Grab that tourist

New Brewery Arts reopened its doors to the public four years ago after a major, £2.8 million refurbishment. In tandem with the building project, we set about implementing a strategy to market the centre widely. Two of our key aims were to increase engagement with the local community and to promote the centre further afield; to the craft-buying public and the Cotswold tourism market.

We focused on developing strong relationships with local bodies and institutions, such as Cotswold Tourism, the Gloucestershire County Council Tourist Information Service, the Corinium Museum and Cirencester church. We have forged links with the regions press and local magazines, including Cotswold Life, and made sure we feature in all relevant listings, such as Galleries Guide and Cotswold Tourist Guides. Another factor of our strategy has been to develop a programme that compliments local events and topical themes, for example we are holding our Physicality exhibition in the run up to the 2012 Olympics. And we now take full advantage of high profile, local tourist events, like the Cheltenham Literature Festival.

We lead on a project called Grab That Tourist! with other local tourism venues. Together we are forging relationships with regional tourist offices, hotels and B&Bs by offering them special days out and keeping them up-to-date with our activities, so they can effectively recommend our venues to their visitors. Other links we have made are with the largest, local hotel, The Four Pillars. The hotel advertises in our programme, has profiled New Brewery Arts in its visitor information and ensures that our brochure is available in its lobby.

We have developed our website to show the full breadth of what we have on offer. To encourage day visitors we distribute our biennial, 48-page programme across a 50-mile radius throughout the year.

The effort has paid off. We now have over 200,000 visitors to the centre annually, an increase of 100,000 since the refurbishment. Many of these are locals who come back time and again, but, as our visitor book suggests, many come from across the UK and abroad.

We have had three particular high points. Firstly, because of our strong links with Gloucestershire County Council’s Tourism Strategy, we are now well established on the tourist map and as a result we have received TV crews from as far afield as China and the USA. We have also hosted visitors from Germany and France, and are a regular destination for interest groups from around the UK, such as the Shipston Arts and Crafts Society. Secondly, we received the Silver Retail Tourism Prize in the Cotswold Tourism Awards in 2010 for our craft shop, which stocks handmade crafts sourced from makers around the UK. And thirdly, we were the fifteenth most visited, free tourist destination in the South West in 2010, which is a big achievement for an arts centre in a market town and certainly fulfils the Arts Council brief to deliver great art for everyone.

In essence, by developing our marketing strategy and creating an excellent visitor experience we have opened up New Brewery Arts to a wide and varied audience both local and tourist. We are constantly monitoring our feedback in the café, gallery and many other routes, and we respond appropriately to visitor complaints. Our plan for the future is to maximise the reach of the centre by making our exhibitions available digitally, to inspire and encourage potential visitors and artists alike.