Neath Port Talbot Discovery Clusters Campaign

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council (NPTCBC) is undertaking an ‘open call’ which invites activity providers, attractions, tour guides, holiday accommodation providers (and any other operators who provide a service to visitors to Neath Port Talbot) to submit proposals to deliver a series of experiences which will be promoted through the Neath Port Talbot Discovery Clusters marketing campaign.

NPTCBC Tourism Team recently secured funding via the Visit Wales Regional Tourism Engagement Fund (RTEF) to deliver the Discovery Clusters campaign (please note that this is only a working title for the campaign).

RTEF is supported through the Welsh Government Rural Communities – Rural Development Programme 2014-2020, which is funded by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD), and Welsh Government.

The Campaign

The project programme includes the following elements;
1. Public relations campaign - including securing travel blogger/ press visits
2. Online/ digital/ social media campaign targeting key markets
3. Group/ corporate travel campaign targeting travel organisers such as tour operators.
4. Six promotional videos (one for each experience)
5. Photography for use in delivering the campaign
6. Campaign graphic design including design of digital/ paper based materials for use by product clusters
7. Copywriting/ translation
8. Commissioning of a project manager and facilitation with stakeholders.
9. Product development for the six bookable products in partnership with industry clusters - to include non-accredited training.
10. Delivery of legal advice to product clusters relating to the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 and the writing of a case study to inform wider tourism stakeholders of the approaches taken within the project.

Experiences

The following experiences have been identified for delivery within the project application.  The experiences put forward by Clusters will need to show how they align as far as possible with the experiences outlined below; however clusters are able to refine these experiences further within their application.

Valleys Outdoor Adventure Experience:  The cluster will create an outdoor activity experience throughout the Valleys areas of the county which feature the iconic Waterfall Country product and introduce previously undiscovered experiences in our beautiful valleys.  For example rock climbing, canyoning, orienteering etc may form acitivities within this experience. Accommodation should also be offered as part of this cluster.

Afan Forest Park – Room To Ride Experience: This experience will target those who already take part in mountain biking and will offer them bike hire, guided rides of the local trails or tuition to fine tune their mountain biking skills to get the most out of their ride in Afan Forest Park. Accommodation should also be offered as part of this cluster.

Afan Forest Park – Family (Beginner) Mountain Bike Adventure Tour: This tour will target absolute beginners to mountain biking and offer an experience for the whole family.  Providers in this cluster should have the capacity to offer group tuition and guided rides and could include specialist female only tuition and guiding. This experience should also include accommodation options.

Port Talbot – Tough as Steel Experience: This experience is centred upon using the iconic steelworks as a backdrop to experiencing invigorating outdoor activities, whilst also challenging perceptions of Port Talbot as a place to visit. The experience could consist of surfing on Aberavon Beach, outdoor adventure such as paddle boarding or high wire adventure at Margam Park. The focus should be on achieving physical challenges and could also include the emerging triathlon, marathon or multisport markets catered for by event organisers in the area. This experience should be clustered with appropriate accommodation which suits the nature of the range of bookings that are likely to arise i.e. group accommodation, hotel accommodation or B&B accommodation for example.

In Their Footsteps Experience: This  experience will promote some of the best self-led or guided walks/ trails within the Valleys, Vales and coastal areas of Neath Port Talbot and will include accommodation and high quality eating out options as part of the stay. The focus of this product is towards those interested in the heritage and landscape of the area and would appeal to those who are seeking to walk/ cycle the paths and tracks which were once trodden by their ancestors or the famous faces of Neath Port Talbot such as Richard Burton. This experience should show a variety of experiences particularly in the Valleys areas of the county. This experience should also include accommodation options.

Margam Park Heritage Tour: This experience should create a high quality guided heritage tour of Margam Country Park, Margam Abbey Church and Margam Stones Museum. The experience should deliver an immersive guided-interpretive experience suitable for consumer and group travel markets. The experience could also include the provision of afternoon tea or lunch within the park itself. There is also an emerging Wellness/ Wellbeing product at Margam Country Park which could tap into the growing 'mindfulness' market whereby yoga/ meditation/ health and wellbeing experiences could be developed and this could be reflected within the proposals put forward.

How to apply

The Cluster Application Form and Guidance Notes can be downloaded below. 

Applications will be assessed by a panel in line with the application guidance. Each cluster will need to submit their application form by 12pm on Monday 4th November 2019.
 
It is envisaged that the successful clusters will be informed by Friday 29th November 2019.