Guest 667- Registered: 6 Apr 2008
- Posts: 919
I agree with you Tom, I have often mentioned a tour bus which calls at each location but have always had the same answer "it costs too much".
I also agree with your post 36. If you look at the Web site you mention
http://www.aboutdoverkent.co.uk/ things-to-do/ it has a nice picture of the Castle and the White Cliffs but no pictures of the other places of interest and no web site links to those places.
Howard you are right about the tourists entering Dover and of course the location, but you have to ask where do the cruise terminals visitors go and are encouraged to go by staff employed to assist their visit to the port? The answer is to Dover Castle if we are lucky or off to Canterbury even London and the coaches are sitting at the terminal ready to take them.
I love Dover Castle and visit there myself but I am sure a lot of visitors to the Town think that is all we have to offer so once they have been there they do not look much further.
I have been into the Roman Painted House twice in the last couple of years and on each of those occasions there have been but one or two people there. The R.P. House may be in the Centre of Town, but it is still tucked out of the way if the visitor has no knowledge of it or is not encouraged to visit it. I may be wrong but I would put money on low visitor levels being part of the reason behind their decision.
Whatever the reason, it does not get away from the fact that the smaller attractions need help in promoting the attraction, then a way of encouraging the visitors to make that visit such as a tour bus going around each, even to far out River and Whitfield.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Never heard about that website before Harry - this is the 'official' website:
http://www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk/Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
I had heard fairly recently from an ex-volunteer that the aforenamed person even turned down donations of equipment from his own son....
The 'authorities' also did bad stuff to the Heights 30+ years ago, but times and people have changed and we all need to work with each other rather than against them....
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 667- Registered: 6 Apr 2008
- Posts: 919
Thanks for that Paul and on the White Cliffs Country you can find what is around for the visitor, I did know about it but was commenting more on the one mentioned by Tom in his post 36.
Just a thought and away from the original subject of the Roman Painted House opening times because I still believe we do not promote our attractions enough as it is visitors through the door that count
I have seen in other areas a Tourism Booklet printed by the local Council or in some cases the County Council this booklet being freely available to all tourists. I do not know what the cost would be but the booklet could have all the Tourist Attractions in the District on a separate page. Each page would have a little about the attraction along with a picture, web site, phone number etc. However each page would also have a discount on entry price to encourage entry to that attraction, the visitor would then tear out the page on entry and hand it over to gain the discount.
The discount would be one agreed by the attraction it's self, for example attraction "A" may give a 20% discount and attraction "B" a 50p discount etc. The update could be done say every three years to save costs on printing and if the cost is too much for the Council by it's self then a reasonable charge could go to each participating attraction. These Visitor Attraction booklets could then go to all places where tourists could obtain them including of course the tourist attractions themselves
The fact is the people supposed to sell Dover fail. That is why the tourist industry does not deliver in or out of season.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,764
I just Googled ..........where to visit in Dover............. the following very uninspiring site was top of the list so I guess this is what most potential visitors see. The front page would not tempt me to look further.
http://www.whitecliffscountry.org.uk/visit_dover.aspx-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
And...where are the people tasked with marketing Dover? A bit of imagination and flair wouldn 't go amiss........
Hang on, are these full stops catching.....? Reg......what have you been doing? Jan, stop it at once,and I will try as well.........
eeek.....
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Looks like you found an old page there Jan - perhaps even DDC didn't know that it was still active as i looks like old branding and the main site is a lot better !
Perhaps drop a line to them and let them know ?
Been nice knowing you :)
Sue Nicholas- Location: river
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 6,014
Im going to the launch of The White Cliffs Brochure on Monday .I will report back.
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Beat me to it on that Paul, the main sight looks better if you are after accomodation, heritage, countryside or gardens, but very little entertainment (then I suppose we haven't got much).
I have heard from someone 'in the trade' as it where that there is concern about deterioration of the Painted House due to the nature of the building, don't know how true that is.
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
I found the entertainment page, looking at cinemas top of the list is - Cineworld, ASHFORD!
Also has Gulbenkian Cinema, CANTERBURY, Silver Screen, FOLKESTONE, Vue cinema, BROADSTAIRS, alongside our own Silver Screen and Sandwich.
Likewise theatres, Roundhouse and Astor are there with Gulbenkian and Marlowe, CANTERBURY
The URL on the entertainment pages is
www.websites.thedms.co.uk, which is forwarded to
http://www.newvisiongroup.co.uk/ - someone should have a word with them.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
I have dropped them a line about updating the various Western Heights pages so will mention that to them when I get a reply Ray
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 688- Registered: 16 Jul 2009
- Posts: 268
I know it is stating the obvious,but should not all these historical 'attractions' be Dover centric,in so much that they have to work with D.D.C. so could they not enforce some sort of consistency of approach.Is the time not ripe for Dover to have its own strategic historical coordinating body,that may not have statutory powers,but they could bring influence to bear regarding the towns most abundant asset,it's history.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
It's an 'obvious' that has been stated a lot of times on here !!
The Western Heights Preservation Society have problems with co-ordinating events as it is more a 'pot luck' that we don't clash with something else as we have to hit some early deadlines like the English Heritage handbook. Someone is needed to assist all the groups to work together to promote each other. Unfortunately tourism is just part of the job of the curator of Dover Museum and that in itself is more than a one man job.....
Personally I would like DDC to DOUBLE their council tax increase so that tourism can benefit !!!!!
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
Some very good points made above.
I have written a "Tourism Strategy for Dover" and will be distributing it out very shortly to all the local historic sites, museums and attractions, as well as various bodies - includuing WHPS and WCCTA.
I have found out that there have been 3 strategies writtten before - but I don't know by whom, but none of them have been adopted because it was felt that the recommendations in those strategies would be too expensive to take on.
My Tourist Strategy is simpler (less complicated) and much less expensive to implement, but I do think quite wide-ranging.
I am sending it round asking that all the people and bodies, read it and respond with constructive comments and criticism, so we can have a living document that can be referred to and amended as time goes by and updated as various recommendations and initiatives are brought to fruition.
I have almost finished a "Plan of Action" for Dover Town and will be distributing that out very soon.
It will be interesting to see what reaction it gets from various quarters.
I didn't know about the launch of White Cliffs Country on Monday Sue; very disappointed not to have been invited (an understatement).
Roger
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,800
SUE;
How dare you not invite roger lol
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
More joined up thinking - not.....? Who decides who attends what?
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,800
presume by sue's posting she had an opportunity to invite members of her own party that have a sincere interest in the subject
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 653- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,540
It wouldn't have been up to Sue to send out invites and I don't want to say who would have done so, but I was very disappointed.
Oh well - onwards and upwards (hopefully).
Roger
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
jujst a minor point here, our susan cannot be seen to be in any way political in her role as council chairman.
roger not getting an invite?
words fail me, he must have done something wrong in a previous life.