As a destination marketing company, Walking Distance manages and co-ordinates the marketing activities for Hampshire’s Top Attractions, a marketing consortium composed of the county’s leading visitor attractions. With the aim to promote the region to visitors outside Hampshire, Walking Distance project manages the group’s activities from strategy, membership campaigns and budget management to distribution campaigns and implementing a wide range of marketing activities including social media campaigns.

One of the activities involving social media of which Walking Distance will be managing is a Twitter Trail in conjunction with Hampshire Trails. An exciting first for all involved.
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Hampshire’s Top Attractions Launch the UK’s first Twitter Trail

A group of the South’s most popular tourist attractions, including the iconic Spinnaker Tower and world-famous Beaulieu National Motor Museum have today announced the launch of a ground breaking new marketing initiative. The first Twitter Virtual Treasure Trail will take place the week commencing 31st May and aims to harness the power of social media phenomenon Twitter to encourage families and individuals to get out and start exploring Hampshire.

The diverse group of over 20 of Hampshire’s top attractions including the National Trust, Paultons Park, Marwell Wildlife and Winchester Cathedral have teamed up with national treasure hunt specialists Treasure Trails Ltd to create a free week long online treasure trail competition based around a series of clues that will be posted daily online via Twitter, facebook and on the attractions website.

The clues provide hints to finding a code hidden on the Hampshire attractions website.  These codes help competitors complete a competition grid that can be downloaded from (www.hampshireattractions.co.uk) or picked up at the individual attractions. When participants complete the grid and reveal the answer, they can then enter the prize competition online via the Treasure Trails website.  Prizes include free family tickets to a choice of attractions.  The game is fun and easy to play and will appeal to all ages, 5 – 85!

Twitter followers and facebook fans of the group of attractions will be encouraged to re-tweet or re-post clues to their own network encouraging support and participation. Twitter is the UK’s 10th most popular website. It is estimated that worldwide 50million tweets are sent per day. Twitter Trails will be held weekly throughout the summer season.

Bill Sainsbury, Chair of Hampshire Top Attractions commented: “From wildlife, roller coasters, action and adventure through to steam trains, classic cars, museums and heritage - Hampshire Top Attraction’s has them all. The Twitter Trail is designed to encourage visitors to our website. It is a guide to the best places to visit in Hampshire and the first place to visit for the latest news, information and money savings offers.”

Commenting on the launch, Lisa Jackson, Manager of Treasure Trails Hampshire said: “We are really excited to be working with Hampshire Top Attractions and launching the UK’s first Twitter Trail. With approximately 3 million tweets a day being made in the UK alone and the typical user demographic being females aged 25-44 we believe that Twitter is a great medium to reach our target audience.”