Visitor Elves
There are thousands of talented people working behind the scenes in tourism, hospitality, events and destination marketing. Are you one of them?
Join me, Kelly Ballard, as I chat with award-winning business owners and those making magic in attracting and delighting visitors in the West of England, UK.
If you're wanting to connect with and learn from others in the visitor economy, this show is for you.
For more information about me and the show, visit www.visitorelves.co.uk
Episodes
51 episodes
EP 50 – Increase your corporate bookings in 2025 with Helen Applin Head of Business Events, Visit West
Are you looking to grow your corporate bookings in 2025? Business events like meetings, conferences, and team-building activities are key revenue sources, especially during off-peak times in the visitor economy.In this epi...
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Season 4
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Episode 50
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43:56
EP49 Behind the Scenes of Wales' AA Hotel of the Year 2024: Success Strategies from The Parkgate Hotel’s Damien Martin
In this episode of I chatted with Damien Martin, General Manager of award-winning The Parkgate Hotel in Cardiff. Just a year after opening its doors in 2021, The Parkgate Hotel scooped the prestigious AA H...
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Season 4
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Episode 49
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46:01
EP 48 Unlocking the Secrets of Effective Content Marketing with Charlotte Laing, The Content Emporium
Welcome to today’s episode! I’m super excited to chat with Charlotte Laing, the amazing founder of The Content Emporium. Her agency is thriving, with a team of 46 talented people, and they’re doin...
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Season 4
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Episode 48
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51:04
EP 47 Visit West Food & Drink Forum Sept 2024
Welcome to Series 4 of The Visitor Elves Podcast!We’re back, and I couldn’t be more excited to kick off Series 4 of the Visitor Elves podcast. Whether you’re a long-time listener (you’re a total rockstar!) or ...
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Season 4
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Episode 47
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24:52
EP. 46 Lorraine Jarvie - General Manager of Royal Crescent Hotel, Bath, talks luxury hotel management and Bridgerton
In my final episode of Series 3, I have a special guest, the wonderful and oh-so-stylish Lorraine Jarvie, General Manager of the Royal Crescent Hotel in Bath. This hotel has a five-star (red) rating <...
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Season 3
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Episode 46
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43:00
EP. 45 Making Bristol city centre a more sustainable and enjoyable place to visit with Tom Swithinbank from Bristol BIDs
Welcome to this week's podcast, where I’m going behind the scenes of Bristol City Centre and talking to Tom Swithinbank. Tom's work involves helping businesses become more sustainable and making the city a more appealing place to...
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Season 3
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Episode 45
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47:53
EP 44 From Boomtown to Wake the Tiger - How this festival organiser created a successful visitor attraction in the heart of Bristol
In today's episode, my conversation with Graham MacVoy, Managing Director of the visitor attraction Wake the Tiger in Bristol, truly blew my mind. Wake the Tiger is the permanent 'baby' created by the tea...
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Season 3
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Episode 44
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52:26
43: Vicki Jones talks about setting up her award-winning Glampsite and YouTube channel 'Tractors and Cream' in Somerset
In today’s podcast, I’m heading to the Somerset levels to chat with Vicki Jones, owner of the award-winning Tractors & Cream glampsite. Vicki and her husband Bryan worked in the hotel trade before th...
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Season 3
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Episode 43
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51:37
EP 42 Ticketing system frustrations? Make yours work more effectively for you with Sarah Bagg
In this episode, I had the pleasure of chatting with Sarah Bagg, founder of ReWork Consulting, about getting the best ticketing or booking system to support your business needs.
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Season 3
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Episode 42
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19:38
EP 41 How working with the overseas travel trade could really help your business, with Jon Chamberlain and Mike Newman
In this podcast episode, we focus on increasing bookings from inbound travellers or overseas tourists through the travel trade. My guests are Jon Chamberlain, Head of Marketing for VisitWest, and Mike Newman of B2Me Tourism Ma...
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Season 3
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Episode 41
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1:17:23
EP 40 - The state of the domestic group market in 2024, with Steve Reed Tourism
Today's Marketing Insights is all about the 'groups' market. For many years, the domestic group travel or coach tour industry has been an important part of the UK’s tourism industry. Groups have historically been ...
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Season 3
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Episode 40
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28:20
EP 39 Easy tips for mastering your email marketing with Sarah Orchard - Marketing Insight
Today’s episode is all about email marketing and the simple things you can do to make it work more effectively to drive bookings. Joining me on the show is Sarah Orchard of
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Season 3
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Episode 39
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33:45
EP 38 Behind the scenes at the Royal International Air Tattoo, Cotswolds with Simon Hough
If large open-air events or air shows are your thing, you'll love this episode. In today’s podcast, I chat with Simon Hough, Head of Commercial Activities and Hospitality at the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT), the largest ...
