The Prosperity Network - Business support, tourism development, training, project management and events

Our area has a rich tourism offer and our many tourism and leisure businesses have a shared interest in increasing visitor numbers and visitor spend.

Although individual businesses conduct their own advertising and marketing campaigns, to a greater or lesser extent, there is also a largely unmet need for collective efforts on a bigger scale that cannot be attempted by individual businesses and that also market the area as a whole.

Research has shown that awareness of Deal and Sandwich as destinations is poor and while there is no negative perception to overcome, there is great potential to raise their profile as day trip, short break and holiday destinations. On the other hand, Dover is well known but as a port and the rich heritage and natural beauty of the area is much less well acknowledged.

What is The Tourism Network for Dover, Deal & Sandwich?
As the name suggests, The Tourism Network is a network of tourism and leisure business in the Dover, Deal and Sandwich area. At its most basic it is an electronic list of these businesses, enabling communication with and between them all. The Tourism Network is owned and managed by The Prosperity Network Ltd.

What is The Tourism Network for Dover, Deal & Sandwich purpose?
The Tourism Network brings together local tourism businesses in order to promote the Deal, Sandwich and Dover area as a visitor destination. It connects tourism business owners and managers with each other, communicates information and ideas about local tourism opportunities and initiates projects to promote the the area to visitors in the UK and abroad.

The Tourism Network promotes our three towns and surrounding areas as distinct, rich and diverse destinations with a great deal to offer. We aim to do this by creating marketing opportunities which are affordable for all businesses but which use collective strength to create large impacts.

The Tourism Network will also develop the funding model achieved for the Welcome to Deal & Sandwich stand at the 2009 Travel & Leisure Show. This brought together funding from Councils and Chambers of Commerce, along with individual contributions by participating businesses.

Who can subscribe?
Any business in the Dover, Deal and Sandwich area can subscribe if they consider they have an interest in the tourism and leisure sector. These include:
·Accommodation providers such as hotels, B&Bs, guest houses, self-contained accommodation, holiday centres;
·Food outlets such as restaurants, cafes and pubs;
·Sports and related activity providers and suppliers including golf, sailing, fishing, water sports, cycling;
·Attractions and activities including leisure centres, wildlife/nature attractions, museums, amusement arcades and so on;
·Transport businesses such as ferry operators, coach operators;
·Leisure-related businesses of interest to visitors - e.g. day spas, health and beauty establishments, gift shops, independent retailers;
·Non-commercial organisations such as local authorities and chambers of commerce with an interest in tourism and leisure.

What are the benefits of subscribing?
Subscribers to The Tourism Network for Dover, Deal & Sandwich:
·Receive regular e-newsletters with information about relevant forthcoming events, activities and opportunities; See an example here.
·Can communicate, via the e-newsletter, with other subscribers to the network;
·Are offered the opportunity to participate in all relevant promotional projects initiated by The Tourism Network for Dover, Deal & Sandwich. (These events are charged separately, as necessary, to those businesses who want to take part.) For example:
·Regular high quality e-newsletters promoting our area and individual businesses to large numbers of potential visitors;
·Production and distribution of high quality, attractive and effective promotional materials for local tourism, in English and other languages;
·Liaison and negotiation with visiting tourism groups such as cruise passenger group tours;
·Exhibitions such as the annual Travel & Leisure Show at Dover Cruise Terminal;
·Activities and promotions to specific interest groups - e.g. golf, cycling, music;

What is the cost of subscribing and other costs?
Annual subscription is £10 + vat per annum. All subscribers receive the regular e-newsletter. Businesses wishing to participate in individual promotions and activities will be charged separately for these as agreed at the time. (For example, inclusion in the Travel & Leisure Show 2010 was £30 + vat per business.)

Why should I subscribe?
A strong local Tourism Network will be able to promote our towns to visitors in a way that individual businesses acting alone cannot. There is a real need for this and it can be done at a small cost to individual businesses when many are involved. The benefits will come back to your own business as Deal, Sandwich and Dover become better known as high quality day trip, short break and holiday destinations.

The Travel & Leisure Show 2010 demonstrated that there is a strong interest in East Kent as a destination among residents in other parts of Kent and London. The Tourism Network will seek to capitalise on that interest and turn it into visitors to the area. A small cost and effort on your behalf will bring benefits to your business both directly and indirectly.

Who owns and manages The Tourism Network?
The Tourism Network for Dover, Deal & Sandwichis an entity owned and managed by The Prosperity Network Ltd, whose Directors are Stephanie Hayman and Keith Morrison. It is not a representative organisation and does not have a constitution. Therefore it is not bound by bureaucratic requirements and is able to respond to opportunities quickly and effectively, with individual businesses opting in or out as they wish.

So if you would like to join our growing network of like-minded local tourism and tourism-related businesses, give us a call on 01304 362563 or email us. We'd like to hear from you!