As part of its on-going aim to encourage footfall to Newquay Town Centre, Newquay BID has created a guide imploring coach drivers to bring coach parties into town.

The Coach Drivers Guides have been created as part of the BID’s coach marketing campaign as a way of attracting coach parties to the town centre year-round.

As a means to encourage coach drivers – the predominant influencer on coach trip itineraries – to bring coach parties into Newquay for the day, the BID has created a pocket guide of offers and incentives for drivers to redeem whilst in Newquay. Offers include free breakfasts, lunches and ice creams at town centre establishments, as well as free admission on the Newquay Land Train. The guides also include a handy map and hints and tips on where to go and what to see during a day out in Newquay.

It is hoped that this guide filled with offers and incentives will persuade drivers to add Newquay to their day trip itinerary when in Cornwall, to bring valuable footfall into the town centre. Similar incentives are used effectively by other resorts across the UK in coach industry publications, but the BID Coach Driver Guides stand apart from the ordinary in the hope that they will set Newquay apart from other Cornish resorts. While coach parties regularly stay in Newquay hotels, drivers often opt to take groups out of Newquay to other towns such as St Ives and Penzance on day trips, so these pocket guides filled with incentives will encourage drivers with groups staying in Newquay to enjoy the town and its facilities during the day.

Colin Paull of Pauline’s Creamery has offered an incentive in the guide and considers it a valuable marketing tool:

As a BID member and town centre business owner I believe that attracting coach groups to visit Newquay town centre is vital. It’s a well-known fact in the coach industry that making necessary steps to be considered a ‘coach friendly’ town benefits the local economy, and if we had around six coaches visit Newquay per week, footfall would increase by an extra 7200 per year.

One thousand copies of the guide have been printed and will be distributed by mail outs to tour operators and through the Tourist Information Centre to driers who display identification. The BID has already received a number of requests from coach drivers ahead of the launch of the guide showing promise in the endeavour.

Hotels in the area are welcomed to stock the pocket guides to give out to drivers with identification and for more information on coach marketing or any of the other BID projects, please contact Eve Wooldridge on info@newquaybid.co.uk or call 01637 98599.