-tourism related businesses.

As part of an umbrella programme administered locally by the Islands’ Partnership (IP), local businesses will be able to access specialist face-to-face training, advice, guidance and mentoring from Export Cornwall experts designed to support and stimulate those businesses interested in breaking into new, overseas markets (or developing further current overseas operations).

This programme will also enable business operators to access research and expert knowledge - tailored to specific and particular requirements. For example, Export Cornwall will be able to assist businesses with selecting markets from across Europe, Asia and beyond that are known to be receptive to the offer of England and the South West, and the particular nuances of working in these markets.

This offer to Scilly is unique in that this support is not normally made available for tourism-related business or for businesses with a turnover of less than £100,000. The offer has been made directly to the IP in order to test the demand of its members for such a service. In return, the IP has offered to provide administrative support for the programme on island.

The IP is requesting that any business owner on Scilly who is interested in taking part contacts Amanda Pender at the office by close of business, Monday 26th January. Details are still to be refined, but the IP needs to gauge the level of initial interest. It should be noted that there would be a cost involved, of circa £250 per business, however this registration fee would be held on account by Export Cornwall and used to pay trade officials for bespoke research as dictated by yourselves. It may well be that if there is enough common ground these resources could be pooled in order to gain some really useful insight into potential new overseas markets to the benefit of all.

If you’d like to discuss this further, please call Amanda Pender on 01720 424036, or email [email protected]