Pictured: GTOs on a Dartington Hall tour.
One of Devon's top tourist attractions has confirmed during a special event that it has what it takes to attract groups of visitors.
The National Marine Aquarium in Plymouth was the venue for the Devon Group Travel Roadshow, arranged by Hampshire-based Steve Reed Tourism Ltd.
Arranged in conjunction with the Devon Association of Tourist Attractions [DATA] and the Eden Hotel Collection, the event aimed to create new and additional group bookings for the West Country tourism industry.
Attracting around 60 group travel organisers and coach and tour operators from around the country - including a delegation of tour planners from Kent under the auspices of Spot Travel from Bearsted – the event allowed buyers to meet with attractions, hotels, venues and destinations from Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.
Councillor Dr John Mahony, Lord Mayor of Plymouth, was in attendance at the event as was Visit Devon and media partner Group Leisure magazine.
Various buyers attending were hosted by hotels around Devon including in Plymouth, Jurys Inn and the Duke of Cornwall Hotels; Dartington Hall in Totnes and Bovey Castle Hotel on Dartmoor.
They enjoyed familiarisation visits to a number of attractions such as Dartington Hall Estate; the South Devon Railway, Stuart Line Cruises in Exmouth and the Mayflower Museum in Plymouth.
The exhibitors at the National Marine Aquarium were leading players in the West Country tourism sector and the GTOs attending were given a tour of the National Marine Aquarium during their visit.
Josh McCarty, head of marketing at the National Marine Aquarium commented: “We were very pleased to be able to showcase the National Marine Aquarium to the UK groups market with this prestigious and valuable event. It was very good to see so many tourism businesses from Devon and the wider region in the aquarium.”
Steve Reed of Steve Reed Tourism added: “We really enjoyed the event and think it will generate a lot of new group bookings for the tourism industry.
“The event showed that when attractions and hotels combine forces that anything is possible. We are very grateful to all of the many individuals and businesses who made a contribution towards these enjoyable two days, especially Jo Butler of the Eden Hotel Collection, who really helped to get the event going in the first place.”
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