THE TIMES OF OUR LANDOct 2011 - Apr 2013

What is Our Land?

Year of growth

Marketing & development

Our Land businesses

Get involved

2

By Nick Johannsen (Our Land’s Chairman and Director, Kent

Downs AONB) and Justin Francis (Our Land’s private sector partner and MD, responsibletravel.com)

Better Malaga than Margate?A recent Easyjet advertising campaign “better Malaga than Margate” (Jan 2013) was a reminder why so many of us, in both the public and private sector, have worked this hard to create Our Land and help it to fl ourish. Britain runs a £19.4billion tourism trade defi cit (Deloitte) with cheap short breaks abroad luring UK urbanites and rural dwellers away from home with the promise of something ‘better’. Meanwhile, fragmentation and dupli-cation in marketing from UK destina-tions has meant that often our fi nest landscapes are in competition with one another, and a lack of ‘joined up thinking’ has weakened our offer against interna-tional short breaks.

In addition, UK tourism businesses as a whole do not yet recognise the full scope of their locally distinctive visitor experience nor yet realise the benefi ts this special offer can bring – for book-ings, the environment, and the economy

- in the face of the fi erce competition. Protected landscapes make a stand In creating Our Land, which thrives on its collaboration between protected landscapes (National Parks and AONBs), we aim to col-lectively make a stand against short break international destinations by reminding those living in the UK that there’s a wealth of distinctive cultural and natural experi-ences right here, on our doorstep and by experiencing them, visitors are helping to conserve them for future generations.

Our Land has set out to fi ght the com-petition in two ways: through locally-led development initiatives that help businesses discover and celebrate the distinctiveness of their visitor experience (looking specifi -cally at conserving and enhancing the local environment, engaging with the community, and raising awareness of local landscape characteristics: food, buildings, people, natural/social history, and wildlife); and, via a national marketing platform that can pres-ent tourists with one place for all Our Land protected landscapes experiences - www.our-land.co.uk.

And, it’s working! Our Land’s inaugural year Looking back at our inaugural year and fi rst tourist season (2012/13), it’s hard not to feel proud of what we’ve achieved with Our Land.

Despite the ‘toughest tourist season for ten years’ (ALVA): the dire economic climate, the Olympics ‘stay put’ factor, and ‘the wettest summer for 100 years’ (Met Offi ce), Our Land has created a close knit network of over 800 committed business-es offering the visitor a choice of 1000 locally distinctive experiences in protected landscapes. It regularly communicates with a combined visitor database of 250,000, and has generated over 11,000 overnight stays, doubling the return on public investment by DEFRA given over the same period.

Exciting timesThe next tourist season and fi nancial year (2013/14) look promising, too. We’ve just welcomed a further seven pro-tected landscapes from outside of the south east to Our Land and are now able to provide

visitors with an even wider choice of experiences as we watch Our Land’s business network grow and make Our Land available for additional protected landscapes across the UK.

Joined up thinking In the spirit of collaboration, we’ve also been thrilled to work with the RSPB, Ordnance Survey, Visit England, and Local Destination Management Organ-isations (among others) and we look forward to exploring these relationships alongside continued conversations with the National Trust, Woodland Trust, Wildlife Trusts and English Heritage. All of the partners are equally enthusias-tic about the opportunity Our Land presents for ‘joined up thinking’ on responsible tourism and, as a result, we expect Our Land’s marketing and development outcomes to benefi t from a ‘multiplier effect’ in this forthcoming fi nancial year.

Something genuinely ‘better’Finally, while we look ahead optimistical-ly at generating further bookings to the benefi t of the local economy and raising the profi le of protected landscapes individual and collective, we’re also re-maining focused on Our Land’s ongoing locally-led and destination specifi c tour-ism development programmes - several more are planned for 2013/14 – after all, it’s these distinctive experiences, and helping businesses to recognise and celebrate them, that will provide visitors with something genuinely ‘better’ than the short-haul cheap fl ight to Barcelona, Paris or Amsterdam.

A huge thank you to all of Our Land’s businesses, partners and supporters for contributing to the ongoing success of Our Land.

