MEMBERS AREA

Members Newsletter Issue No 1 - Spring 2007

"IN E-TOUCH"

The Board of Shrewsbury Tourism Association Ltd is pleased to announce the launch of a new electronic newsletter. "In e-touch" is being published instead of our normal paper version. This hopefully means that you, the Member, can stay in touch with our work more often. It is also environmentally sound and comes at virtually no cost to Members. This will be used as a vehicle to air news & views of what STA Ltd can do for the membership and conversely, what suggestions the membership may have for STA Ltd to act on to make Shrewsbury a better and more attractive place as a visitor destination.

As you know STA Ltd is an "arm" of Shropshire Tourism to which all members pay a subscription. It is all too easy to forget just what we get for our money from Shropshire Tourism as they work to capture more visitors year on year and the wealth that then creates for businesses here. Here are a few reminders of what we get:

• 10% discount on inspections via Quality in Tourism for Visit Britain (to be claimed on application only)
• 15% discount on AA inspections (for new applications only and not renewals, to be claimed on application only)
• 10% discount on all fire extinguisher equipment for Shropshire based businesses
• Reduced costs for credit/direct debit card transactions and machines from Streamline

If any of you have forgotten the rest of the list then please contact Helen Edwards at Harlescott Barns on 01743 462462 who will supply you with the full membership benefits list.

RIVER REGENERATION

The recent launch of the 120 seater river boat "Sabrina" is the opening chapter of what is generally seen as the long awaited regeneration of the river in Shrewsbury.

The "Sabrina" is a fabulous 3 decked showboat and is now operating on a daily basis. The trip is for half an hour, leaving on the hour, from 11am to 4pm. Adult tickets are £6, Senior Citizens £5 and children £2. Under 5s are free. The boat departs from Victoria Quay and can also be hired for parties/evening trips. Tickets are available from the boat or from the Shrewsbury Visitor Information Centre. For more information please call 01244 325394. The "Sabrina" is expected to increase visitor numbers significantly, as will the later arrival of smaller crafts for private usage. This would be a great attraction for the town and would create a fabulous atmosphere for the summer. The re-vamp will be under strict control from ecology reports to protect the environment and eventually could involve dredging a deeper channel in the river for larger vessels. It is about time the river came into its own to vie with Chester and Bridgnorth.

The Quarry Park now boasts its very own Rickshaw Rides at the weekend ... another great pull-in to visitors.

'SECRETS OF SHREWSBURY'

Shrewsbury Tourism Association would strongly recommend to its members the highly professional, interesting and entertaining DVD entitled 'Secrets of Shrewsbury'.

In this DVD, John Challis leads us on a fascinating tour of one of England's most historic towns, after first setting the scene by taking us on a brief excursion around some of the more notable sites in the area.

John Challis will always be associated with Boycie, the roguish second hand car salesman in 'Only Fools and Horses' - a role he has developed in his new hit series 'The Green Green Grass'. John now lives with his wife Carol in a restored medieval house on the Shropshire/Hereford border.

The 'Secrets of Shrewsbury' retails at £12.99 and can be purchased at the Visitor Information Centre in Shrewsbury's historic square.

EXECUTIVE ROLE

Deborah Northwood has been appointed as the first Executive attached to the STA. Her role is aimed at encouraging non-member businesses to sign up to our pledge to promote Shrewsbury as a very desirable visitor destination. The role starts now so watch this space for results!!

MONOPOLY BOARD

Waddingtons Ltd the manufacturers of Monopoly have announced that they are redesigning their board game to include 22 of the UK's most popular locations in place of London streets. Shrewsbury Tourist Association has taken up the challenge of putting the town in number one spot on the new board.

This can be achieved by voting EVERY day until May 25th by logging onto www.monopoly.co.uk selecting 'vote now' and then clicking on 'wild card' and then voting for Shrewsbury. The visibility that the town would get from being on the board is inestimable!!!!!! The money it could bring in from Tourists from around the world is potentially HUGE.

To this end we are urging EVERY member to vote EVERY day until the 25th and to ask every family member, work colleague and friend to do the same. This has to be the BEST chance the town has EVER had to pull in the crowds!!!!

Please click here to vote for Shrewsbury

THE M6 SIGN

At last!! We are on the map as far as our motorway system is concerned. The big, blue Motorway sign has been erected on the M6 showing the way to Shrewsbury instead of just Telford. It has taken a lot of time and money to achieve this which is ridiculous really given that Shrewsbury is the County Town. However, it is now up and running and hopefully will encourage more visitors into the town to spend money in our hotels, eateries, bars and B&Bs!!

GUIDED WALKS

The new Guided Walks leaflet is now out for 2007/2008. Copies are readily available from the Visitor Centre. During July/Aug/Sept there will be a series of Themed Guided Walks on Saturday evenings, starting at 5.30pm from the square. The walk will last approx an hour and a half. Themes - to be advised.

You will be pleased to know that after a lot of pushing by STA the new Town Guide costumes are finally ready!!! This is a great achievement and will send out a great message to our visitors.

GET "IN E-TOUCH"

I hope you have enjoyed this first 'In e-touch' newsletter. There will be more as the year progresses. We are very interested in hearing from any Members who have any ideas for news & views that will help us make Shrewsbury a place that everyone wants to visit!!!!

Deborah Northwood
Promotions & Development Executive
Shrewsbury Tourism Association

Tel: 07813 753560
Email: deborah@visitshrewsbury.com