The Front Page. - Copy 244 ( Tourism & Olympics Seminar, Latest Lifeboat News )
19 March 2012
The White Cliffs Country Tourism campaign was launched monday 19th at Sandwich Guildhall. A presentation to interested bodies was made by the former Curator of Dover Museum Jon Iveson, who is now officially the Museum and Tourism Officer for the District.
We will add the two relevent official press releases immediately below but first just a few notes from monday's official Launch. The Open Golf Championship brought a huge amount of money into the District. Figures for East Kent show that £21.18 million was added to the local economy. A huge sum, clearly indicating the economic power of major sports events. If only we could seduce more sports events into the area our economic prayers would be answered.However we do have the Olympic Torch bearer event coming soon which should brighten all our lives both economically and socially. More details on this in the press release immediately below.
Figures also show that last year saw an increase in passenger traffic coming in this direction from Europe. However it is just an increase of 2%. It is nevertheless an increase and all good news is to be welcomed. But, no figures are in place to suggest that this 2% actually stayed in the immediate area once they got here.
Interesting news about the remaining popularity of written materials over the power of the internet. Initial enquiries are often by internet but then people like a brochure or a substantial leaflet. Brochures have been distributed in recent times across the near continent, these were printed in Flemish and French and sponsored by WCCTA. These brochures could be responsible for the increase in traffic coming this way. It was also acknowledged by Jon Iveson that leaflets distributed onboard the ferries did NOT work. Interesting one that, as we have often chatted on the forum about previous leafleting attempts.
The coach market is also booming, but Dover and District is not particularly benefitting and needs to do more to attract coach tour operators. PB.
The Pictures: Top left shows Karen Dry, Officer at DTC, with the Mayor of Dover Cllr Ronnie Philpott at yesterday's launch. Next picture shows Jon Iveson Museum and Tourism Officer during his presentation. Picture left, below those two, shows Cllr Nigel Collor talking about the latest Olympic news. The Route was announced yesterday.See also the Olympic Torch thread in our Forum.
And now...the press releases below...
Welcome to White Cliffs Country – from the towns of Dover, Deal and Sandwich, and the rural areas, to our world famous coastline and heritage. That’s the message in an exciting new multi-media tourism campaign for White Cliffs Country 2012, which was launched at Sandwich Guildhall monday, (19 March).
In this exciting year, as Dover District prepares to welcome the Olympic Torch, the Visitor Guide has been fully redesigned and updated, with colourful new illustrations, and latest information and photography showcasing the area. The guide is packed with information on great days out and places to stay in White Cliffs Country.
Dover District Council continues to produce the popular Days Out leaflets as part of a major marketing campaign. Special Days Out leaflets also continue to be produced in French & Flemish and German & Italian.
Cllr Kit Smith, DDC Cabinet Member for Skills, Training and External Relations said: “We are very pleased to be working with our partners to launch this new campaign in this exciting year. Tourism plays an important part in the local economy, and research shows it generates in the region of £200 million, and supports over 4,000 jobs for the district. This campaign shows the effective partnership working between DDC and the industry, working together to promote White Cliffs Country as a great place to visit.”
Further information can be found at www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk or for a copy of the Visitor Guide please call (01271) 336205 or e-mail dover@responseuk.co.uk or pop into your local Visitor Information Centre, or see our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.
Dover District Council is welcoming exciting news that the streets the Olympic Flame will travel through in the district, and names of inspirational Torchbearers who will run in our communities, have been announced today.
A warm welcome continues to be prepared in the area, with DDC working closely with the community and a range of partners. Communities continue to get involved, and people are encouraged to line the route, celebrate the achievements of the inspirational Torchbearers, and share in the excitement of the Olympic Torch Relay.
The streets along the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay can be viewed in full at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay. This gives street-by-street details and proposed start times for when the Olympic Flame will travel through Dover District. Residents living in and around the area can find out when it will be travelling along their nearest high street, through their town square or past their local village shop.
The Torchbearers confirmed to carry the Flame in the district include those that were successful through the public nomination processes run by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Presenting Partners, Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. LOCOG has endeavoured to slot all community Torchbearers within an hour of their nomination address so family and friends can cheer them on. Each Torchbearer will wear a white and gold uniform, which has been designed by adidas.
Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council said: “For many district residents and visitors this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Olympic Flame and witness the spectacle of the Olympic Torch Relay. We continue to work closely with the community and partners to prepare a warm welcome for the Torch and the inspirational Torchbearers, and this announcement will help to bring the route to life and encourage people to line the streets and to continue to get involved.”
Local Torchbearer Tracy Evans said: “This will be such a momentous day, and is a once in a generation opportunity that we will always remember. I am overwhelmed to have been chosen, and delighted that my family and friends will have the chance to be there, waving Union Jacks, and joining all those who will be celebrating this special occasion. I have been pleased to help the community, because I wanted to bring people together, and this will be a perfect opportunity to do just that.”
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG added: “Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life. The Flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the Games to our streets. Now the people know the route the Olympic Flame will be carried along and the Torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it Dover District’s moment to shine.”
- 2 -
An average of 115 Torchbearers a day will carry the Olympic Flame during its 8,000 mile journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
LOCOG has worked closely with representatives from a number of sectors in each Nation and Region of the UK to devise the route and is taking the Olympic Flame to within ten miles of over 95% of the population.
The Olympic Torch Relay is coming to Dover on 18 July, and Deal, Sholden and Sandwich on 19 July. When the Flame arrives in Dover, DDC is working with LOCOG and the three Presenting Partners of the Relay – Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – to host an Evening Celebration to celebrate the Olympic Flame. The event at Dover Seafront will be ticketed, and will feature locally programmed content. Details of the running of show will be released over the next few months.
Schools across the UK can now access free learning resources linked to the Olympic Torch Relay through Get Set (london2012.com/getset), the official London 2012 education programme. The activities are designed to help schools and colleges make the most of the Relay by lining the route, and cheering on their local Torchbearers. Resources include ideas for making Flame hats and shakers, an assembly presentation to get the school behind a Torchbearer, and a film showing one Get Set network school's preparations for the Relay.
For more information, please see www.london2012.com or for more information on local celebrations, please see the DDC website at www.dover.gov.uk/london2012
* * *
Walmer and Dover lifeboats assist in diver’s lucky escape from busy shipping lanes
On the afternoon of the 14th a man diving in the English Channel 15 miles from Dover had to be rescued from the water in an operation involving two RNLI lifeboats and a RAF helicopter.
At approximately 3.45pm a ship transiting the North East Lane reported a man in the water shouting for help. A few minutes later a Mayday call reporting an overdue diver was received from a small diving support boat near the Sandettie West Buoy. The diver had actually surfaced normally from his dive but had been carried away by the tide.
At 3.50pm Dover Coastguard requested the launch of both Dover’s Severn class lifeboat and the Atlantic 85 lifeboat from Walmer. Unsure as to the diver’s condition a search and rescue helicopter from Wattisham, Suffolk was also tasked.
At 4.35pm Walmer Lifeboat located the diver, aided by directions from a Dutch container ship, and recovered him from the water. Ten minutes later Dover lifeboat located his support vessel. The diver was assessed by the Walmer crew and found to be unharmed by his extended time in the water. He was then transferred to the Dover lifeboat which had placed a crew member on to the support boat which was being escorted to Dover.
On arrival in Dover the diver was checked over by paramedics from South East Coast Ambulance Service but did not require hospital treatment.
Tony Evans from Walmer Lifeboat said: “The diver was very lucky that he was spotted by the cargo vessels and that one was able to stand by and guide us to him. Visibility at the time was approximately one mile and when we reached him he was over two miles from his support boat.”
Dover Lifeboat Operations Manager Roy Couzens said: “Although, the sea conditions were good and winds were light, the poor visibility would have made a long search difficult particularly as evening approached.”
For all previous frontpage features including the items on the CLIFF FALL and RICHBOROUGH TOWERS..
