Eastbourne joins in with English Tourism Week!

The UK’s sunniest place will be joining in the fun of English Tourism Week from 16 - 24 March, with some great offers and daily prizes to be won. 

Residents and visitors will be able to test their knowledge of tourism in Eastbourne by entering the competition each day on Facebook and Twitter for the chance to win a range of great prizes from concert tickets to fish and chips!

English tourism week was set up by VisitEngland and is a week long celebration of events from 16-24 March. The week will highlight all the fantastic things to do and see in England and Eastbourne.

Eastbourne and Tourism go hand in hand as 4.9 million visitors come to Eastbourne each year and spend an average of £261 million annually. Further more, £102 million is spent just by day visitors alone! Eastbourne thrives on tourism as it brings over 7000 jobs to Eastbourne and a whopping £346 million to the local economy.

Eastbourne was the first town to hire out quadricycles. To celebrate this and English tourism week, Ride and Joy are offering half price hiring on both weekends of English tourism week - 16/17 and 23/24 March. They can be found next to the open air tennis courts on Eastbourne seafront and are a fantastic way to see the delights of Eastbourne.

Also celebrating the week is The Grand Hotel. The hotel, named ‘Downton-by-Sea’, is a white palatial landmark on Eastbourne seafront and are offering a complimentary upgrade for anyone who books a bedroom and a complimentary glass of bucks fizz for anyone who books full afternoon tea from 16-24 March.

Visiteastbourne.com will also be getting involved in English tourism week, showing offers on their website and holding a week long quiz on social media sites, giving daily prizes! Prizes could include anything from fish and chips to Bandstand tickets.

For more information visit www.visiteastbourne.com, Facebook.com/visiteastbourne or Twitter.com/visiteastbourne.

Eastbourne Attractions in Running for England’s 101 Things to Do Before You Go Abroad

Several Eastbourne attractions are in the running to feature in a nationwide poll of ‘101 Things to Do Before You Go Abroad’, as part of a new Facebook app launched by VisitEngland this month.

The brand new app involves Facebook users suggesting their own favourite experiences in England, with fans voting on their top choices to decide who should appear in VisitEngland’s ultimate bucket list of 101 things to do.

With a Beachy Head adventure, Afternoon Tea at the Grand Hotel, running the Beachy Head Marathon, Boxing Day at the Bandstand and Trafalgar Day at the Redoubt, all featuring so far, we are encouraging YOU to suggest some more awesome local activities and vote for their favourites!

The new app is designed to inspire the nation into taking more holidays in England and will feature the very best experiences, only on offer in this country.  With 60% of the population feeling more British after the exciting events of 2012, research also shows that 20% of the population plan to take more breaks in England as a result of the feel good factor.

The app includes six categories of Food & Drink, Arts & Culture, Health & Fitness, History & Heritage, Wildlife & Nature, and finally Because It’s Awesome!  Facebook fans can upload their own favourites to these categories, which once approved, will feature on a map of England.

Anyone nominating or voting will automatically be entered into a prize draw to win a weekend break away. So go on what's stopping you...get entering now!

The app will be live until 10 March and a selection of winners announced during British Tourism Week from 16 - 24 March.  The full 101 things to do will be announced on St George’s Day on 23 April.

View the app at www.facebook.com/EnjoyEngland or visit www.visiteastbourne.com and follow the links online.

Why visit Eastbourne? The complete A to Z!

Well who would have thought an A to Z Challenge to come up with reasons to visit Eastbourne would prove so popular? We certainly hoped it would get fans talking on our facebook page and hoped that it would attract new fans too but the fantastic results have surpassed all expectations! More than 90 VisitEastbourne fans took part sharing over 630 suggestions of reasons to visit our sunny south coast destination - wow!

It's been a tough job whittling down the suggestions to come up with a definitive A to Z but we've finally done it. So, here it is, a Visit Eastbourne A to Z - compiled by our fans!

