The Scallop Sculpture on Aldeburgh beach


Unesco literature cities to host global gathering


Nottingham and Norwich – both Unesco Cities of Literature – will jointly host ‘Nottwich’ in 2019, an international forum with cultural leaders from 28 cities across the world. Sandeep Mahal, Nottingham City


Retrace Newton’s footsteps at Gravity Fields Festival


The streets of Grantham will be a stage for a quirky theatrical show on an open-top bus, as part of Lincolnshire’s Gravity Fields Festival (September 26-30).


The mobile auditorium is called


Rear View from IOU, and mixes live performance and digital technology – with the audience on rear-facing seats. Inspired by Isaac Newton, the arts, science and heritage festival is staged every two years in and around Grantham. gravityfields.co.uk


Norwich festivals focus on food, fiction and facts


Top chefs, writers and scientists are heading to Norwich this autumn for a host of festivals. Two events launch this month:


Gastronomic (September 6-22) and the Assembly House Food Festival (September-November). Gastronomic fuses live theatre and augmented reality, with food from five top city restaurants, while the Assembly House event features themed dinners, demonstrations and culinary stars such as Jay Rayner. Foodies will also welcome the opening of the Ivy Norwich Brasserie (pictured), the latest addition to The Ivy Collection, and a new ‘High Sea’ offering from the Grosvenor Fish Bar – home to Duane Dibartolomeo,


travelgbi.com


a former VisitEngland Tourism Superstar. Also new are ‘Great Market’ walking tours, exploring the history of Norwich market. The annual crime-writing


festival (September 13-16) in Norwich features authors such as Val McDermid and Paula Hawkins, and the Norwich Science Festival (October 19-27) features TV naturalist Chris Packham, explorer Benedict Allen and Professor Alice Roberts. More festivals include Porkstock


at Norfolk Show Ground (October 13), with food stalls and live music, and Norwich Beer Festival (October 22-7). visitnorwich.co.uk


Suffolk’s tourism tops £2bn mark


Tourism in Suffolk during 2017 saw its biggest boom for a decade, with the visitor economy worth £2 billion for the first time. Interim figures from Visit


Suffolk show tourism grew by at least 5% in 2017, more than double the growth rate of 2016. The number of jobs rose 6%


to more than 42,000, meaning that 13.6% of all employment in Suffolk is in tourism. Amanda Bond, Visit Suffolk’s brand manager, said: “These


are fantastic figures for Suffolk, signalling five years of significant improvement and promotion, by marketing the county with an over-arching brand that benefits all destinations within Suffolk. “This would not have been


achieved without the continued backing for the county-wide offer from all the district authorities, Suffolk County Council, New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership and the local destination marketing organisations.” visitsuffolk.com


of Literature director, said: “It is a priceless opportunity to promote our cities to the rest of the world.” Thanks to money from the VisitEngland Discover England Fund, Visit Nottinghamshire has been working with Hampshire – birthplace of Jane Austen – and Shakespeare’s England in Stratford-upon-Avon to create and promote literary-themed itineraries for US visitors. Nottinghamshire is famous


for its links with Lord Byron and DH Lawrence, although research has shown these are not famous enough to drive visitors from overseas – so Mahal said the region must rely on the Robin Hood story to stimulate business. visit-nottinghamshire.co.uk nottinghamcityofliterature.com


Cambridge tourism bosses tackle overtourism


Visit Cambridge & Beyond is working with partners to tackle overtourism and ensure that tourists bring “positive benefits”. Emma Thornton, chief executive of the destination management company, said: “With its medieval streetscape, the city faces challenges created by the volume of visitors, particularly those who only come for the day during the peak summer season. “Cambridge visitors contribute £764 million to the local economy, and account for 20% of local employment. “It would be foolish for us to turn our backs on this vibrant visitor economy – so our aim is to encourage value, not volume, tourism and to provide the best possible visitor experience.” The DMO wants visitors to stay longer, spend more money and to travel farther afield to lesser-known areas within the region.


“We’re currently feeding into


several studies that look into the issue of how people access and move around the city,” said Thornton. Alternative coach drop-off


points, new pedestrian routes and improved signage are all initiatives that Visit Cambridge & Beyond is helping to develop. It is also working with tourism partners in places such as Newmarket, Ely, St Neots, Bedford, Saffron Walden and St Ives to raise the profile of the surrounding area. “Together we need to better tell the story of ‘Beyond Cambridge’,” said Thornton. visitcambridge.org


September 2018 | TravelGBI 25


©VisitEngland/Diana Jarvis


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