Showcasing Coventry and Warwickshire to national and international audiences

Destination Coventry is always working to highlight the very best of Coventry and Warwickshire to new audiences.

Whether that is through Visit Coventry or Conference Coventry & Warwickshire, one of our foundational goals is to help bring more business to the brilliant tourism, leisure and hospitality businesses in the region.

The final week of October demonstrated what we strive to do, from hosting international familiarisation trips and attending national trade shows, to supporting events in Coventry and celebrating the successes of our valued partners.

Here is a snapshot of some of that great work over only two days:

Building Coventry’s brand internationally

International visitors are a key part of our visitor economy and we regularly welcome buyers and representatives from abroad to learn more about what Coventry has to offer.

Sarah Carasiti, Visit Britain’s USA representative based in Los Angeles, was on a trip around England and we had the opportunity to welcome her to Coventry.

Colleen Muldoon-Taylor, Business Development Manager at Destination Coventry, was dispatched to meet Sarah and ensure she had a memorable experience in the city.

Colleen hosted a trip for Sarah around the city which started with a stay at the historic Coombe Abbey Hotel. The trip included a visit to St Mary’s Guildhall, Coventry Transport Museum, the Cathedral Ruins and Coventry Cathedral – closing with a visit to the city’s newest hotel Hotel Indigo.

“Sarah was blown away with what we had to offer in the city, in particular the incredible heritage, history and culture we have in Coventry,” said Colleen.

“We hope to welcome Sarah and more visitors from the USA back soon!”

Showcasing our leisure tourism offer to the UK travel trade

On the same day as we were enhancing our profile to visitors from overseas, our Visit Coventry team were making important new connections with the UK travel trade.

Abbie Dryburgh, Information and Marketing Officer, was exhibiting at the latest Group Travel Roadshow at Coventry Transport Museum.

The event, organised by Steve Reed Tourism Ltd and Daish’s Holidays for Groups, brought together group travel organisers, and coach and tour operators from all over the country.

It was a fantastic opportunity to promote and talk about Coventry’s fantastic leisure offer and create connections with more than 20 key bookers.

Roger Bailey, Destination Coventry member and Blue Badge tour guide, finished the show by treating the delegates to a walking tour of the city’s captivating sights and highlighting their great history.

Promoting Coventry and Warwickshire to national business event bookers

The West Midlands hosted CHS Birmingham, a one-day exhibition for anyone involved in organising business events, from small meetings to large conferences.

More than 200 venues, destination and event suppliers were at the event, and they were joined by Colleen Muldoon-Taylor. It was a great opportunity to meet with new contacts and re-connect with others, all with the outcome of driving new business events to Coventry and Warwickshire.

West Midlands Growth Company organised a familiarisation trip to Coventry as part of the exhibition, the two-day trip saw event bookers take in Coventry on the first day, with an itinerary including a visit to Coventry Building Society Arena, afternoon tea at The Telegraph Hotel and visits to St Mary’s Guildhall and Coventry Cathedral.

Colleen had the chance to meet up with the event bookers on the second day of the event back over in Birmingham and further promote Coventry to the large group of event bookers.

Following this event we have already sparked some new business with a Spanish contingency planning to bring a major gala dinner to the region.

Celebrating members and partners

The whirlwind two days came to a close with a celebration event for a business we have worked closely with since launching three years ago.

Leopold Marketing hosted an event to mark 10 years since forming and our team were present to help mark the occasion.

The specialist consultancy has been a member of Destination Coventry for three years and through their membership have won new business and expanded in Coventry and Warwickshire.