� IN FOCUS l COACH TRAVEL Shearings seals consumer magazine deal


Shearings Leisure Group has teamed with consumer magazine publisher Hearst UK for a series of partnerships, the first one being the opening of two ‘Country Living’ hotels. Two of the group’s Coast &


Country properties, one in Bath and the other in Harrogate, are undergoing a multimillion-pound refurbishment to be rebranded as ‘Country Living Hotels, exclusively by Coast & Country’. They will open in May and July respectively. Richard Calvert, SLG chief


executive, described the partnership with the publisher of Country Living magazine as “ground-breaking.”


a further 17 million digital viewers. So this is a new customer that can come into our family and a new revenue stream. SLG has a huge fleet of coaches so we could create specialist escorted tours to appeal to their readerships. “We’re the largest buyer of


“At SLG, we have 60% repeat business but to grow as we want to, we need new customers,” he said. “The Hearst group sells four million magazines a month and has


Emmerdale tours and apparently the Coronation Street tour is opening again so that could be packaged into a special Shearings Holiday for Inside Soap readers.” Calvert said agents would be able to book Shearings Holidays’ self- drive short-break packages or coach breaks that will be tailor-made around the Country Living brand.


Shearings revives escorted tours brochure


Wicksteed Park unveils 2018 daytime shows


Wicksteed Park in Northamptonshire has announced three daytime shows at the attraction’s Edwardian pavilion. Twist and Shout features the sounds of the 1960s; Sing As We Go celebrates the centenary of the end of World War One; and the Christmas Variety Spectacular includes festive music, dance and entertainment.


Marie Phillips, marketing


co-ordinator at the park, said: “The Wicksteed Park shows provide combine West End- standard entertainment with lunch and afternoon tea.” Coach drivers are


provided with free lunch and refreshments and the venue has dedicated coach parking for up to 30 coaches, with overflow parking available. wicksteedpark.org


22 TravelGBI | April 2018


Shearings has doubled the number of tours in its new Grand Tourer brochure for 2018-19. Jane Atkins, managing director, said: “We have produced a standalone Grand Tourer brochure this year after feedback from agents.” The programme features twice the number of tours, with 21 of the 41 new for this year. Of these, 15 tours are in the UK, 23 are in Europe and three are river cruises. shearings.com


NEWS IN BRIEF


w Greatdays gets to name guide dog puppy


Greatdays Travel Group has named a guide dog puppy Mabel, after the tour wholesaler raised more than £9,000 for Guide Dogs for the Blind through raffles held at last year’s ‘Cruise the World’ entertainment lunches and ‘Mamma Mia! Christmas


Show Parties’. greatdays.co.uk


w Grand UK Holidays is going for gold


Over-55s specialist Grand UK Holidays has invested in a new ‘Gold’ coach, worth more than £300,000, for its upmarket Grand UK Gold brand. The luxurious 44-seat coach is equipped with the latest technology to improve


Claire Dutton, national key account manager, Shearings Holidays, and Jacqueline Gallagher, Thomas Cook supplier partnerships manager


RHS adds group garden experiences


The Royal Horticultural Society has introduced a range of ‘Horticultural Experience Tours’ for groups visiting its gardens. The experiences are aimed at beginners but can be tailor- made to suit each group’s requirements and will be led by a member of the garden team, or an RHS volunteer. Along with garden tours, sessions could include practical demonstrations and talks. Melissa Hackney, group sales and marketing manager, said: “At the RHS, sharing the best in gardening is at the heart of what we do and we are committed to inspiring our all our visitors.


safety on the road. grandukholidays.com


w English Riviera firms woo coach operators


More than 80 group travel organisers and coach operators visited south Devon last month for a showcase highlighting Torquay, Paignton


and Babbacombe. englishrivierabid.co.uk stevereedtourism.co.uk


RHS Wisley “These new Horticultural


Experience Tours sit alongside our popular Private Group Garden Tours, and the specialist Behind the Scenes Tour at Wisley, and enable groups to enhance their visit still further by delving more into a particular passion or area of interest.” rhs.org.uk/groups


w Encore unveils ‘Groups Only’ team


Ticketing specialist Encore has created a Groups Only department giving group travel organisers and coach tour operators an exclusive account handler. Sergio Cicalo, senior sales manager, said: “The Groups Only team will be focused on all aspects of group


bookings – and nothing else.” encore.co.uk


travelgbi.com


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