NEWS
Travelodge joins forces with pubcos for expansion
BUDGET hotel operator Trav- elodge has joined forces with some of the UK’s biggest pub- cos to develop more than 30 combined hotel and pub sites in the next four years. Working with Greene King, JD Wetherspoon, Mitchells & Butlers, Marston’s and JW Lees, the hotel fi rm wants to open 36 new hotels next to pubs across the UK as part of a £100 mil- lion expansion plan. Travelodge is already co-lo-
cated with pub companies at 15 sites down south. The partnership is said to bring both parties a number of benefi ts, including making developing the site more afford- able and providing Travelodge guests with a food and drink of- fer. It also gives pubs access to
Travelodge’s Paul Harvey said the partnership is actively seeking sites.
‘on-site’ customers. The joint initiative comes a year after Travelodge bought 52 Innkeep-
er’s Lodge hotels, which each have an M&Bs pub on site. Paul Harvey, Travelodge’s managing director for develop- ment, said the partnership is now “proactively seeking sites” for the new developments. “The pub companies have noticeably stepped up their de- velopment plans over recent months and in many parts of the country their target loca- tions correspond with ours,” he said. “A combined hotel/pub de- velopment is attractive to banks and funders, making the devel- opment process a lot quicker than it otherwise may be.” Brigid Simmonds, boss of the British Beer & Pub Association, said: “Pubs are perfectly placed to provide the hospitality at sites next to hotels.”
Visitor numbers up 20% in two years, says drinks fi rm
Whisky tourism in good spirits
WHISKY tourism in Scotland is booming, with the number of distillery visitors up 20% in the past two years, new fi gures from a leading distiller suggest. Tourists are said to have been
fl ocking to Diageo’s 12 distillery visitor centres, with the num- ber of people visiting last year reaching 210,432, up from 176,471 in 2008 and 194,505 in 2009. Whisky’s growing popularity
in overseas markets, coupled with improved visitor facili- ties, is credited with driving the growth, which comes after fi gures published by the Scotch Whisky Association earlier this month showed whisky exports had reached a record high, top- ping £3.45 billion last year. Talisker, on the Isle of Skye,
was Diageo’s busiest visitor centre, attracting 50,550 visi- tors last year, up from 41,271 in 2008 and 47,115 in 2009. Highland distillery Dalwhin- nie – the company’s fi fth busiest – also recorded strong growth in visitor numbers, reaching 20,645 last year from 16,033 in 2008. Caol Ila, on Islay, add- ed more than 2000 visitors to its books in the two-year period, up from 3597 in 2008 to 5813 last year; while Diageo’s quiet- est, Cragganmore, whose visi-
STOCK IT NOW Talisker on the Isle of Skye was Diageo’s busiest distillery, with 50,550 visitors.
tor centre opening hours were extended in 2009, recorded 2491 visitors last year, up from 1287 in 2009. There were 43 different na- tionalities recorded among the visitors to the 12 distilleries last year, with UK tourists dominat- ing, accounting for 87,417 of the visits in 2010. Steve Blake, general manager
of Diageo’s visitor centres, said a high proportion of visitors came from Germany, France, the USA and Spain, refl ecting the strongest Scotch whisky ex- port markets. “Scotch whisky is this coun-
try’s fastest-growing export and the great thing about whisky is that it is also a fantastic advert for Scotland,” he said. “Just as we focus on the su- perb quality of the whisky we produce, over recent years we have put increasing effort into ensuring that is matched by the visitor experience we offer at our distilleries.” VisitScotland chairman Mike Cantlay said: “This is fantastic news and shows that the com- bination of quality products and quality visitor attractions are key to the visitor experience in Scotland.”
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April 28, 2011 - SLTN - 5 HAVE THE VODKA DRINK
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