Release date: 18 November 2020
We’re backing a campaign to #ShopSussex and show support for hard-hit visitor attractions and other local businesses in the run-up to Christmas.
The #ShopSussex initiative has been launched by Experience West Sussex, with support from the County Council, to help local tourism. There are hundreds of online gift ideas and the chance to buy vouchers for unusual local experiences, including helicopter flights, learning to paddleboard, garden membership, wine tasting, theatre and attraction tickets, local art, special holidays and meals out - all to be enjoyed when COVID-19 National Restrictions allow.
Experience West Sussex is responding to calls from businesses for meaningful, practical support and #ShopSussex is free for businesses to use this year.
Experience West Sussex Partnership (EWSP) Manager Jo Williams said: “We have been listening carefully to our local tourism and hospitality businesses. Our campaign delivers an extra level of 100 per cent subsidised marketing that many small businesses just don’t have access to at this difficult time.
“As well as offering local residents an online digital marketplace to shop local, we will be targeting regional, national and international visitors that have been physically unable to visit the county this year to give them a chance to make their Christmas a little more Sussex!”
Bob Lanzer, West Sussex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Economy, said: “This is a really positive initiative. West Sussex tourist attractions and other businesses are facing unprecedented challenges in the COVID-19 crisis: #ShopSussex gives residents the opportunity to show their support for the local economy in the run-up to Christmas. It also features initiatives across the county to encourage residents to support high streets, particularly when shops selling non-essential goods reopen.”
If you are a hospitality or tourism business with online bookable experiences, Sussex artisan gifts, local food and drink, vouchers, memberships, creative courses to sell this Christmas, email your offers to getinvolved@experiencewestsussex.com
Notes to editors:
Please note: all listings will be at the discretion and approval of the EWSP team.
The Experience West Sussex Partnership is a destination partnership delivering collective value through leadership, inspiration and collaboration for the benefit of the West Sussex visitor economy. The partnership is funded by local council partners and the county council for county-wide delivery of tourism projects through the website: ExperienceWestSussex.com
The partnership comprises: Adur District Council, Arun District Council, Chichester District Council, Crawley Borough Council, Horsham District Council, Mid Sussex District Council, West Sussex County Council, Worthing Borough Council and the Coastal West Sussex Partnership.
As well as being a central voice for the region on tourism and the visitor economy, the partnership delivers local business support and creative marketing campaigns to attract visitors to the area.
Some of our district and borough council partners have also launched Christmas campaigns to help local businesses:
Chichester District Council: Countdown to Christmas / support local campaign;
Mid Sussex District Council is running a campaign encouraging its communities to shop locally, promoting the on-line services of local suppliers and businesses.