Foreward

Our Land is a collaboration launched by nine protected landscapes in the South East (SEPL) to develop and promote sustainable rural tourism. Our Land is funded for three years through the Rural Development Programme for England (RDPE) and is run in partner-ship with responsibletravel.com, who have committed to running Our Land beyond the funded period. Surrey Coun-ty Council is the host authority. Seven additional protected landscapes joined Our Land in Jan 2013 and Our Land is now available to all UK protected landscapes.

3

We’ve recruited over 800 businesses to date, which

gives1000 holiday experiences on the site and has generated more than 11,000 bed nights. Most visitors are from London & South East but increas-ingly we’re seeing visitors from all over the UK – primarily from urban areas. In spite of the poor

weather over the past fi nancial year, camp-ing proved the most popular type of holiday.

To reach our target of 36,000 additional overnight stays over the three year funded period, we aim to recruit at least 1180 businesses across all nine landscapes in the South East, ensuring a mix of accommoda-tions, activity providers, food & beverage providers, attractions and retail to provide an all-round visitor experience and drive traffi c to the site.

A key objective of the project is for Our Land to become fi nancially self-sus-taining. Revenue is generated through product page upgrades, membership of the Premier Service and sponsorship.

Our Land’s Vision

Where a visitor makes a conscious (or even second nature) connection between their experience & landscape conservation.

Our Land’s Mission

• Discover and share the conservation stories of the landscape

• National promotion to visitors

• Local development of tourism businesses

• Commercial sustainability

• Collaboration between public & private sector

2012/13 - A year of growth

spite of the poor providers, attractions and retail to provide an all-round visitor experience and drive traffi c to the site.

Our Land to become fi nancially self-sus-taining. Revenue is generated through product page upgrades, membership of the Premier Service and sponsorship.

How businesses join Our Land

Tourism businesses need to demon-strate their commitment to their local landscape, community and environment through the Promise to Our Land. The Promise sits at the very heart of Our Land, to ensure that participating busi-nesses refl ect the distinctiveness and special qualities of the landscape – a key expectation of the initiative.

The Landscape Units screen all busi-nesses prior to going live on the site and provide support in meeting The Promise.

On-going monitoring is also provid-ed through verifi ed traveller reviews. Research shows that the greater the number of reviews, the more bookings a business is likely to receive – up to 45% more enquiries!

over 800businesses generating11,000

More than

bed nights generated1,000 holiday

experiences

4

Our Land’s marketing campaign inspires people to fall in love

and reconnect with the landscapes, so that they can help conserve and enhance them. It is run via engaging content on social media, database marketing, PR, SEO and via strategic marketing partnerships with national membership organisations. As part of the campaign, Our Land is also mapping the conservation work in the landscapes and the stories behind the projects.

Shared Visitor Database & e-zineOur Land is steadily building a large shared visitor database, to ensure cross promotion of the protected landscapes. Our Land’s e-zine featuring a selection of things to do and places to stay in

Our Land’s marketing aims are threefold:

1. To drive traffi c to the site and generate enquiries/bookings

2. To raise the profi le of protected landscapes, individual and collective

3. To generate income to help the site become commercially sustainable

Testimonials from businesses Forest Garden - Shovelstrode

“A lot of people have found us through the Our Land site and book-ings for the yurt accom-modation are coming in all the time”

Our Land’s Marketing

protected landscapes is sent to over 10,000 (and growing) visitors weekly. Competitions have been publicised to ¼ million visitors and run in partnership with Visit Kent, Skedaddle, Wild Swimming and Ordnance Survey, successfully driving traffi c to Our Land and building our database.

Marketing Partnerships We entered into our fi rst marketing partnership with the RSPB and are in discussions with National Trust, Ordnance Survey, English Heritage, Woodland Trust and Wildlife Trusts. Our aim is to establish partnerships with a range of organisations with whom we share the same values around landscape and conservation. The organisations are partnering with us in both marketing and product development.

Withyfi eld Cottage

''Very pleased with it all and we have had numerous bookings through Our Land. People love that we are a working farm and can come and watch the cows be milked, something we have been able to communicate through your website''

WoWo Campsite

“Amazing project and we are receiving plenty of enquiries. At least 1 booking a week.”

5

Our Land includes a programme of product development support, delivered through the Protected Landscape Units, which aims to improve tourism businesses understanding and awareness of landscape, create community, support the develop-

ment of sustainable business practice and help meet the Our Land criteria - The Promise to Our Land. This is delivered through a programme of one-to-one sessions, workshop and training events and landscape familiarisation activities organised by each Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and National Park, as well as regular communication via e-news and a tourism business network.

