Tourism Expo aiming to attract 60,000 extra visitors to Somerset
Later this month, 60 international companies will make their way to Somerset for the Somerset Tourism Expo, with organisers hoping to generate an additional 60,000 visitors off the back of the event.
The Tourism Expo will bring major operators from China, the USA and Russia to Somerset in a bid to convince them to bring more visitors to Wells and Somerset as a whole.
Knock on effects for accommodation providers, like us offering holiday parks in Somerset, is great news as word of mouth spreads the county's name as a UK holiday destination.
Mark Torbin, who has organised the event with the help of Visit Somerset and the Wells Civic Society, said: "I wanted to find a way to kickstart tourism in Wells - while there's no doubt that much of the UK is aware of us, we're largely unknown in the international market, and I wanted to make sure people knew we were here, and what Somerset has to offer."
The event has proved popular already, with places now sold out after 60 companies signed up! As well as international operators, local tourism providers will be present to show what the county has to offer and what visitors can expect from Somerset holidays.
"Major operators like the ones coming to the city tend to put on five or six tours a year, with 30 or 40 people each tour," Mr Torbin added.
"I think that even if only half of those who come add us to their books, we're going to see a good influx of people heading our way.
"And that will have a snowball effect - as people start talking about where they've been, posting their pictures on line, we'll come to the attention of other operators as well."
The event takes place October 31-November 2 and will be hosted at the Swan Hotel. Guests will enjoy a drinks reception and swanky gala dinner in between walking tours of Wells, shopping trips and plenty more of what Somerset has to offer.