Tag Archives: Shropshire

Shropshire losing out on millions from foreign tourism

A Shropshire based tour operator which brings foreign tourists into the county believes Shropshire is losing out on millions of pounds from foreign tourism.

Janet Redler

According to calculations by Janet Redler Travel & Tourism, if just 10% of the 4.15 million visitors who currently visit the Brecon Beacons National Park came to visit the Shropshire Hills Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, this could result in extra income of £8.23 million to the local economy.

The Brecon Beacons, just over the border in Powys, is one of Britain’s most popular National Parks, with over 4 million visitors a year. If 10% of these visitors made the 25 mile journey up the road to the Shropshire Hills, they would be bringing over £8 million pound a year more into the Shropshire economy. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg, if some of the other tourists passing through the county visited one of Shropshire’s many beautiful, but often overlooked, attractions.

Shrewsbury-based Janet Redler Travel & Tourism specialises in bringing groups from overseas to Britain and is doing its bit to boost tourism in Shropshire.

Chief Executive Janet Redler says: “Our calculations are a very conservative estimate of how much money the Shropshire economy is missing out on from tourism. If a fraction of the visitors to some of the country’s other major tourist destinations chose Shropshire instead, we would see millions of pounds more flowing into the local economy.

“Just next week Janet Redler Travel & Tourism is bringing a group of visitors from France to the Shropshire Hills for a seven day walking tour. This tour in itself will bring in over £10,000 to the local economy, which has to be good in terms of local jobs, but we are also very happy that we are giving more people an opportunity to enjoy the magnificent Shropshire countryside.”

The French walkers will take in many of the gems of the Shropshire Hills, including the town of Clun, made famous by the poet A.E. Housmann, the Stiperstones (Mary Webb country) and Stokesay Castle, considered to be the finest fortified manor house in Britain.

Janet Redler adds: “We know from the feedback we get that foreign visitors to Shropshire are pleasantly surprised by what they find when they get here and are often puzzled as to why they don’t know more about the area. As a tourist destination, Shropshire needs to do much more to shout about itself, not only to boost tourism but to benefit the wider economy of the area.”

Shropshire schools encouraged to increase recycling

Schools across Shropshire are being encouraged to follow the example of Oxon C of E Primary School in Shrewsbury and increase the amount of their waste that is recycled – whilst at the same time helping a charity get local people into work.

Photo shows (from left to right): Cllr Peter Adams (also a School Governor); School Head, Mark Rogers; Cllr Nick Bardsley, Trustee of Cae Post and Glyn Lewis, Cae Post vehicle driver.

Waste from Oxon C of E Primary School in Racecourse Lane, Shrewsbury, is collected weekly by Cae Post, a local social enterprise based in Trewern, near Welshpool, which exists to encourage recycling and help disadvantaged people into work.

Mark Rogers, Head at Oxon Primary School, said: “As a school with a caring ethos at its heart, we are proud to be working with Cae Post, as it helps them provide meaningful employment to disadvantaged people.

“Since working with Cae Post we have collected nearly seven tonnes of waste from the school which Cae Post has recycled – and at the same time helped people who are struggling to get work find useful employment.”

Cae Post is an innovative social enterprise based in Powys, providing waste management and recycling services across mid-Wales and North Shropshire.

As a social enterprise, the income generated from its business is used to fulfil its objectives to give more people a chance to be part of the working world.

Nick Bardsley, a Shropshire Councillor and Trustee of Cae Post, said: “Cae Post has been involved in providing opportunities to disadvantaged people and promoting environmental awareness for over 30 years.

“There are nowhere near enough places in Shropshire and Mid Wales where people who find it difficult to get work can get training and meaningful employment. Cae Post is an asset to Shropshire as well as Powys.

“By working with Cae Post, Oxon Primary School is keeping recyclable waste out of landfill or incineration – and helping local people find work at the same time.”

Cae Post is keen to encourage more schools in Shropshire to get in touch and arrange a visit to their plant to give pupils a better understanding of the importance of recycling and waste management.

Photo shows (from left to right): Cllr Peter Adams (also a School Governor); School Head, Mark Rogers; Cllr Nick Bardsley, Trustee of Cae Post and Glyn Lewis, Cae Post vehicle driver.

New chapter at Ethos public relations

We have always had a global, open view on the world and after more than 16 years of trading from central Manchester and Chester we have moved further south to Shropshire.

Cae Glas Park, Oswestry, Shropshire

Even when based in the North West, our clients have always spanned the UK, from Dumfries and Galloway in Scotland for example, across to Belfast and down to London and the South East. We have even worked across the water in Norway, Switzerland and Brussels, so we are no strangers to serving our clients’ needs wherever that should be.

Over the past 16 years we have seen a massive change in the way media relations and marketing are delivered; we can still remember having to send (usually black and white) photographs to newspapers in the post. A few years later it was possible to fax information through to newsdesks, although the photos still had to be posted.

Later still, technology had advanced enough that some journalists had an email address and in the early 2000s we even introduced live website updates from an event we were working at – that was long before Facebook and Twitter, if, like us, you can remember those days.

Thanks to technology, it is possible to manage a successful PR, marketing and communications business from almost anywhere in the country and what better place to have an office than Shropshire, one of England’s most beautiful counties?

Since setting up in Shropshire, we have been busy making links with local businesses that can support us, but we won’t be leaving behind our friends in Manchester. The very same technology that means we can work in Shropshire means we can also commission work from suppliers around the country, so it’s a win-win situation.

Our two latest clients – London Capital Credit Union and charity COFEPOW – can be assured of the same high quality service from us as any Shropshire based business looking for effective public relations and communications support.

So here’s to a new chapter in the Ethos public relations story.