New Forest National ParkOur Land members in the New Forest National Park have been invited to a series of training days, each focusing on a different aspect of the landscape such as ‘Ancient Trees’ and ‘Bogs and Heaths’. Their promotion of the New Forest Tour encouraged Our Land businesses to gain a deeper understanding of the tour, the landscape, settlements and businesses en-route.

Isle of Wight AONB The Isle of Wight’s October Experi-ence Day took businesses on a tour of the Island visiting Carisbrooke Castle, Freshwater Bay and meeting local ex-perts along the way, whilst their March networking lunch provided businesses with information on local producers.

North Wessex Downs AONBThe North Wessex Downs AONB has run a programme to help businesses improve their products and profi ts, linking tour-ism and landscape. Their events included ‘Keeping it Fresh & Local, ‘Making more from the walking, cycling and riding markets’ and ‘Future Proofi ng your business – why sustainability is good for business and how to promote it’.

Kent Downs AONB The Kent Downs AONB’s programme of landscape focused events included the interestingly titled workshop ‘Not enough beds fi lled in my Inn’ providing support to businesses in writing their pages, whilst ‘Is your Page sitting pretty’ showed how to look through the lens to attract bookings.

South Downs National ParkThe South Downs National Park’s fi eld trips

have involved taking businesses out into the landscape to experience and learn about places such as Firle and Pulbor-ough Brooks, meeting local experts and providing the opportunity to work with Our Land partners such as the RSPB.

Networking events in the Cotswolds, High Weald, Chilterns and Surrey Hills have provided opportunities to look at what makes various aspects of the landscape so unique and how it can be put at the heart of the visitor experience. Each has included a different focus, ranging from historic farmsteads to local produce or even creating videos to capture the landscape.

Developing a tourism business networkBusiness engagement is an important element of Our Land and we regularly communicate tips on how to increase bookings, how to improve product pag-es, support and guidance available from the landscapes.

In March 2013 we set up a networking group using CoaST’s One Planet Tourism Network. CoaST is a social enterprise created specifi cally for tourism business-es – to engage with, provide support and stimulate business to business networking. The Our Land Live Wire will enable Our Land businesses and protected landscapes to communicate directly with each other on all aspects of responsible rural tourism, local land-scape and sustainability issues.

Our Land’s Development

6

Our Land’s Partnership Work

Visit Kent• Raised awareness of Kent and the Kent Downs AONB as a visitor destination through database marketing to audiences of 150,000+.• All Our Land Kent Downs AONB businesses were informed of Visit Kent’s quality assessment scheme and other initiatives available through the Visit Kent DMO and their website.• Developed new and increased audiences for Visit Kent’s visitor database through an opt-in newsletter subscription during the dedicated Kent Downs AONB competition.• Development of social media as a marketing channel where 1000’s viewed the Kent Downs AONB competition page via Facebook and Twitter.

Wild Swimming & Wild Things Publishing • Promotional activities carried out to increase joint databases with like-minded audiences.• Reciprocal database marketing.• Raising the profile of South East England’s ancient network of lost lanes and byways foy cycling/walking/swimming and exclusively accessed by train (no car required!)

7

Ordnance Survey• Development of Ordnance Survey as Our Land’s mapping partner.• Database marketing initiatives carried out to Ordnance Survey’s 310,000+ database resulting in increased exposure for Our Land.• Our Land provided Ordnance Survey with 1000+ new database members who are a direct fi t with their core demographic.• Development of the brand partnership with shared target audiences and an interest in exploring a variety of routes to market within this.

RSPB• Pulborough Brooks RSPB reserve hosted a landscape awareness day which was attended by over 15 local Our Land businesses. • A joint press release announcing the partnership was issued with online media success.• RSPB reserves featured as activity pages on Our Land website.• Our Land members have joined RSPB’s Stepping up For Nature Campaign.• Our Land featured in RSPB members magazine Birds.

