Monday 27 April 2009

Lily Allen Coming to Plymouth

Edgy pop princess Lily Allen is coming to Plymouth as part of her UK tour.
Described as the ‘voice of her generation’ Lily Allen is famous for her outspoken lyrics and opinions.

Now she is bringing her own brand of top pop music to the Plymouth Pavilions stage when she appears at the venue in November.

Plymouth Pavilions marketing officer Robert Maltby said: “This is our first of hopefully many major signings for our forthcoming season and they don’t come any bigger than Lily Allen.”
Daughter of actor Keith Allen, the 23-year-old stirred up the UK music scene when she shot to stardom with hit album Alright Still.

Lily’s popularity has continued to skyrocket with the release of singles The Fear and Not Fair from her latest album also called The Fear.

“Lily who is currently touring Europe before heading to the UK for a series of key summer festivals is certainly the flavour of the month,” said Robert.

“This leg of the tour is only visiting seven cities in the UK with Plymouth one of the lucky chosen few; once again putting us on a level with some of the biggest cities in the country.
“A true pop princess who will go down a storm in Plymouth!”

Lily Allen will be performing in the city on Saturday, November 21.
Tickets go on sale at 9am on Friday, May 1, priced at £23. To book, call 0845 146 1460 or visit
http://www.plymouthpavilions.com/

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Tuesday 7 April 2009

Plymouth Named in Top Ten Tourist Destinations

THE city's tourism industry is gearing up for a bumper summer after Plymouth was named as one of the top 10 destinations in the country.
Hoteliers, restaurateurs and traders welcomed the city's inclusion in Which? Holiday's list of recommended destinations, as tourism chiefs revealed that the industry was worth more than £300million to Plymouth.
Top chef Chris Tanner said: "It's fantastic news for Plymouth", and it was about time the city had some recognition. "This is a great part of the world," he said.
Andrew Huckerby, director of the Kitley House Hotel, who is preparing to launch the Visit Plymouth partnership to promote the city as a destination, said: "I'm delighted that Plymouth is being recognised for the destination that it's becoming.
"This is a real boost for Plymouth, and for Devon and Cornwall as well."
Mr Huckerby said visitors to the city spent more than £300million a year during their stay, and he would be announcing a more precise figure at the Visit Plymouth launch event tomorrow.
Richard Smith, Plymouth Gin's brand home director and economy and tourism chief at the Plymouth Chamber of Commerce, added: "This only confirms what some of us have been saying for some time: that Plymouth has a huge amount to offer visitors. It also confirms that Plymouth is ideal for short breaks, and we're exactly right as a gateway for places around us."
He added: "Which? is a hugely respected name and I think this can only do us good – not before time. What the city has to realise is that we have got a lot to offer, and we need to market it."
Mike Jones, general manager at Drake Circus, said: "It's no surprise to us that Plymouth has been identified as a great holiday destination in this survey. Since we have opened we have seen growing numbers of tourists visiting Drake Circus as part of their holiday, and we're a destination for coach holidays, especially from South Wales.
"Retail-wise, Plymouth has a lot to offer across the spectrum, and visitors to the city enjoy this."
Which? Holiday is predicting that 2009 could be a bumper year for British tourism, with people choosing to holiday close to home due to the recession and the low value of the pound against the euro.
As a result, the magazine published a list of 'Ten of the places we love to visit across this great land.'
The list, which did not rank the destinations against each other, placed Plymouth alongside traditional holiday hotspots such as the Cotswolds and Bowness-on-Windermere in the Lake District. The feature said Plymouth 'is completely undervalued as a tourist destination, despite having so much on offer.'
"With Dartmoor only 10 minutes' drive from the city centre, and the beaches of South Devon or Cornwall only a few minutes away, Plymouth is the perfect destination for anyone wanting to combine a city break with an escape to the country," it said.
Louise McShane, owner of the Avalon guest house on the Hoe and secretary of the Plymouth Hospitality Association, said the top 10 position was 'jolly good news. It's about time Plymouth was put on the map', she said.
Mrs McShane said the tourist season was looking promising, with a good level of bookings including European tourists choosing to holiday in Britain, perhaps because of the weak pound.
However, there are also reports that visitors from the USA and the Far East will be staying away from Britain due to the recession.
David Draffan, of the Plymouth Summer Festival team, said: "For such a respected organisation as Which? to highlight Plymouth in its top 10 is a huge boost for the city.
"Now the secret is out nationally I hope families who are sitting down to plan their summer holidays will listen to what the experts at Which? are saying and make Plymouth and the Plymouth Summer Festival their choice for 2009."
Plymouth Summer Festival was set up two years ago to bring together the huge range of events which take place in the city during the summer and to allow Plymouth to market itself.
This year's line-up can be found at www.plymouthsummerfestival.com