Cotswolds Tourism wins funding boost from the Visit England Discover England Recovery Fund to create new experiences as part of their 'Uncover The Cotswolds' project.

 Cotswolds Tourism – the official Destination Management Organisation for the 800 square mile Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty has secured significant funding to help local businesses and tap into the staycation market.

 After receiving initial funding in 2018, their 'Uncover the Cotswolds' project has already brought together authentic local experiences from across the area in a new travel trade website, allowing tour operators to view and access a range of easily bookable products.

 This latest round of funding switches the focus to the domestic market to help hard-hit tourism businesses still suffering from the Covid pandemic.  It will also look ahead and prepare for the time when the inbound market starts to recover.

 Working with partners across the wider area, the Cotswolds team will use the funding to find new, unique experiences, extending the season of interest into the shoulder and winter months and encouraging more people to visit less well-known parts of the Cotswolds.  It will also offer tourism businesses the chance to become bookable online, reaching a much wider potential audience.

 The project is a fantastic opportunity to showcase the very best the wider Cotswolds area has to offer while providing invaluable business support and opportunities to tourism businesses at this most challenging of times.

 From courses bringing traditional Cotswold skills alive to baking, crafts and electric quad biking – the project is already uncovering some wonderful new experiences to offer to the domestic market, making the most of the new passion for staycating.  We would love to share these new products with you so more visitors can start to Uncover the Cotswolds for themselves in 2021.

ENDS.

 NOTES

 About Cotswolds Tourism.

Cotswolds Tourism is the official Destination Management Organisation promoting and marketing tourism across the Cotswolds.  A public-private sector organisation, Cotswolds Tourism is a partnership of tourism businesses, supported by local authorities.  Hosted in Cotswold District Council, Cotswolds Tourism is supported with resources by West Oxfordshire District Council, Cotswold District Council and includes strategic partners of Cotswolds National Landscape, Cheltenham Borough Council & Marketing Cheltenham, Tewkesbury Borough Council and Stroud District Council.  Cotswolds Tourism's priority is to grow the area's visitor economy by raising awareness of the destination and generating additional tourism spend, especially in the towns and villages.  For key economic statistics and information see www.cotswolds.com/partnership

 To find out more about the Uncover the Cotswolds project, visit cotswolds.com/uncoverthecotswolds

• For press enquiries please contact Sally Graff on 01285 623050 or email cotswoldstourism@cotswold.gov.uk

  About the Discover England Fund

• In November 2015 the Government announced a £40 million Discover England Fund; an unprecedented opportunity for English tourism. The Fund aims to deliver world-class bookable tourism products joined up across geographies and/or themes; including integrated transport solutions to provide an end-to-end customer experience.

 About VisitBritain/VisitEngland

• VisitBritain/VisitEngland is the national tourism agency – a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
• Working with a range of partners in the UK and overseas, their mission is to grow the volume and value of inbound tourism across the nations and regions of Britain and to develop world-class English tourism product to support growth aspirations. For further information and access to the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics, visit visitbritain.org or www.visitbritain.com and www.visitengland.com for consumer information.