8

Chilterns AONB: Rickyard Cottage – B&B (doubles from £55/nt)

Environment: “Just three craftsmen built the Barn at Rickyard Cottage in a style that has never died out. …The walls are built from the land: fl intstone off the fi elds, brick clay from the soil, and Denner Hill stone, treasured and reused, from right here where it was quarried (used to patch up Windsor Castle).”www.our-land.co.uk/accommoda-tion/7525/great-missenden-bandb-chil-terns

Cotswolds AONB: Cotswold Wood-land Craft (1 day from £75 pp)

Landscape: “Prinknash Abbey [where the courses take place] lies on the edge of the Cotswold Commons and Beechwoods National Nature Reserve is an internationally important area which includes some of Britain’s fi nest beechwoods and limestone grasslands. The Cotswold Way is a long distance footpath that passes Prinknash Abbey Estate and follows the escarpment of the Cotswold hills giving panoramic views across the Severn Vale, passing through beech woods and open pasture with dry stone walls, picturesque villages with limestone cottages.”www.our-land.co.uk/thingstodo/7940/woodcraft-course-the-cotswolds

High Weald AONB: Dernwood Farm – Wild Camping (£6-£9 pp/nt)

Landscape: “We still try to coppice on a regular basis in mosaic patterns around the woods to create bio-diversity. Each stage of growth provides different habitats for various fl ora and fauna. Our objective is to leave our woods to the next generation in better heart and health through our time here than it was at the time of our acquisition.”www.our-land.co.uk/accommodation/7249/high-weald-wild-camping-sussex

Isle of Wight AONB: The Really Green Holiday Company - Yurts (£100-£595 per week, slps 5)

Environment: “We use no mains electric-ity or gas in our accommodation offering solar power options where possible… We use only wood and charcoal produced from sustainable woodland on the Isle of Wight and all wood ash collected and not used in our compost toilets will be cleared from the site at the end of the season.”www.our-land.co.uk/accommodation/798/yurt-holiday-on-the-isle-of-wight

Kent Downs AONB: Walk Awhile – Walking tours (from £559 pp/wk)

Landscape: “We combine walking with stories of the landscape. Told both through the local food and architecture as well as through the history”www.our-land.co.uk/holiday/3867/pil-grims-way-self-guided-walking-tour

New Forest National Park: Lynd-hurst Conservation holidays(£290 for 7 days)

Community: “We have been reclaim-ing green places since 1959. To do so we provide opportunities for people to join in conservation activities. Looking after green places isn’t just about caring for nature; it’s about caring for people as well.” www.our-land.co.uk/accommoda-tion/11161/new-forest-conserva-tion-holiday-nr-lyndhurst

North Wessex Downs AONB: Natures Craft – Bushcraft activities (from £100 pp for 2 days)

Community: “… we try and get in-volved locally assisting in a local coppice helping to maintain this ancient sustaina-ble woodland management practice and also producing great coppicing produce for the local community to enjoy such as bean poles, pea sticks, hedging stakes and bindings, charcoal for barbeques, and fi rewood.”www.our-land.co.uk/thingstodo/9190/bushcraft-courses-marlborough

Our Land’s tourism business: a snapshot

9

South Downs National Park: Old Chapel Forge – B&B (from £30 pp/nt)

Community: “We are working closely with Pagham Harbour Nature Reserve and have set up together a Green Tourism Pay Back Scheme for the area. This scheme will provide the harbour with much needed funds to develop the accessibility to Green Tourists.”http://www.our-land.co.uk/accommo-dation/637/chichester-bed-and-break-fast-accommodation

Surrey Hills AONB: Lockhurst Hatch Farm – Self Catering (from £300 per week, slps 2)

Environment: “We are very careful to conserve our lovely old farmhouse - we have restored it using old materials and methods; we used lime-plaster on the exte-rior to infi ll the timber frame; we have used lime plaster and local sandstone from the farm to restore the stone-walls.”http://www.our-land.co.uk/accommoda-tion/7457/surrey-hills-self-catering-cabin

All our members work within the UK’s National Parks or Areas of Outstand-ing Natural Beauty. To be sure these businesses can guarantee the visitor a positive interaction with the local food, people, buildings, history and wildlife, they need to provide evidence of responsible tourism by completing The Promise to Our Land.

Their responses are then screened by local fi eld experts in their National Parks or Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty who provide additional help to increase the visitor’s enjoyment and understanding of the landscapes and the businesses’ conservation and enhance-ment of them.

