exhibition Alexandra Palace in London
The annual Excursions exhibition, organised by Tourism South East, took place at the end of January at Alexandra Palace in London.
Now in its 43rd year, Excursions 2019 brought together the group travel trade, including attractions, hotels, resorts and destinations from across the UK and Europe, with GTOs and tour operators.
Highlights of the day included an opening performance from Only Fools The (cushty) Dining Experience, organised by Groups Direct, a new ‘Street Market’ themed area, featuring 20 producers of local and regional artisan products, and the custom designed Hambledon Wine Bus offering the chance to taste some of England’s finest wines.
A number of visitors arriving by coach took advantage of a special invitation from coach tour operators and were given access to the VIP area and a wine tasting reception courtesy of Surrey’s Denbies Vineyard.
Celebrating important anniversaries and milestones in 2019 was definitely a theme across many stands, including Tower Bridge which is marking its 125th year in June, and the Royal Collection Trust which shared information about its new tours with group travel organisers at the show.
Visit Chichester, the organisation responsible for promoting tourism and supporting the visitor economy in the region, launched its Visitor Guide at Excursions and were giving GTOs a range of suggested itineraries for the area. Meanwhile, Backwaters Tours introduced its classic car tours, as well as telling visitors about its new electrichybrid day boat available for tours on France’s hidden canals.
Hugo, the popular St Bernard, made a special appearance on Switzerland Travel Centre’s stand throughout the day with visitors enquiring about the variety of tours on offer. Adrian Millan from STC said that walking holidays were proving to be particularly popular for 2019. He added: “We can make them really easy for groups and they can be offered at different times of the year, depending on what they want.”
Other mascots and furry friends to make an appearance at Excursions included Henry VIII from Portsmouth’s Mary Rose Museum (pictured bottom left) and a White Faced Cops Owl from Leeds Castle’s Falconry team. Sales and booking manager at the castle, Stef Harlow said: “Our gin, mead and owls have definitely brought a lot of people to our stand but we have a big year ahead (celebrating the castle’s 900th anniversary) and everyone is very interested in hearing about it.”
Exhibitors showcasing their group travel offers to visitors included Fred. Olsen Cruise Lines, Travelsphere, Woburn Abbey, Hever Castle and the Belgian Tourism Office Wallonia. Helen Buckham, groups coordinator at Windsor’s Savill Gardens said “It is lovely to see and speak to people who have been, or are coming, to visit the Savill Gardens.”
As the event’s official 2019 media partner, the team from Group Leisure & Travel magazine (GLT) were on hand to showcase the latest editions of the magazine, register readers and talk to visitors and exhibitors.
Group travel organiser John Flynn of Role On, told the GLT team “The magazine is a real pleasure to read, I have been getting it for a while now and it is always full of plenty of really great ideas.”
Marian Durbidge, the 2017 Group Travel Organiser of the Year, added “It’s great to see the team from GLT Magazine Excursions has been a good chance for us to meet up with everyone. I’ve picked up some good ideas for day trips including a place I first visited eight years ago Leonardslee Gardens in Sussex. I bought some rhododendrons from there and they’re still going strong.”
Fran Downton, senior marketing manager at Tourism South East, said: “As Excursions continues to evolve, we were really pleased to welcome such a high quality of GTOs and coach and tour operators to the show. With such a large variety of exhibitors to research and talk to face to face, we know that bookings were conducted on the day and will continue to do so throughout the coming year. Tourism South East is proud to continue to support the groups industry with such a successful show. We look forward to welcoming back both visitors and exhibitors in 2020.”