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Season 3
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Episode 38
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43:32
EP 37 Marketing Insight - How to work with influencers in 2024 with Claire Robinson, Weekend Candy
Today's episode is the first of my Marketing Insights series. In it, I’m talking to the lovely Claire Robinson, founder and Creative Director of WeekendCandy.com, about the world of influencer marketing and how t...
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Season 3
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Episode 37
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29:01
EP 36 Digital marketing insights and what's next for the UK's tourism industry with Jarrod Lopiccolo & Kate Sikora from digital agency Noble Performs
Digital marketing is constantly evolving, and it can be a challenge to keep up. I recently had a conversation with Jarrod Lopiccolo (CEO) and Kate Sikora (Managing Partner) from Noble Performs, a digital agency that
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Season 3
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Episode 36
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57:13
Ep 35 The role of culture in Weston-super-Mare's Regeneration: conversation with Creative Director, Fiona Matthews of Super Culture 🌟
Welcome to episode 35 of the Visitor Elves podcast. Today, I’m joined by Fiona Matthews, Creative Director of Super Culture, an organisation that creates cultural expe...
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Season 3
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Episode 35
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40:58
Ep 34 ⚽️ Sports tourism in Bristol and the exciting plans for Bristol's Ashton Gate Stadium, home of Bristol City Football Club and Bristol Bears with CEO Mark Kelly.
Welcome back to the first Visitor Elves episode of 2024. I hope you had a good Christmas season and your plans for 2024 are shaping up. In today's conversation, I'm going behind the scenes of
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Season 3
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Episode 34
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53:58
Ep 33 Setting out the ambition and plans for visitor economy of the VisitWest tourism region with Managing Director, Kathryn Davis
In this festive episode just before Christmas, we have a returning guest, the lovely Kathryn Davis, Managing Director of VisitWest, shedding light on the key aspects of the recently launched Destination Management Plan ...
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Season 3
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Episode 33
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54:14
Ep 32 Insight into one of the South West's best campsite and outdoor activity centres Mendip Activity Centre, with George Combe
Today's podcast episode features the delightful George Combe, talking about the growth and popularity of the Mendip Activity Centre in North Somerset.Spread across 250 acres, Mendip Activity Centre is the largest independen...
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Season 3
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Episode 32
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42:22
Ep 31 Noah's Ark Zoo Farm: An Accessible, VisitEngland Gold Award-Winning Visitor Attraction with Larry Bush
With one in five households having someone with an impairment or disability, it is crucial for businesses in the visitor economy to prioritise accessibility. Your consideration and awareness of this market can make or break a visitor's decis...
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Season 3
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Episode 31
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50:37
30. How restaurant Urban Tandoor is smashing it on TikTok with Owner Sujith D’Almeida and TikTok Queen Nat Brereton
It's been a while but I'm excited to be back with my 30th episode featuring the team behind the Bristol restaurant absolutely smashing it on TikTok - Urban Tandoor. Urban Tandoor are now apparently the most follow...
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Episode 30
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58:55
29. Marketing in the visitor economy with Kelly Ballard
In this final episode of Series 2, I am bringing you my story. I’m being interviewed by my Visitor Elf sidekick Shonette Laffy, Digital Marketing Manager of Visit West and fellow freelancer. During my conversation with Shonette, I...
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Season 2
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Episode 29
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1:14:23
28. Find out how Stroud Brewery and Stonehouse Court Hotel are working together as part of VisitGloucestershire's Sustainability Champions to help each other and drive change
In today’s podcast I had the pleasure of chatting to two independent tourism organisations based in Gloucestershire who are leading the way in not only making their businesses as sustainable as possible, they are also on a journey to changin...
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Season 2
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Episode 28
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59:07
27. How Bath's historic venues have adapted through massive changes, with Rebecca West, Marketing Manager at the Roman Baths
Today’s chat is with Rebecca West, Marketing Manager responsible for one of the most visited pay-to-enter visitor attractions in the UK outside London - the Roman Baths. I was lucky enough to speak to Becca, just days before...
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Season 2
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Episode 27
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43:49
26. Hear about this year's momentous Bristol 650 celebrations from Naomi Miller, Acting Director at Bristol Ideas
This week I've been chatting with the fascinating Naomi Miller, Acting Director at Bristol Ideas - organisers of inspiring talks and debates which shine a light a light on diverse issues in the city.Bristol Ideas<...
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Season 2
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Episode 26
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39:45
