How Southwark is Promoted
Websites
Southwark Council has its own website which tourism is represented on as well as having our own tourism website, which deals with trade and provides a lot more useful information to visitors looking to visit Southwark.
Press
Southwark Council has a communication team whom we work closely with. They help us achieve press coverage and liase with tv stations and national and local press. We also have a database of trade press contacts. We may work with the press to get editorial coverage for Southwark or a certain area of Southwark, we also inform them of any events that we have organised or are attending. This is a very cost effective way for us to get good destination exposure. We also take members of the press around the area on a press trip to give them a first hand experience of the area, which makes it easier for them to write about it.
Trade Shows
The Tourism team attend a number of trade shows each year. We attend these shows with New London Partnership. New London Partnership is an ad hoc group set up for trade shows. It includes Southwark Council, Better Bankside BID, London Bridge BID and TourEast London (a destination marketing company for East London). The river links all of these organisations so we market ourselves as "new London" from the Oxo Tower to the Thames Barrier.
Map
In March 2004 the Tourism Unit produced a map. On one side it shows the well known Bankside area and the reserve shows the whole of Southwark. A new version was produced in late 2007 in partnership with Better Bankside BID and London Bridge BID. It lists all the attractions in the Borough and shows how to get to them. It is used to encourage people to explore other parts of Southwark. These maps are distributed to hotels, attractions, restaurants and bars, as well as our Tourist Information Centre.
Leaflets
A Bankside Guide to places to visit, shopping, eating and drinking and sleeping has been produced. This was funded by the Better Bankside BID. A venue guide for meetings and events in Southwark was also produced by the Tourism Team in 2005.
Tourist Information Centre
In March 2004 a Tourist Information Centre was opened in the Vinopolis wine attraction. This was seen as a key part of the tourism strategy in terms of both promotion and development. The TIC offered a wide range of services including attraction, theatre, river boat and bus tour tickets. There was internet access and an 'i' point. This location was provisional and in late 2006 the TIC left Vinopolis and moved into Level 2 of the Tate Modern. Although display space is limited, we still have a presence in the Borough and are able to interact directly with visitors which helps us learn more about them. Provision has been made in the new Tate 2 extension which is estimated to be completed in 2012 for a full Tourist Information Centre.
Community Events
The Tourism team have participated in local community events of example, Bankside Open Day and Nelson Square Consultation Day. These events give us the opportunity to talk to the local residents about tourism in the area and promote tourism to them. It is important that the residents are included in tourism so that they welcome it and feel proud of the tourism that they have in their area. We try to encourage the local community to visit the attractions themselves and to be a tourist in their own borough.
