Seven reasons to become a member

Visit West is the officially accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) for the visitor economy in Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire.  

By becoming a Visit West member, you will have access to a suite of benefits and services for your business and it also means becoming part of a network of more than 700 like-minded businesses, working together to develop and market the region, to consumers, travel trade and business events industry. 

Here are our top seven reasons to become a Visit West member. 

1. Support the region’s tourism economy 

From bronze to partner level, every single member directly supports the development of our fantastic region as a visitor destination. You will be part of a collaborative partnership championing visits for leisure and business right across Bristol, Bath and the west of England. 

Our diverse community of businesses who subscribe to membership directly support the development of our region as a visitor destination and help us celebrate what makes us unique in our visitor experience. We actively encourage our members to keep in touch, send news, updates and events to help us better inform our team, our stakeholders and visitors. 

2. Industry insights and guidance 

We have strong links with local, regional, national, and international stakeholders, including local councils, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), VisitBritain, Visit England, the travel media and travel trade. 

This offers opportunities for collaboration and allows us to pass on valuable knowledge and insights on to our members. We share developments and news that affect our members, plus latest news and tourism industry guidance through our industry newsletter, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts.  

Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic we have been working to keep our members informed of the latest restrictions, guidance, and funding opportunities. As restrictions ease and consumer confidence grows, we will continue to support all our members as Bristol and Bath recover. 

3. Lobbying force 

We are here to champion the industry and the role of the visitor economy. During the pandemic we have worked with local MPs, the inbound industry, and local stakeholders to raise the profile of the impact on the visitor economy, especially those sectors who have failed to receive support. 

As well as raising the profile of the visitor economy and issues locally, we also lobby for our local industry on a national (and international) basis.   

If there are issues that are important to you and your business, then the likelihood is that they are affecting others. By collaborating efforts in partnership – even with other destinations – a co-ordinated and unified voice can be an effective method of change. 

4. Marketing benefits 

Depending on your location, each member can maximise the support of our Visit Bristol or Visit Bath brands. We have built up two formidable digital consumer platforms, with the Visit Bristol and Visit Bath websites, consumer newsletters and our social media following. We use all of these platforms to share our destination information with our audiences, who include both visitors and locals. 

Visit West membership gives you access to a range of benefits and services, including your own business page on the Visit Bristol or Visit Bath website, and for gold and partner members, additional pages aimed at the Business Events market through the Meet Bristol & Bath website.  

While each business will have its own pages, we aim to ensure that this dedicated content can be found by connecting you to our inspiration pages. We work with our members to create and share new content through platforms like our monthly competitions, the Visit Bristol and Visit Bath blogs, (which regularly receive 70k+ views a month), and our seasonal campaigns. Read more about the marketing benefits available to our members here. 

5. Be part of a community 

As a regional destination marketing organisation our members are more connected than ever. We work with over 700 businesses across the region, meaning each member gets to be part of something bigger.  

Our exclusive member events and workshops offer opportunities to network with other businesses as well as hearing from industry leaders. We also work closely with BIDs, local authorities, event organisers and other business communities. This helps us connect all our members and share the latest news and development in the region. 

6. Press and media 

While we control, manage, and grow our own channels, it is critical that we work with influencers, writers and broadcasters to help them research, experience and share the best of Bristol, Bath and the surrounding rural and coastal areas to their audiences. Our Media Liaison Managers co-ordinate press and media trips for journalists, bloggers and influencers and regularly create and share press releases, so providing a pro-active approach to earned media.  

We try and cram as much about our members into our own content as possible and link up writers and broadcasters with members who best match their particular brief or audience. This not only brings press coverage to our members but benefits the whole region, inspiring visitors through local, national and international coverage. 

7. Meet Bristol & Bath 

Meet Bristol & Bath is the Convention Bureau for the West of England region and the team work collaboratively with gold and partner Visit West members to promote their venues to the corporate, association and incentive markets. 

The dedicated team continually enhances and builds Bristol and Bath’s reputation by showcasing the region as a first-class business event and incentive travel destination. Delivered through digital campaigns, familiarisation trips and attending industry trade events, there are also additional proactive sales activities to build business for the future. The bureau work year-round to maintain a good knowledge of industry trends and build strong relationships with businesses, local and industry stakeholders, academics, and event planners to generate business event enquires for the destinations. In addition, we have a venue and accommodation finding service for event organisers designed to help support them find the best venue for their business. Find out more about Meet Bristol and Bath’s benefits for gold and partner members here.