The White Cliffs Country Tourism campaign was launched monday 19th at Sandwich Guildhall. A presentation to interested bodies was made by the former Curator of Dover Museum Jon Iveson, who is now officially the Museum and Tourism Officer for the District.We will add the two relevent official press releases immediately below but first just a few notes from monday's official Launch. The Open Golf Championship brought a huge amount of money into the District. Figures for East Kent show that £21.18 million was added to the local economy. A huge sum, clearly indicating the economic power of major sports events. If only we could seduce more sports events into the area our economic prayers would be answered.However we do have the Olympic Torch bearer event coming soon which should brighten all our lives both economically and socially. More details on this in the press release immediately below.
Figures also show that last year saw an increase in passenger traffic coming in this direction from Europe.
Interesting news about the remaining popularity of written materials over the power of the internet. Initial enquiries are often by internet but then people like a brochure or a substantial leaflet. Brochures have been distributed in recent times across the near continent, these were printed in Flemish and French and sponsored by WCCTA. These brochures could be responsible for the increase in traffic coming this way. It was also acknowledged by Jon Iveson that leaflets distributed onboard the ferries did NOT work. Interesting one that, as we have often chatted on the forum about previous leafleting attempts.
The coach market is also booming, but Dover and District is not particularly benefitting and needs to do more to attract coach tour operators. PB.
The Pictures: Top left shows Karen Dry, Officer at DTC, with the Mayor of Dover Cllr Ronnie Philpott at yesterday's launch. Next picture shows Jon Iveson Museum and Tourism Officer during his presentation. Picture left, below those two, shows Cllr Nigel Collor talking about the latest Olympic news. The Route was announced yesterday.See also the Olympic Torch thread in our Forum.
And now...the press releases below...
WELCOME TO WHITE CLIFFS COUNTRY
Welcome to White Cliffs Country – from the towns of Dover, Deal and Sandwich, and the rural areas, to our world famous coastline and heritage. That’s the message in an exciting new multi-media tourism campaign for White Cliffs Country 2012, which was launched at Sandwich Guildhall monday, (19 March).
In this exciting year, as Dover District prepares to welcome the Olympic Torch, the Visitor Guide has been fully redesigned and updated, with colourful new illustrations, and latest information and photography showcasing the area. The guide is packed with information on great days out and places to stay in White Cliffs Country.
Dover District Council continues to produce the popular Days Out leaflets as part of a major marketing campaign. Special Days Out leaflets also continue to be produced in French & Flemish and German & Italian.
Cllr Kit Smith, DDC Cabinet Member for Skills, Training and External Relations said: “We are very pleased to be working with our partners to launch this new campaign in this exciting year. Tourism plays an important part in the local economy, and research shows it generates in the region of £200 million, and supports over 4,000 jobs for the district. This campaign shows the effective partnership working between DDC and the industry, working together to promote White Cliffs Country as a great place to visit.”
Further information can be found at www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk or for a copy of the Visitor Guide please call (01271) 336205 or e-mail dover@responseuk.co.uk or pop into your local Visitor Information Centre, or see our Facebook page or follow us on Twitter.
WELCOMING THE TORCH !
LATEST NEWS CONFIRMS THE STREETS THE OLYMPIC FLAME WILL BE CARRIED ALONG
Dover District Council is welcoming exciting news that the streets the Olympic Flame will travel through in the district, and names of inspirational Torchbearers who will run in our communities, have been announced today.
A warm welcome continues to be prepared in the area, with DDC working closely with the community and a range of partners. Communities continue to get involved, and people are encouraged to line the route, celebrate the achievements of the inspirational Torchbearers, and share in the excitement of the Olympic Torch Relay.
The streets along the London 2012 Olympic Torch Relay can be viewed in full at www.london2012.com/olympictorchrelay. This gives street-by-street details and proposed start times for when the Olympic Flame will travel through Dover District. Residents living in and around the area can find out when it will be travelling along their nearest high street, through their town square or past their local village shop.
The Torchbearers confirmed to carry the Flame in the district include those that were successful through the public nomination processes run by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Presenting Partners, Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung. LOCOG has endeavoured to slot all community Torchbearers within an hour of their nomination address so family and friends can cheer them on. Each Torchbearer will wear a white and gold uniform, which has been designed by adidas.
Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council said: “For many district residents and visitors this will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Olympic Flame and witness the spectacle of the Olympic Torch Relay. We continue to work closely with the community and partners to prepare a warm welcome for the Torch and the inspirational Torchbearers, and this announcement will help to bring the route to life and encourage people to line the streets and to continue to get involved.”
Local Torchbearer Tracy Evans said: “This will be such a momentous day, and is a once in a generation opportunity that we will always remember. I am overwhelmed to have been chosen, and delighted that my family and friends will have the chance to be there, waving Union Jacks, and joining all those who will be celebrating this special occasion. I have been pleased to help the community, because I wanted to bring people together, and this will be a perfect opportunity to do just that.”
Sebastian Coe, Chair of LOCOG added: “Today we bring the Olympic Torch Relay to life. The Flame symbolises the Olympic spirit and its journey around the UK will bring the excitement of the Games to our streets. Now the people know the route the Olympic Flame will be carried along and the Torchbearers for their community, they can start planning how they might celebrate and make it Dover District’s moment to shine.”
- 2 -
An average of 115 Torchbearers a day will carry the Olympic Flame during its 8,000 mile journey around the UK before it arrives at the Olympic Stadium on 27 July 2012 for the lighting of the cauldron at the Opening Ceremony, signifying the official start of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
LOCOG has worked closely with representatives from a number of sectors in each Nation and Region of the UK to devise the route and is taking the Olympic Flame to within ten miles of over 95% of the population.
The Olympic Torch Relay is coming to Dover on 18 July, and Deal, Sholden and Sandwich on 19 July. When the Flame arrives in Dover, DDC is working with LOCOG and the three Presenting Partners of the Relay – Coca Cola, Lloyds TSB and Samsung – to host an Evening Celebration to celebrate the Olympic Flame. The event at Dover Seafront will be ticketed, and will feature locally programmed content. Details of the running of show will be released over the next few months.
Schools across the UK can now access free learning resources linked to the Olympic Torch Relay through Get Set (london2012.com/getset), the official London 2012 education programme. The activities are designed to help schools and colleges make the most of the Relay by lining the route, and cheering on their local Torchbearers. Resources include ideas for making Flame hats and shakers, an assembly presentation to get the school behind a Torchbearer, and a film showing one Get Set network school's preparations for the Relay.
For more information, please see www.london2012.com or for more information on local celebrations, please see the DDC website at www.dover.gov.uk/london2012
* * *
Diver in Lucky Escape.....
Walmer and Dover lifeboats assist in diver’s lucky escape from busy shipping lanes
On the afternoon of the 14th a man diving in the English Channel 15 miles from Dover had to be rescued from the water in an operation involving two RNLI lifeboats and a RAF helicopter. At approximately 3.45pm a ship transiting the North East Lane reported a man in the water shouting for help. A few minutes later a Mayday call reporting an overdue diver was received from a small diving support boat near the Sandettie West Buoy. The diver had actually surfaced normally from his dive but had been carried away by the tide.
At 3.50pm Dover Coastguard requested the launch of both Dover’s Severn class lifeboat and the Atlantic 85 lifeboat from Walmer. Unsure as to the diver’s condition a search and rescue helicopter from Wattisham, Suffolk was also tasked.
At 4.35pm Walmer Lifeboat located the diver, aided by directions from a Dutch container ship, and recovered him from the water. Ten minutes later Dover lifeboat located his support vessel. The diver was assessed by the Walmer crew and found to be unharmed by his extended time in the water. He was then transferred to the Dover lifeboat which had placed a crew member on to the support boat which was being escorted to Dover.
On arrival in Dover the diver was checked over by paramedics from South East Coast Ambulance Service but did not require hospital treatment.
Tony Evans from Walmer Lifeboat said: “The diver was very lucky that he was spotted by the cargo vessels and that one was able to stand by and guide us to him. Visibility at the time was approximately one mile and when we reached him he was over two miles from his support boat.”
Dover Lifeboat Operations Manager Roy Couzens said: “Although, the sea conditions were good and winds were light, the poor visibility would have made a long search difficult particularly as evening approached.”