Visitor Elves

Send us a text In today’s episode, I chat with Kathryn Davis, Director of Tourism, Visit West and non-Exec Board member of Gloucestershire County Cricket Club and UKinbound.   Kathryn is a fount of all knowledge when it comes to tourism, leisure and hospitality in the west, having worked in the industry for more than 25 years. In 2018, Kathryn was presented with the award for Outstanding Achieveme...

Send us a text In this episode I chat to Steve Gardner-Collins, Sales Director of The Hatton Collection and Director of Visit Gloucestershire. Steve talks about The Hatton Collection's business portfolio, ranging from country hotels to pubs with rooms across the Cotswolds, Somerset and Jersey. Steve shares his insights and some of the challenges of working in hospitality over the past few years an...

Send us a text In today’s episode I chat with the inspirational Vivienne Kennedy about her job as Head of Broadmead BID in Bristol . Viv joined the BID as a social media intern aged 47 and seven years later she is now running it!  Broadmead BID was one of the first Business Improvement Districts to operate in the UK and is responsible for supporting around 270 retail and hospitality businesses in...

Send us a text In this episode, I had the pleasure of speaking to Belinda Hunt, Operations Manager at Cheltenham BID (Business Improvement District).  The regency spa town of Cheltenham in Gloucestershire was made popular in the 18th and 19th centuries as a place the wealthy travelled to – for entertainment and to drink the spa water, said to provide ‘healing properties’. Today, Cheltenham is a co...

Send us a text I’m delighted to share my conversation with Donna Speed, Chief Executive of Bristol science centre and educational charity, We The Curious. Located on the harbourside, We The Curious is one of the city's leading family attractions, operating at the heart of the community.  Donna started her career at Alton Towers and moved to Bristol when We The Curious (previously named At-Bristol)...

Send us a text In today's episode I had the pleasure of chatting to Sammi Luxa – Sales & Marketing Manager for WWT Slimbridge Wetland Centre in Gloucestershire . Sammi has been in the visitor economy for over ten years where she started her tourism career at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Somerset. In this episode Sammi talks about marketing WWT Slimbridge as a visitor attraction during its 75th anniversa...

Send us a text It was an absolute pleasure chatting to Mike James  at the end of 2021 for this conversation. Mike is Blue Badge Tour Guide, Tour Manager and owner of the double gold, award-winning food tour company Savouring Bath.   As we all know, there is an increasing desire for experiences, where people want to immerse themselves in being hands-on, creative or indulging the senses. What better...

Send us a text In today's episode I was delighted to chat with Sarah Orchard, owner of award winning luxury treehouse The Hudnalls Hideout. Sarah is not only owner of her own accommodation business, but she also runs her own marketing consultancy and online training and marketing club called Get Fully Booked. After many years working in tourism marketing, Sarah and her husband Adrian moved to the...

Send us a text Welcome to the Visitor Elves podcast.  A place where, I chat with amazing people in and around  West of England, working behind the scenes in tourism, hospitality, culture and events, and everything in between.   With our new ways of virtual working, I want to connect everyone back up on a deeper level, to help us learn from each other, and to know that we’re not alone in our challe...