Visitor Elves

In this episode, Kelly chats with specialist tourism consultant Seren Welch about the huge impact of film and TV locations on visitor numbers and how you can tap into the growing world of screen tourism whether you are a destination, an attraction or a café in the area.   They cover why film tourism matters more than ever, how destinations like Bristol and Bath are capitalising on it, and practica...

In episode 57, Kelly Ballard speaks with LaToyah McAllister-Jones , the Executive Director of St Paul's Carnival in Bristol. LaToyah shares the rich history and community impact of this celebrated cultural event, which has been running since 1968 and is one of the largest carnivals in the UK. LaToyah explains how St Paul's Carnival was founded to foster social cohesion within the Windrush generati...

Behind the Screens – Digital Marketing Insights from Visit West Shonette Laffy and Laura Valentine. Join host Kelly Ballard as she chats with the dynamic digital marketing duo Shonette Laffy & Laura Valentine from Visit West, the team behind VisitBath, Visit Bristol , and Meet Bristol & Bath . With over 3 million website visits annually and a social reach of 9.5 million, they share: ✨ The...

Join Kelly Ballard as she chats with Vicky Lee, Director of Bristol City Centre BID, about the inner workings of managing Bristol’s vibrant city centre. From potential changes in the structure of Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), to behind-the-scenes insights into the Bristol Light Festival 2025, this episode is packed with exciting updates and discussion about creating a more welcoming and d...

In today’s podcast, I’m going to walk you through ten steps for creating an effective marketing strategy that will help you achieve your goals in 2025 and beyond. A solid marketing strategy is crucial at any time, but 2025 is expected to be even more challenging, as rising costs may lead the public to cut back on spending for leisure luxuries. Businesses that anticipate market changes and maintain...

Today I had the opportunity to chat with Clare Reddington , CEO of the Watershed in Bristol In a fascinating conversation, Clare shared how she and her team are navigating the challenges that many organisations in the visitor economy face with mounting financial pressures. We discuss the cultural cinema and events venue, which saw nearly half a million visitors last year. Established in 1982, Wate...

Send us a text In a recent chat, Kelly caught up with Marcus Blunt , co-founder and CEO of Heidi , an online ski travel company based in Bristol that’s been making waves in the industry since launching in 2018. This year, they even made it onto The Times 100 list of fastest-growing companies in the UK.Marcus and his brother Alexander started Heidi to fix the headaches they faced when booking ski h...

Send us a text In this episode, I'm back in Gloucester exploring the fascinating world of urban regeneration and historic building redevelopment with Sarah Mansfield Co-owner of L&R Group and visionary behind Gloucester Food Dock . Sarah shares her journey from running luxury trains to transforming heritage spaces, focusing on her latest project, Gloucester Food Dock .  We chatted about: Sarah's b...

Send us a text Are you looking to grow your corporate bookings in 2025? Business events like meetings, conferences, and team-building activities are key revenue sources, especially during off-peak times in the visitor economy. In this episode, Kelly chats with Helen Applin , Head of Business Events at Visit West , about the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, Exhibitions) market opportunities...

Send us a text In this episode I chatted with  Damien Martin ,  General Manager  of award-winning  The Parkgate Hotel  in Cardiff.   Just a year after opening its doors in 2021, The Parkgate Hotel scooped the prestigious AA Hotel of the Year for Wales title.  Damien gives us an inside look at the hotel’s success and shares what it takes to run a standout hospitality business.   One of the hotel's ...

Send us a text Welcome to today’s episode! I’m super excited to chat with Charlotte Laing, the amazing founder of The Content Emporium . Her agency is thriving, with a team of 46 talented people, and they’re doing fantastic work for clients, including 20 shopping centres across the UK. Who’s This Episode For? If you’re creating content for businesses, especially in the visitor economy (think shopp...

Send us a text Welcome to Series 4 of The Visitor Elves Podcast! We’re back, and I couldn’t be more excited to kick off Series 4 of the Visitor Elves podcast.   Whether you’re a long-time listener (you’re a total rockstar!) or it’s your first time tuning in, I’m thrilled to have you here. We’re two years in, with 46 episodes and over 4,200 downloads—so what’s next?  This series is packed with insi...