• A… has to be AIRBOURNE! - Submitted by Daniel Jarvis
• B… Balls – the tennis variety! - Submitted by BJ Events Ltd
• C… Chelsea (of the Little variety), Culture, Carefully Clipped and Cultivated gardens and lawns, Crocuses in the Spring at Hampden Park - Submitted by Bertie Bassett
• D… Definitely Devonshire Park - the loveliest place in the world! - Submitted by Mike Linane
• E… Extreme - Proof that Eastbourne is so much more than a place to retire to! - Submitted by Tonya Coletta
• F… Fort Fun in Eastbourne, the family fun park, which provides outdoor and indoor fun for kids of all ages with thrilling rides - Submitted by Jeanette Bull
• G… Grand Hotel, glorious views and sunshine, Gildredge Park - Submitted by Joan Norris
• H… Horizons! From the striking Victorian pier tops, the gleaming promenade lights, the glistening sea in the sunshine, to the hills and dips of the outstanding Seven Sisters cliffs and the summit of Beachy Head. Eastbourne boasts a beautiful horizon. - Submitted by George O’Meara
• I… Ice cream Fusciardi’s - Submitted by Joanne Lancaster
• J… Jogging along the seafront. Not that I do. - Submitted by Andy Baker
• K… Kids playground - lots to do - Submitted by Sam Sweiry
• L… Lighthouses...Beachy Head and Belle Tout, both beautiful - Submitted by Andrew T. Love
• Plus special mention to Langham Hotel who sponsored the competition.
• M… Musicals as we have some great West End shows that come to the Congress. Can't wait for Sister Act next year - Submitted by Jenny Horridge
• N… National Park - The South Downs! Heaven! - Submitted by Courtney Fables
• O…Open air concerts at Eastbourne Bandstand - Submitted by Eastbourne Bandstand
• P… Pretty Pier - Submitted by Denise Forrester Deary
• Q… Quidditch World Cup - filmed for Harry Potter on the Downs! :-) - Submitted by Shirley Moth
• R… Redoubt Fortress - Submitted by Graham Ridley
• S… Sunshine, sea and smiles :) - Submitted by Joanne Bradshaw
• T… T is for TONIC! George V1 used to bring his family (the late Queen Mother and their daughters, our present Queen Elizabeth and the late Princess Margaret) to Eastbourne for holidays in the healthy sea air, so Eastbourne has the Royal seal of approval! - Submitted by Pamela J Keeley
• U… Unmissable season of events from Magnificent Motors to Eastbourne Beer Fest - Submitted by Jayne Howard
• V… Visit Eastbourne - a very good way to keep in touch with the town be it visitor or resident - Submitted by Daphne Holmwood
• W… Wedding licence on the Bandstand - Submitted by Rosalind Ball
• X… Xxxx's on postcards to loved ones - Submitted by Sheila Walkom
• Y… It has to be YOGA!! Eastbourne has two wonderful yoga studios, Yoga-Life studio and Natural Fitness Centre with packed time tables for classes everyday. So check them out. - Submitted by Lucy Newport
• Z… ZILLIONS of reasons to visit Eastbourne, ZERO reasons to stay away. - Submitted by Tonya Coletta

A special award goes to Graham Huntley for thinking outside the box and amusing us with his witty suggestions like:

Christmas Markets in Eastbourne (oh sorry, that’s NOel)! – suggested for L

Yellow ball that seems permanently in the sky over Eastbourne - suggested for Y

And another special award to Carters for somehow managing to come up with a Carters related reason for every letter of the alphabet!

But the overall winner goes to Joanne Bradshaw for Sunshine, sea and smiles :) - we thought this summed up Eastbourne perfectly!

The challenge was intended to drive traffic and raise the profile of the VisitEastbourne facebook page. The number of new fans increased by 300% over the course of the challenge compared to the previous month, with feedback on wall posts up by 381%.

Thanks to everyone who took part!

Emma

Promotions and E-Marketing Officer