Our special landscape: How is your business addressing:

1. Experiences in the landscapeWe celebrate the landscape in all that we do. From historic sites to ancient woodlands we use the local landscape to tell the stories that help create long lasting memories for our visitors. TIP: How do you use your local knowledge of its geology, history, nature and culture to help enrich your visitors’ experience? 2. Conserving and enhancing our landscapeWe understand how our local landscape has been created over the millennia and refl ect that in the way we manage our land. TIP: What have you done to con-serve and enhance your landscape?

Environment: How is your business addressing:

1.Wildlife We know our wildlife, are committed to conserving it and encourage guests to follow our lead. TIP: Describe the local wildlife as well as your initiatives, successes and projects to help conserve it. 2. WasteWe free the land, sea and waterways from rubbish and pollution. TIP: How do you reduce, reuse and recycle?3. Water We show we understand why water is too precious to waste. TIP: Describe your water saving initiatives and how you involve guests in them. 4. EnergyWe reduce our energy and fi nd appropri-ate renewable energy sources. TIP: How are you using energy that supports your landscape. 5. BuildingsWe build, restore and equip using carefully sourced local materials and in a style that tells the cultural or geological story of the landscape. TIP: Describe how you have conserved an old building.6. Transport We recommend low carbon transport and make the journey as stimulating and sustain-able as the stay. TIP: How does this holiday use local transport, biodiesel or other more sustainable transport methods?7. SuppliersWe use suppliers that match our environ-mental values. TIP. How do you encourage your suppliers to follow your example?

Community:How is your business addressing:

1. Friends & neighbours We know where to fi nd all things local and support our neighbours, spreading tourism income to those most in need. TIP: What do you recommend locally? 2. Campaigning for change We recognise local issues and actively campaign to address them. TIP: De-scribe issues, campaigns and results.3. Volunteering and charityWe support local projects and people through volunteering, fundraising or charity. TIP: Describe specifi c projects you are involved with. 4. A fair dealWe offer local people good working conditions, a fair wage, and empower them with training opportunities. TIP. How many people do you employ from the local area? 5. Local crafts and culture We sustain jobs and cultural diversity by supporting local craft makers and artisans, and promoting cultural attrac-tions. TIP: How do you and your guests buy local products and visit cultural attractions.6. Travelling with respect We work to create good relationships between tourists and the local community. TIP: How do your help en-sure guests get the warmest welcome?

Do you own a tourism business? Make your Promise today.

The Promise to Our Land

10

Treehouses, yurts, wild camping & quirky B&Bs – Our Land’s most popular holidays in 2012From treehouses, £15 per night

hostels, wild camping, holiday parks, character B&Bs, traditional cot-tages and – above all – yurts! It seems visitors have a penchant for the quirky, eccentric and, of course, budget!

Most popular Our Land holiday 2012A camping and caravanning site in an expanse of New Forest heath land criss-crossed with tracks and trails. The campsite is a member of the Green Tourism Business Scheme and commits to conserving the environment for local wildlife, and supporting the New Forest community by stocking delicious local produce in their shop. In an effort to promote car-free tourism, guests arriving on foot or by bike are offered a special rate for their stay.

Most popular Our Land campsite 2012With its tents in the wilderness in the High Weald AONB, this campsite is completely organic encouraging birds and butterfl ies - spot them from your tent. Owners David & Tamzin keep bee hives (and their honey is on sale) to help pollinate the wild fl owers, you can support local farmers by using the farm shop within walking distance (great for the evening BBQ) and craft workshops in willow weaving and trug making are helping keep local skills alive.

Most popular Our Land B&B 2012 A boutique beauty in Brockenhurst is a real New Forest treat – looking after the landscape and you through its commitment to buying and serving everything local. Owner Cheryl, serves a New Forest Na-tional Park breakfast, with local and, where possible, organic, sausages, tomatoes, eggs and preserves. Bedroom chocolates are locally made, toiletries are from Lyming-ton. The beautiful interior proved popular with you, thanks to the way the B&B has incorporated local artists and craftsmanship throughout.

Most popular Our Land self catering holiday 2012A cottage in the South Downs National Park on a 100 acre traditional dairy farm, has been built using eco techniques: solar panels, burner using left-over wood, sheep’s wool insulation. As well as supplying milk to local shops, the cows munch on the left-over brewery grains previously used to make the local ale, Dark Star.