Send us a text In my final episode of Series 3, I have a special guest, the wonderful and oh-so-stylish Lorraine Jarvie , General Manager of the Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath .   This hotel has a five-star (red) rating and is one of the top 2% in the country .  With 40 bedrooms and 140 staff (180 during busy periods), the Royal Crescent is not only one of the West's most impressive hotels, it is al...

Send us a text Welcome to this week's podcast, where I’m going behind the scenes of Bristol City Centre and talking to Tom Swithinbank. Tom's work involves helping businesses become more sustainable and making the city a more appealing place to visit. Tom works for Visit West , specifically for the Business Improvement Districts , which support around 1,200 businesses in the city centre. In this e...

Send us a text In today's episode, my conversation with Graham MacVoy, Managing Director of the visitor attraction Wake the Tiger in Bristol , truly blew my mind.    Wake the Tiger is the permanent 'baby' created by the team running the unique Boomtown festival.   The pandemic has much to answer for, but it gave Graham and his directors the headspace to provide a more permanent base for their crea...

Send us a text In today’s podcast, I’m heading to the Somerset levels to chat with Vicki Jones , owner of the award-winning Tractors & Cream glampsite.   Vicki and her husband Bryan worked in the hotel trade before they decided to upsticks and create their own hospitality business.  After feeling the pain of putting up the yurts each year, they decided to invest in these fantastic architectural ge...

Send us a text In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Sarah Bagg , founder of ReWork Consulting , about getting the best ticketing or booking system to support your business needs.    As a marketer, I've worked with several solutions, and I've noticed that most of them lack the automated link from email to CRM system. As a result, it's challenging to execute smart marketing strategie...

Send us a text In this podcast episode, we focus on increasing bookings from inbound travellers or overseas tourists through the travel trade. My guests are Jon Chamberlain, Head of Marketing for VisitWest , and Mike Newman of B2Me Tourism Marketing.  Jon has been working for 11 years to promote Bristol, Bath , and the surrounding areas as a European leisure destination. Mike helps destinations an...

Send us a text Today's Marketing Insights is all about the 'groups' market.  For many years, the domestic group travel or coach tour industry has been an important part of the UK’s tourism industry.  Groups have historically been guaranteed business for many tourism organisations, with up to 50 people on a coach coming often during week day and shoulder periods.   However,  because of the pandemic...

Send us a text Today’s episode is all about email marketing and the simple things you can do to make it work more effectively to drive bookings.   Joining me on the show is Sarah Orchard of Get Fully Booked .   Sarah runs a marketing programme that helps small independent accommodation businesses improve their marketing and increase their direct bookings.   Sarah was also my very first guest on th...

Send us a text If large open-air events or air shows are your thing, you'll love this episode. In today’s podcast, I chat with Simon Hough, Head of Commercial Activities and Hospitality at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the largest military airshow in the world.    We chat about the event and everything that goes into its creation across the year, including the logistical challenge of...

Send us a text Today's episode is the first of my Marketing Insights series.  In it, I’m talking to the lovely Claire Robinson , founder and Creative Director of WeekendCandy.com , about the world of influencer marketing and how to work with Influencers in 2024.   Claire shares several tips on how to find the right people to work with and get the most out of the relationship, including: How to ide...

Send us a text Digital marketing is constantly evolving, and it can be a challenge to keep up. I recently had a conversation with Jarrod Lopiccolo (CEO) and Kate Sikora (Managing Partner) from Noble Performs , a digital agency that specialises in travel and tourism marketing .  With over 20 years of experience in the US, they established a UK agency in Bristol in 2019. Their clients include destin...

Send us a text Welcome to episode 35 of the Visitor Elves podcast.   Today, I’m joined by Fiona Matthews, Creative Director of Super Culture , an organisation that creates cultural experiences in Weston-super-Mare.  Super Culture creates large-scale events such as the annual light festival GLOW and Whirligig and works on initiatives involving the entire community.  Super Culture is providing a key...

Send us a text Welcome back to the first Visitor Elves episode of 2024.  I hope you had a good Christmas season and your plans for 2024 are shaping up.    In today's conversation, I'm going behind the scenes of Ashton Gate Stadium , home of Bristol City Football Club, Bristol Bears , and Bristol Flyers , with the wonderful, Dublin-born CEO Mark Kelly of Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter. We chat about:...