Access to the British mountains, moors and countryside will be a central theme at Finding Customers and Profit in the Great Outdoors, a major new conference to be staged by the OIA in Buxton next March.
Countryside Agency deputy chair Pam Warhurst and Hoseasons Holidays chief executive Richard Carrick will head the main morning session on turning the new access and rights of way legislation recently introduced in England and Wales and also in Scotland into sound business opportunities for the outdoor sector. Pam Warhurst chairs the National Countryside Access Forum and is a dynamic and passionate speaker on access. Richard Carrick brings an equally passionate belief in customer led marketing developed in senior roles with companies such as Airtours and Saga Holidays prior to his leading a buy in of Hoseasons earlier this year. The business agenda will be introduced by a keynote presentation on the retail sector by Helen Merriott, a senior consultant with Accenture, the leading international business adviser formerly known as Anderson. Melanie Howard, chief executive of the Future Foundation will help unravel the social and demographic trends impacting on the outdoor leisure industries in Britain.
The morning conference sessions will be followed by an afternoon workshop programme giving delegates a choice of Action Stations to address current business issues including security, property costs and employment legislation. Other workshops will cover branding, staff development and new thinking in optimising operational efficiencies.
