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PRESS NEWS RELEASES

Why the Cotswolds is the perfect Escape to the Country - January 2007

The Cotswolds stretch from Stratford-upon-Avon to south of Bath and from Oxford in the east to Gloucester in the west. It is the largest designated area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales. It is also one of the most tourist visited areas in the UK outside of London.

The attractions of the Cotswolds are many and as an immigrant to the area from Yorkshire of 10 years, my passion for the area makes it difficult for me to give a structured clear and unemotional answer.

The Cotswolds region is a compact area but one you never truly discover. It is an area in midsummer when you can still travel on back roads between towns and hardly ever see another car. It is an area of rolling hills and hidden valleys and round a corner you stumble into the most idyllic 'chocolate box' village.

Entering Cotswold country is like going through a 'time warp' to what England was like 400 years ago. A place totally untouched by modern man and his Industrial Revolution. The hidden limestone villages and market towns have been, as though, preserved in amber with immortality assured. They blend harmoniously into the gentle rolling hills as if they have grown from them.

The honey coloured stone of the north has a magical property, the hues of which change depending on the time of year and angle of the sun; spring mornings and late summer evenings are a kaleidoscope.

The houses and cottages were built before Council Planning Authorities and yet we have uniformity, all roofs are laid to a 60 degree pitch, stonework is perfectly colour matched, window frames of oak and internal beams and floorboards of elm. Outside doors of 'weathered grey' oak and internal doors of 'ledge and braced' elm. Roofs of naturally 'frost split' limestone and the whole continually breathing and moving in harmony with the seasons.

The Cotswold places whilst having homogeneity also have idiosyncratic 'character' and enviable charm. Each village has its own in wealth and if you have a personality clash with one then you are bound to fall 'head of heals' with another: so is the way of the Cotswolds.

Living in the Cotswolds has its drawbacks. Walking down the village street to get the morning paper can take, what seems like an eternity of a couple of hours, people talk to you. Not for the shy or the big city anonymity here. Want a quiet drink in the local, sorry, people talk to you. Want to get served quickly in the local shop, impossible, you've guessed - people want to talk to you. Don't need help, forget it, people help here.

So, why come to the Cotswolds - I really don't know!

Richard Pinder

Cotswolds.Info Rolls Out Its Success to Other UK Regions - 1 September 2006

The highly successful Cotswolds Information web site (www.cotswolds.info) now claiming to be the World's largest Internet resource for the whole of the Cotswolds region with over 4000 unique visitors per day and circa 4.75 million hits per month is now expanding to cover the whole of the UK using the same successful formula - comprehensive information with a unified approach aimed at a truly International world wide web audience.

The first regional web site outside the Cotswolds has now been launched for the Royal Forest of Dean (www.royalforestofdean.info) including the nearby areas of Wye Valley, Severn Valley, Vale of Leadon and counties of Herefordshire and Monmouthshire. Other regions of the UK will follow.

Richard Pinder, Managing Director, says - "Currently the Royal Forest of Dean and neighbouring regions suffer from fragmented and poor information and as a result suffer from a low value 'market brand' with the obvious result of lack of tourists especially from abroad - we aim to significantly improve that position'.

For further media information see:-

• Royal Forest of Dean Press Release - 1 September 2006

High Flyer Joins Cotswolds Tourist Information Company as Marketing Consultant - April 2004

John Rayson, ex-Managing Director of Edinburgh Woolen Mill, has had 30 years of experience at senior management level with several well-known high street retailers. He has also run his own small business so he understands how crucial cost effective marketing is for any business both large and small.

He was involved in the product development and buying for Top Man in the early 1980’s when the chain grew from 10 to 190 stores.

As Buying Director for the Lewis Group he played a key role in the re branding and conversion of Chelsea Girl to River Island.

Latterly as Managing Director of the Edinburgh Woolen Mill he introduced a completely new store identity to appeal to the affluent 50+ market.

His own small business experience includes running a clothing design and purchasing business as well as a small chain of tourist gift shops.