Most popular Our Land activity holi-day 2012A green furniture making course in the Cotswolds takes place in the grounds of a 400 year old Abbey. To thank them for the space, the course owners help maintain paths and the gardens. As well as keeping a traditional skill alive, all of the wood used for the course is sourced locally from coppiced woods and, at the end of the summer, the workshop is dismantled leaving no trace.

Most popular Our Land unusual holiday 2012Although several yurts and a safari tent appear on your list, this High Weald treehouse stole the show. Ian and Penny have been working hard to restore their Grade II listed farmhouse using local materials and in keeping with local style. The treehouse is their bit of fun, clad with sustainable timber, it’s well hidden among mature trees that mark an ancient High Weald boundary that has been there for thousands of years.

11

Our Land featured on ITV’s 6 o’ clock newsMarch 2013

A huge thank you to the team over at ITV for helping us celebrate Our Land’s success in creating an additional 10,000 overnight stays and generating £0.75 million for the local, rural communities of Our Land’s National Parks & Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Watch Our Land on the news: http://vimeo.com/61913797#t=0

BBC annouces launch of Our LandOctober 2011

Media coverage and launch of Our Land

12

Our focus now is on ensuring Our Land is a fully functioning

initiative working well with all protected landscapes both in and beyond the South East. Over the coming year we will:

• Continue to recruit accommo-dation providers, attractions and activities, providing the visitor with a wide choice of experiences in each partner landscape.

• Continue to build on our pro-gramme of product development support to existing and potential members, providing landscape awareness training, improve access to each of the partners’ landscape

Plans for 2013/2014management guidance and business networking opportunities.

• A series of workshops – developed at a local level – are helping businesses maximise their membership of Our Land as well as improve their own marketing and business skills, focusing on topics such as interpretive writing, photography and video making, as well as fi eld trips to improve understanding and knowledge of the local landscape.

• Continue delivery of our marketing and PR campaign growing the shared visitor database and increasing book-ings in both low and high season, and building relationships with partners such as the RSPB, National Trust, Ordnance Survey and destination management organisations.

Over the remaining public funding period, we will continue to refi ne and build a sustainable model which will survive and prosper in a commercial environment.

We have started to develop a longer term vision which includes rolling out beyond the South East and:• Increasing protected landscape

representation across the country.• Developing a plan to earn incomes

and deliver a surplus back to the landscapes.

• Adding marketing partners along-side responsibletravel.com that can deliver additional benefi ts.

If you are a:

• National Park or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty• Tourism business• Potential marketing partner

Contact us on 01237 829271 or Sasha@our-land.co.uk

Do you want to be a part of Our Land?

13

An independent evaluation of Our Land, carried out by Europarc Consulting

Excerpts from Europarc’s issues report – the “Issues Report” – presented to the Steering Group in January 2013. In autumn 2012, the SEPL Steering Group commissioned EUROPARC Consulting to provide an independent evaluation of Our Land. This was to include:i) assessing the delivery of Phase 2 of the project to date;ii) making recommendations to improve the effectiveness and operation of the initiative over the remainder of the pub-licly-funded period;iii) informing the Steering Group on the development of a future roll-out strategy.

The evaluation aimed to provide a simple snapshot of where Our Land is now, where the project wants to be in the future and how this might be achieved.

How we did itBackground research was carried

out using available information provided by the project co-ordinator: progress reviews and quarterly data reports cov-ering cover marketing updates, product recruitment, enquiries and bookings; budget and progress reports submitted to Defra and the fi rst stakeholder project update published in November 2012. As the main part of the evaluation, the views of partners and a sample of participating businesses were sought about the current delivery of Our Land, how it could be improved and how it should be developed in the future.

What has been achieved to dateAchievements to date include:

• development of a methodology to screen businesses against sustaina-bility and landscape;

• a quickly growing number of busi-nesses that have been through this screening;

• the successful engagement of a private sector partner - during and beyond the funded period;

• generating bed-night sales (targets already exceeded for Y1);

• high-level engagement across the nine protected landscapes and with tourism businesses;

• plans to develop online landscape and sense of place training;

• development of an effective market-

ing strategy; • partnerships established with RSPB,

Ordnance Survey, Visit Kent and under discussion with Woodland Trust, Na-tional Trust and Wildlife Trusts.

