Marketing Manchester will welcome 50 global travel influencers this week for the second instalment of the #workerbeeweekender.
The event will include personalities and content creators from countries including; the US, Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Scandinavia, who have been invited to take part in various activities to experience the best of Manchester and showcase it to their audiences.
Arriving on Thursday they will spend two days in Manchester and will be joined by local influencers who will help them get the most out of their visit, whilst showing them their favourite Manchester hangouts and hotspots.
The weekend follows Marketing Manchester’s previous mass influencer project in July 2017, which promoted the region to around 20 million people on social media and carried the message that Manchester is an open, exciting and safe destination to visit following the Manchester Arena attack.
For the upcoming project Manchester will work with London & Partners – London’s destination management organisation – with the influencers spending two days in the capital after their visit to Manchester, as part of a push to show the ease of visiting more than one city on a trip to the UK on an ‘open-jaw’ ticket, flying into one city and out of another.
Responding to a growing trend which engages social media influencers – who use platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to communicate with their huge audiences – the collaborative project has been made possible thanks to a successful bid by Manchester and London to the Discover England Fund, which is run by VisitEngland.
Throughout the trip, the influencers will take part in various experiences in Manchester and London including; themed walks, out of hours access to museums and galleries, exclusive food and drink tasters and a range of gigs, theatre and nightlife events which will highlight the range of experiences on offer to tourists.
Using the hashtags #workerbeeweekender, #LoveLondonWeekend and #MCRxLDN they will use their influence to connect with a global audience, showcasing the best of Manchester and London and how easy it is to visit the two cities.
Sheona Southern, Managing Director at Marketing Manchester, said: “The Worker Bee project is an excellent opportunity to promote Greater Manchester to a large international audience. Inspired by the success of our first #workerbeeweekender, the project brings together our partners across the tourism industry to host exciting experiences that reflect Manchester’s vibrancy and warmth.
“This is the first time two cities have worked together on such a unique project, and our collaboration with London & Partners is a new and ground-breaking way to promote tourism destinations.
“The Discover England Fund allows us to highlight the ease of visiting both cities during the same trip to the UK, and will strengthen the reputation of Greater Manchester as an international tourism destination and a gateway to exploring Northern England.”
The event can be followed on Instagram using the hashtags and also on the Visit Manchester website, where you can find a helpful itinerary on how to spend time in Manchester and London, inspired by the events unfolding on social media.