"Cotswolds.Info, Tourist Information Provider, represents a tremendous opportunity as we already know from clients testimonials that it works. It can therefore be viewed as a genuine opportunity for Cotswolds businesses to be represented on this premier site across the globe for a fraction of the cost of conventional advertising" - John Rayson

The Broadway based company, Cotswolds.Info, is underpinned by its top ranked ON-LINE web site www.cotswolds.info in addition to its recently introduced OFF-LINE telephone help service. Its sister web site www.cotswold.biz offers free advice to all Cotswold businesses on Internet Marketing.

Richard Pinder, Managing Director, welcomes John on-board and says "John's previous high profile in the business world and his unique experience will help to strengthen even further our commitment to the Cotswolds region as one of the top tourist destination areas in Europe and will be of enormous benefit, directly and indirectly, to Cotswold businesses allied to the tourist trade".

Start of New Cotswolds Tourist Information Service - March 2004

The Broadway based company Cotswolds.Info, one of the largest Internet resource providers for the Cotswolds region, has started a Tourist Information Service which includes a 12 hours per day Telephone Help Line operating 7 days a week.

The Managing Director, Richard Pinder, started the company 2 years ago based in Broadway, says that the very popular web site, www.cotswolds.info, is now achieving over 1000 visitors per day and increasingly telephone calls are being received from tourists requiring assistance with their holiday plans, itineraries and problems which they may encounter whilst touring the Cotswolds.

He says that in view of a cloud hanging over the continuation of visitors information centres and specifically at Cirencester, Stow-on-the-Wold and Bourton-on-the-Water and in addition to Gloucestershire now being part of the English Tourism Council South West Tourist Board instead of the Heart of England are all factors that show a need for the strengthening of the 'Cotswolds' brand name and the continued provision of high quality tourist information services.

Cotswolds.Info will now provide a free 12 hour telephone Help Line operating 7 Days a week in addition to its popular Travel Assistant Service where tourists can request Touring Itineraries specially tailored to their personal needs at nominal costs.

Richard is also a very keen conservationist and this reflects in the comprehensive information on the web site to avoid the production of brochures and so minimizing on the depletion of the world's resource of trees.

WWW.COTSWOLDS.INFO has been featured on BBC Radio 4, Japanese Television, and the Daily Telegraph. It is top of first page ranked with all the leading Internet search engines and has been a 'pick of the week' with Yahoo. For the search term 'cotswolds information' www.cotswolds.info is No.1 with Google, Yahoo, and MSN.

In addition Cotswolds.Info provides a Free Help Service to all Cotswold based companies wanting assistance with Internet Marketing through their sister web site WWW.COTSWOLD.BIZ.

Contact details:- Richard Pinder, Cotswolds.Info, The Stables, West End, Broadway, Worcestershire, WR12 7JP. Tel No.01386 853790 E-Mail webmaster@cotswolds.info.

Richard Pinder, Managing Director, Cotswolds.Info

Cotswolds Tourist Information - March 2004

Cotswolds.Info tourist information is the world's largest Internet resource for the Cotswolds region - the biggest of the designated Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty in England and Wales where time has stood still for 300 years.

The web site covers in detail the History and Heritage, the beautiful public gardens, Places to Stay and Visit, Interactive Maps and Travel Information. It importantly offers free answers to specific travel queries and also offers a Travel Assistant to compile 'specific needs' touring itineraries for a nominal charge.

The web site has been featured on BBC Radio 4, Japanese television and the Daily Telegraph. It is one of the top ranked web sites for the Cotswolds on all leading search engines and has been a 'pick of the week' with Yahoo.

Telephone queries can be dealt with 12 hours per day 7 days per week between 0900 and 2100 UK time. E-mail enquiries are dealt within 4 hours.

Contact details:-

Address - Cotswolds.Info, 110 High Street, Broadway, Worcestershire, WR12 7AJ, England, UK.
Web site - www.cotswolds.info
E-Mail - webmaster@cotswolds.info
telephone - 0044 (0)1386 853790

WHERE TIME HAS STOOD STILL FOR 300 YEARS

The Cotswolds is one of the most beautiful and unique regions in the United Kingdom where time has stood still for 300 years. It is officially designated by the Government as an 'Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty', the largest in England and Wales covering nearly 800 square miles (2000 square kilometres) where ancient and immaculately preserved 'honey coloured' limestone villages nestle in hidden valleys amongst the breathtaking beauty of the rolling 'Wolds'.