The achievements so far are impressive, particularly in a time of recession and con-sidering the fragmented, challenging, highly competitive short-break market. The project had a challenging start as new partnerships were put in place and new ways of working established. For sustainable tourism, this was a fi rst for public sector and private sector working together in this way; a fi rst to be constructed so that private-sector funding takes over from public funding; a fi rst for holidays screened for landscape and made part of the visitor experience; and a fi rst for nine protected landscapes collaborating in the market.

The aims and core objectives of Our Land are now starting to be met and the project to date is largely meeting its overall targets. Flexibility in funding and targets has been really important in adapting to the demands of partners as they learn what works and what doesn’t work. There is a strong message, however, that Our Land needs more time to increase awareness of the project and customer experience. This could be at least partly due to the macro-economic conditions prevailing in England at the moment, even in the south east which is normally more buoy-ant than other regions. Half-way through, Our Land is beginning to succeed and is currently on track, but it will need careful management and support to ensure it delivers the Our Land vision, particularly in a time when dis-posable income to spend on “luxuries” such as breaks away, dining out, outdoor activities or courses is in real decline.

Key Issues – What needs to be im-proved now…

Communication: On the whole, businesses are very enthusiastic about the positive links between themselves, protected landscapes and Our Land. This bodes well for future partnerships. However, there is a message from businesses that communication must be improved. Our Land now needs to tell a simple story about what it is, who does what and what is involved; to tell it succinctly and to spread it wide.Demonstrating economic benefi t: Two-thirds of businesses have reported positive economic benefi ts from joining Our Land but

they are keen to see quantifi cation. Governance and direction: From the partners comes a message that strong leadership is needed, and that the roles and responsibilities of the Executive Com-mittee and the Steering Group should be clearly defi ned.The web platform: Both partners and businesses consider that there are improvements that could be made to the website.

Three key areas for improvement are:• simplify the webpage;• include a wider range of businesses

and• incorporate more specifi c informa-

tion about landscapes.

Maintaining and developing current momentum: There is strong support for maintaining current momentum – building on the new marketing ideas and the product development strategy to recruit a wider range of businesses; developing syn-ergies between businesses and between businesses and protected landscapes. Within each protected landscape there is a need for businesses to network and package what is on offer. A number of businesses highlighted that through the project activities, they have been able to make fruitful connections.

Taking Our Land forward beyond public funded period (phase 2)

There is a huge amount of enthusiasm for Our Land amongst partners and businesses and most would like to see it continue and grow beyond Phase 2. Businesses considered that by creating an improved range of services around the website, new technology and social media as well as around promotion, networking and marketing, these would help them get the most from the Our Land project encouraging a viable future.

Above all, both during and beyond Phase 2, Our Land needs to build simple stories: stories around protected landscapes to win the hearts and minds of visitors and businesses, creating strong connections between economic benefi t and looking after and enjoying the landscape.

Members of the Steering Group are currently actively developing their thinking about the future including the develop-ment of a third phase of the project. Key issues for the future will be explored and included in the Final Report:• Making Our Land economically

self-sustaining.• The national context and applicabili-

ty of the Our Land model.• Delivering for businesses and the

environment and demonstrating this.• Delivering for visitors.

14

How businesses can generate more enquiries via Our Land

1. Promote your late availability & special offers – from £25

Visitors to Our Land are often looking for a last minute break and – of course – they love a special offer. Add your late availability/special offers from just £25 and:

- Appear in the weekly Our Land e-newsletter - sent to 10,000 visitors - Be found more easily by visitors on Our Land and partner site responsible-travel.com - Update the offers yourself as often as you like

How can I add my late availability/special offers?

- Log in at www.our-land.co.uk/console with your username (email address) and password - Click on ‘Deals’ - Choose Late Availability upgrade: 3 months £25; 6 months £50; 12 months £75 - Add to basket - Pay online using Our Land’s secure payment method - Your late availability/special offers will appear on the site 12 hours later & in the next e-newsletter

2. Feature your business in an e-news-letter, sent to 170,000 visitors Being included in the Our Land e-newslet-ter (‘e-zine’) means that your business will be promoted to 10,000 Our Land visitors.

Your business will also be included in our partner responsibletravel.com’s e-zine which goes out to 160,000 people. By compiling an e-zine every week we aim to bring people to the Our Land website and increase enquiries for Our Land’s businesses.

