Heritage Tourism
This page provides information and help for those running an existing tourism business or starting a tourism business on Romney Marsh.
There were 4.6million tourism visitors to Shepway in 2015, worth £243 millions to the local economy and providing 4,796 jobs, an increase of 3.4% in trips over the previous two years. Romney Marsh is a big part of this.
You can find out more from the Visit Kent's Shepway Tourism Ecomic Impact Infrographic, Shepway Tourism Economic Impact Study and Folkestone & Hythe District Heritage Strategy.
A brand toolkit has been developed for the Romney Marsh tourism industry (and supporting stakeholders) to help provide ideas for their bespoke marketing campaigns. Romney Marsh tourism businesses are already involved in a Destination Marketing Plan that is encouraging consistency of messages across all visitor touch points. We believe that co-ordinated repetition of these core messages will help promote a positive, credible image for Romney Marsh and differentiate us from our competitor destinations and increase a greater awareness and so lead to more visitors.
To find out more about the Romney Marsh brand, please contact the Romney Marsh Partnership.
Download the Romney Marsh Brand Guidelines/Toolkit
Example of new visual identity
Produced in Kent is showcasing the breadth of Kent's food heritage and product innovation through an exciting new travel tool, inspiring visitors to explore and enjoy Kent’s food and drink.
Kentfoodtrails.co.uk is where visitors can plan amazing days out, either by creating their own bespoke experiences or selecting a ready-made itinerary.
A series of ‘Bite sized guides’ about Kent's finest products are available for download. Offers and information from businesses are promoted through Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and we are now curating a series of trails for the site including one for the Romney Marsh.
A schedule of ongoing press activity has recently seen Kent Food Trails featured in over 30 offline and online publications, including BBC Good Food, Food Newz and Delicious. Further press trips and their successful 'press trips in a box' will take place soon and we’ll be attending the Holiday and Travel Show at Detling in March to promote the trails.
You can join the Kent Food Trails if you are a place to stay, a place to eat, a visitor attraction, producer, retailer or activity provider – as long as you are providing a visitor experience incorporating a food and drink offer.
A standard entry is free and a Premium entry is £49 p.a. (or £39 p.a. for PinK members). You can register and manage your page yourselves, updating your details as events and activities change.
Find everything you need to know about joining at https://kentfoodtrails.co.uk/for-businesses.
Free Tourism Business Advisory Service
If you are starting a new tourism business or running an existing business Visit Kent's Tourism Business Advisory Service offers a free on-site business advisory visit.
Peter Birnie, can help with guest expectations, quality standards, marketing, operational suggestions and signposting on accessible and sustainable information.
All tourism businesses are eligible for a visit whether you just have an idea and are starting out, or are a more established operator who just wants to look at ways to develop and remain competitive.
Shepway District Council is contributing to the costs of running the service and is keen for local tourism businesses to take up the offer.
To book your free appointment contact Peter Birnie, Business Advisor 
07939 687555 
email.
There is much help, advice and support available for those starting a business or running an existing business on Romney Marsh. Shepway District Council Economic Development Team have produced guidiance on sources of funding, support and advice,
Find out more
Visit Kent Tourism Business Support and Advice
As well as providing free on-site business advice(as above), Visit Kent offers:
- Research - Visit Kent has a wealth of research and market intelligence to help your business develop and succeed.
Find out more - Training - Visit Kent offers Customer Care Courses as well as a range of other training workshops and masterclasses.
Find out more - Online Tools - Online resources provide tourism businesses with advice on starting up, accessiblity, sustainability and more.
Find out more
Tourism South East(TSE) is a not-for-profit organisation which provides services and expertise that supports the performance and growth of tourism businesses. Activities include a full range of domestic and international marketing campaigns, PR and web promotions, highly respected training courses, research and visitor information services, networking opportunities and advocacy.
To find more about what TSE provide, please visit their Services & Support website.
To find our more about becoming a TSE member, please visit their TSE Membership website.
VisitEngland Quality Assessments
Gaining accreditation through an official assessment scheme shows that you are committed to quality, giving potential guests a label they can trust and providing clear expectations for customers when booking.
VisitEngland manages a number of quality schemes designed to help businesses reach their full potential. Their National Quality Assessment Scheme is the largest official star rating scheme in the UK, with over 24,000 participating businesses. They also work with self-catering agencies and destination organisations to raise standards.
Find out more about Quality Assessment for your Accommodation
Find out more about Quality Assessment for your Attraction
Green Tourism is the largest sustainable certification programme of its kind. Green Tourism offers credible, trustworthy, independent guidance to tourism businesses wishing to operate sustainably. The organisation assesses hundreds of fantastic places to stay and visit in the UK and abroad every year.