The region takes in an area across the four counties of Worcestershire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Wiltshire and is comprehensively detailed and catalogued in the worlds largest Internet resource for this unique area by 'Cotswolds.Info' in their web site www.cotswolds.info. You will find online image rich details bringing to life the true Spirit of the Cotswolds, its ancient and timeless quality, the quiet beauty, its moody magnificence, the richness of its history, and its heart of Wool and Stone.

The Managing Director, Richard Pinder, lives in the village of Broadway, often described as the 'Jewel of the Cotswolds'. He is as passionate as anybody can get about the region he lives and has vowed to publish on the www.cotswolds.info site details about every village (they run into several hundred) and every 'nook and cranny' for the benefit of Tourists and the Cotswolds Community. He envisages over the next twelve months the web site will become one of the major definitive Internet resources for the Cotswolds region. It is already achieving great interest with an average of 1000+ hits per day being recorded.

PITFALLS OF INTERNET MARKETING

In view of this it is now regarded, by serious tourist related businesses, to have their own web sites. But does it start and stop here and what are the pitfalls lurking behind this new technology?

Regularly we get businesses bemoaning the fact that their web site does not live up to the expectations of bringing in hundreds of new guests to their B&B or Hotel and still have to rely on the much more expensive traditional forms of advertising their business.

1. If a web site is not written to be Search Engine friendly then it is like a car with no engine – it will go nowhere! Designers of web sites may be skilled at writing the necessary html coding to give a presentable web site but they are not always aware or knowledgeable on the skills required to get good rankings with the Search Engines!

2. Most people who have a web site will have heard of the word ‘keywords’, but it is amazing how this is still misunderstood. Ask yourself what is the most important keyword that most people will use who are intending to holiday in the Cotswolds. The answer surprisingly is ‘cotswolds’!

3. Do you need an E-Marketing Partner? The answer is yes. Even a cleverly produced web site will find it difficult to compete with the larger professional web sites because the Search Engines will always rank much higher those ‘content rich’ sites specialising in specific areas of business.

If you follow these guidelines then you will find your web site enquiries will improve beyond your expectations – good luck for 2004.

Should you require free assistance and guidance with your E-Marketing requirements, totally without obligation, then refer to our web site www.cotswold.biz - a web site with the sole aim in helping Cotswold businesses succeed.

PRESS CUTTINGS

Published in the Gloucester Echo 26 March 2004

Tourists on-line for new way of booking

A BUSINESSMAN says he has the hi-tech answer for Cotswolds
businesses fighting cuts to tourism services.

Richard Pinder, MD of Broadway-based Cotswolds.Info, says web sites with attached information lines will be the best way to promote the area if the district council decides to slash funding to Visitor Information Centres. Cotswolds. Info, one of the area's largest internet resource providers, has already set up one hotline.

As the axe looms over Visitor Information Centres in Stow-on-the-Wold, Bourton-on-the-Water and Cirencester, he says it is perfectly poised to fill the breach.

Shops, tourist attractions, hoteliers and bed and breakfast owners fear trade will slump if Cotswold District Council reduces funding for the three centres.

Mr Pinder said: "There is a cloud hanging over the continuation of Visitor Information Centres. In addition to this Gloucestershire is now part of the English Tourism Council South West Tourist Board instead of the Heart of England. "These are all factors that show a need for the strengthening of the `Cotswolds' brand name and the provision of high-quality information services."

Mr Pinder said about 65 per cent of tourists now booked their accommodation online. "The UK and other English-speaking countries use the internet to arrange their touring and accommodation itinerary," he said The helpline will operate 12 hours a day, seven days a week.

Mr Pinder added: "The site will eventually publish details of every village and every nook and cranny for the benefit of tourists and the Cotswolds community. The web site is very popular and achieves more than 1,000 visitors a day. He said: "If the VICs do have to close we'll be perfectly placed to fill the gap"

But Bourton Chamber of Commerce chairman Audrey Dockery said the internet was no substitute for one-to-one contact at the VICs. She said: "A bigger proportion of older people tend to visit Bourton and that element might not access the internet."
The web site, at wwwcotswolds.info, includes details on places to stay, eat, visit and shop through the entire Cotswold area.

The district council will decide whether to slash funding from £235,700 in 2004/5 to £30,000 in 2008/9 on June 17.

"The web site is very popular"

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