We would expect to generate 0 to 10 enquiries per e-zine slot. Pricing details:

- £50 for a slot on one e-zine - £90 for a slot on two e-zines - £130 for a slot on a package of three e-zines

To upgrade your membership with Our Land and appear in our e-zine, please con-tact info@our-land.co.uk or call 01273 829271.

3. Visitor reviews – FREE - Declare your bookings (from Our Land and responsibletravel.com) for a slot on the weekly e-zine

- Businesses with reviews receive up to 45% more bookings- Log in to www.our-land.co.uk/con-sole with your username (your email) and password- Click on ‘Enquiries’- Click on enquiry that has booked and add details before visitor has arrived- An automated email will be sent to the visitor requesting a review- Review will be posted on www.our-land.co.uk and responsibletravel.com (any negative reviews will be discussed with you fi rst)

4. Extra photos - £15

- 3 photos for free, extra images £15 (up to 10 max)- Log in to www.our-land.co.uk/con-sole with your username (your email) and password- Click on ‘upgrades’- Select photos

5. Video - £15

- Upload price per video- Log in to www.our-land.co.uk/con-sole with your username (your email) and password- Click on ‘upgrades’- Select video

15

6. Extra text - £15

- Additional text of up to 1500 charac-ters (approx. 250 words)- Available in the ‘Description & activi-ties’ and ‘Rooms & facilities (accommo-dation only)’ sections- Log in to www.our-land.co.uk/con-sole with your username (your email) and password- Click on ‘upgrades’- Select description upgrade

7. Availability calendar - £25

- For accommodation providers- Automatically removed if not kept up to date- Contact info@our-land.co.uk

8. Direct Listing - £75

- Website and telephone number ap-pears on the product page - For owners who do not need to deal with Our Land/ rt.com email enquiries (great for busy owners/ large hotels) - Note: staying on the free service means owners can track how well the site is working for them- Log in to www.our-land.co.uk/con-sole with your username (your email) and password- Click on ‘upgrades’- Select ‘direct listing’

9. Promote your business in a blog – FREE

- Become a local expert and write a blog (minimum 300 words)- Write as often as you like- Profi le your business and link to your website- Contact sasha@our-land.co.uk

10. Offer a competition prize – FREE

- Prize can be offered in low season- Your business will be promoted to around ¼ million people- Contact amelia@our-land.co.uk

11. Add Our Land members logo – FREE

- Show visitors to your website that you’ve been screened by Our Land

- Log on to www.our-land.co.uk/console with your username (email) and password- Click on Members Badge- Follow step by step guide- Contact sasha@our-land.co.uk

12. Recommend a suitable business for Our Land & be rewarded with FREE upgrades

- Let us know the names of businesses you’ve recommended for Our Land- We’ll offer you a free upgrade for every business that goes live on the site - Don’t forget to let the businesses know to log in at www.our-land.co.uk/console to build their page- Email info@our-land.co.uk with the names of the businesses (these will need to be given in advance of the business going live on the site)

13. Our Land’s ‘Premier Service’ – guaranteed enquiries!

- Upgrade for accommodation providers- Guaranteed enquiries- Personal Account Manager- Tailor-made digital marketing campaign including PR, Social Media & Google Ads- Annual fee + commission on each booking- Contact info@our-land.co.uk

More information or help

Most information on how to increase enquiries can be found if you log on www.our-land.co.uk/console with your username (your email) and pass-word.

For additional help, please contact info@our-land.co.uk or the main offi ce on 01273 829271 – ask to speak to Our Land’s team.

Contacts - 01273 829271Sasha ChisholmProject ManagerResponsibletravel.com sasha@our-land.co.uk

Sarah LoftusProject Co-ordinatorSouth East Protected Landscapes sarah@our-land.co.uk

Amelia ShepherdCampaign Manageramelia@our-land.co.uk

Product Recruitmentinfo@our-land.co.uk

www.our-land.co.uk

16

sasha@our-land.co.uk - Tel: 01273 829271sarah@our-land.co.uk - Tel: 07581 122493

Our Land’s founding partners

Our Land’s latest national Protected Landscape partners

Our Land’s partners & supporters

Our Land’s funders Contact

Follow us on Twitter - twitter.com/ourlanduk

Like us on Facebook - facebook.com/ourlanduk