A Green Tourism award shows that a business has been independently assessed and certified, so you can choose the greenest option with confidence.Businesses which meet the standard for a Green Tourism award receive a Bronze, Silver, or Gold certificate, based on their level of sustainability.
Find out more
TripAdvisor provides reviews of holiday accommodation, attractions, restaurants, pubs etc from people who have just visited and/or experienced a particular facility. It is used by millions of poeple to plan where theyare going to visit, stay, eat etc. It is free to have a listing.
Are you listed on TripAdvisor?
If not, then please consider doing so. To see how it works, just click on the TripAdvisor Icon 
at top left on this page.
Find our more
Folkestone, Hythe & District Hotel & Catering Association (FHDHCA) email 01303 276535
Lydd Partnership - working together in partnership for the benefit of Dungeness, Greatstone, Lydd and Lydd-on-Sea email
Rye & District Hotel & Caterers Association - promotes tourism in the Rye area, to foster goodwill between members establishments and to encourage maintenance of the highest quality food and accommodation email.
Every year Visitkent organises The Kent Big Weekend, normaly held in April. The Big Weekend forms part of the national English Tourism Week celebrations and is a great opportunity to promote your attraction to Kent residents. The event encourages Kent residents to discover and experience the many wonderful attractions and activities available in Kent – and to spread the word to others
Now in its 12th year, Visit Kent are looking forward to having their our biggest and best weekend to date. Last year the event had over 116,000 ticket applications and over 20,000 people enjoyed a day out. Research shows that following the event 63% of participant would return to the attraction that year while 80% would recommend it to their friends and family. As part of English Tourism Week the Big Weekend helps to raise the profile of tourism as an important sector in the local economy and gain the support of the local community.
Find out more
Economic Impact of Tourism in Shepway
The Cambridge Economic Impact Model is an industry respected tool for measuring the economic impact of tourism in a given area. Knowing the volume and value of tourism is an essential part of developing policies for managing tourism.
The Cambridge Model is a spreadsheet model that produces estimates from existing national and local information (e.g. accommodation stock, inbound trips) of the level of tourism activity within a given local area. The volume of visits is translated into economic terms by estimating the amount of spending by visitors based on their average spend per trip. In turn, the impact of that spending can be translated to estimate the effects in terms of business turnover and jobs.
Economic Impact of Shepway Visitor Economy 2015 published November 2016
Economic Impact of Kent Visitor Economy 2013 published November 2016
The Business Barometer is a monthly snapshot of tourism business performance in Kent. Over 45 attractions, 350 accommodation providers, 15 conference venues, 5 cross channel carriers and 14 Visitor Information Centres submit their figures to Visit Kent on a confidential basis. This confidentiality enables businesses to report on issues affecting their results allowing them to benchmark and react quickly to market conditions. For latest reports please click here.
The Tourism Society is an organisation for people working in tourism and travel, including educators and students, and others interested or involved in the visitor economy across all its sectors worldwide.
We aim to enhance our members’ professionalism, knowledge and understanding of the industry through
- regular meetings held throughout the UK
- publication of our quarterly journal, ‘Tourism’
- providing networking opportunities and access to an extensive database of industry colleagues
- increasing awareness of the economic, social and cultural benefits of tourism
- providing signposts to better business opportunities and education and careers support
The Society, founded in 1977, provides a forum for the professional needs of those pursuing a career in or associated with the tourism industry.
Find out more
Dymchurch Parish Council and the Romney Marsh website romneymarshhistory.co.uk have joined forces to produce a new leaflet for Romney Marsh. The new leaflet, embracing the new branding for Romney Marsh, aims to highlight the large variety of things for visitors to do and see on Romney Marsh. The leaflet, designed by New Romney Graphics designer Bennie Jane Cross, not only provides much information about Romney Marsh together with many pictures but also provides a pictorial map of the Marsh with smaller maps of Dymchurch, New Romney and Lydd and lists the key events.
Funding for the leaflet has been provided by Dymchurch, St Mary in the Marsh and Brenzett Parish Councils, our two KCC County Councillors, and Folkestone and Hythe District Councillors Ian Meyers, Russell Tillson and Clive Goddard. Enough copies have been produced for use both this year and in 2019, with distribution beyond Romney Marsh by Take One Media..
The leaflet is available to all tourism and related businesses on and off the Marsh.
Copies of the leaflet are available from Peter email
Other Romney Marsh Leaflets
There are many other leaflets produced about the many attractions, local areas etc which are avaiable to all tourism businesses and others.
Find our more on our page Visitor Guides about Romney Marsh to View and/or Download.
Romney Marsh Leaflet
