“It’s so important for us to be out there again. This event has been amazing for us; we’ve learnt a lot and have met lots of new connections and seen lots of people. It’s been a really successful day and really valuable. We’ve been able to give a lot of information about what we offer. There’s been some genuinely lovely people here with who we have built good new connections with, while also meeting some good old connections who have come back.”

Aimee Thomas,
Longleat

“It has been a good day and we’ve seen lots of people who want to come and visit us which is great. We’ve been able to meet group organisers face to face and tell them directly about us and that we recently celebrated our 90th anniversary. We only come to the Group Leisure & Travel Show as it’s a great place to meet people in the industry. We’ve spoken to other attractions near to us like Thursford Christmas Spectacular and Holkham to try and work together on a combined ticket option for groups.”

Julie Wilson,
Norfolk Lavender

“I love coming here, I get to meet people who I speak to all the time on the phone. I also meet lots of coach operators and tour operators that I speak to on a regular basis, it’s just nice to put a face to a name. It’s important to come here because for a lot of people, Kew Gardens can seem a little imposing, but it’s not at all, it’s top attraction that does very important scientific work. It’s important to come along and meet the people who are organising group trips.”

Eric White, Groups & Travel Trade Executive,
Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew

“It’s always nice to put a face to a name by coming along to the GLT Show and meeting people in person, rather than over the phone or email. This way you can establish that relationship and gather feedback in what we can do better for them, it’s just nice to be able to speak to people. It’s an exciting time as confident builds after the height of the pandemic. This is the first big show we’ve been to and it’s lovely to be here and catch up to see where everyone else is at as well.”

Belle Gribbon,
West Midland Safari Park

“Being here keeps you at the forefront of people’s minds, you stay on their radar and you keep reminding people of what you are doing and having those face to face conversations. For us especially, trying to get people to understand what we are and what we can offer is a lot easier verbally than just in the magazine. It’s been a good experience. I find here that 99% of the people that come up to us are people that will potentially book a trip, as opposed to other shows in the past where they’re just here for the free giveaways. The location here is quite important too. Everything tends to be London based so it’s nice to be somewhere well connected away from the capital.”

Faye Brant-Key,
National Memorial Arboretum

“We’ve had a very good day, it has been so good to see people back at the show. It’s really important for us to be at the GLT Show, especially as we’ve had something new to announce, our new resort. We’ve had some very good conversations with GTOs and are seeing things picking up again.”
Chantelle Buckenham,
Potters Resorts

“It’s absolutely invaluable to come together in person at the GLT Show, loads more valuable than social media. We’ve been so busy catching up with people today, renewing friendships and meeting some first-timers too. It has been great to network with others and just being able to touch base with other organisations, in one place, has been so beneficial. We all have the common aim.”

Dave Pearson,
visitor experience team, Holkham Hall

“There’s definitely a pent up demand after Covid and groups are our bread and butter. It’s my first time at the show and I’m impressed so far, you meet the people arranging the group trips and it’s so easy for people to get around too.”

Anna-Karin Hanson,
English Heritage