Continuing the story in 2016, VisitNorwich with Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) has just launched its new–look travel and lifestyle blog together with the first in a series of five short films. The films and the blog present a contemporary, social lifestyle and experiential portrayal of what life in Norwich holds for both locals and visitors.
(blog: www.cityofstories.co.uk film: www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkuqcNnOe0o).

People love stories, they love the drama, the theatre, the simplicity of a good story; Norwich the city of stories tells stories about Norwich.

Norwich is England's first Unesco World City of Literature and it's a city with a wealth of literary talent and achievement. From Julian of Norwich, the first woman to write a book in the English language to Anna Sewell bestselling author of Black Beauty to W G Sebald lecturer at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and author of The Rings of Saturn to UEA graduate Emma Healy - winner of the Costa First Novel award in 2014, for Elizabeth is Missing.

Pitching Norwich as a city bursting with story content within not only Norwich's novels and books but in its museums, pubs, hotels, churches, streets, events, buildings and people seemed an obvious choice when launching VisitNorwich's city of stories destination brand. Aimed at attracting new visitors to the area, storytelling since time began has always created an emotional bond between story teller and audience; love, fear, humour, angst, happiness are all emotions that feed thirsty audiences. By telling Norwich stories we are engaging our audience triggering interest and intrigue and a desire to learn more whether from near or far.

The first in the series of films is The Writer. A story of how a writer from South Africa has made Norwich her home, Norwich in her words is 'the perfect place to try and be a writer'. The following four films (told from a personal perspective) will include emotional storylines about Norwich's outdoor hidden gems, heritage, food and drink and shopping aimed at drawing 'the reader' into the story encouraging them to Norwich to 'write their own story'.

You don't have to be a bibliophile to love Norwich, you just need to love travel experiences and meeting people. Blog content like the films is designed to get 'under the skin' of the city; to introduce people, places and events readers didn't know existed. The blog site is fresh, with all posts accompanied by strong imagery which grabs reader's attention.

And VisitNorwich's stories have credence; they are relevant and true, authentic and authoritative because we work with local people and local organisations. We research stories and content much like a magazine would. We have access to over 130 VisitNorwich members and we work with many of the area's leading organisations giving us access to numerous amounts of interesting characters with stories to share; Norwich City Council, Norfolk Museum Services, Norwich BID, University of East Anglia, Abellio Greater Anglia, South Norfolk Council, Norwich Airport, Norwich University of the Arts, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, The Broads Authority and Writers' Centre Norwich.

Nick Bond, Head of Tourism, VisitNorwich said “We're very excited about positioning Norwich as the City of Stories; we've got a great story to tell, there are lots of people who want to hear it and our partnership with Norwich BID gives us the means to do it.”

Notes to editors:

VisitNorwich would like to extend invitations for press trips to the media in exchange for comprehensive editorial media coverage – print and/or online. If you are interested in visiting Norwich please contact; Melanie Cook, PR Manager, melanie.cook@visitnorwich.co.uk, 01603 727939 stating publication, circulation, story idea and ideal dates of travel.

About VisitNorwich

•           VisitNorwich is the destination management organisation for the Norwich area. It is a private/public sector partnership and a not for profit organisation whose sole focus is to promote and develop the destination and support its members through collaborative marketing, research, information and business advice.

•           For the benefit of the area as a whole, VisitNorwich strives to achieve: better profile and reputation locally, nationally and internationally; increased visitor spend; more investment; more jobs and better quality experiences for both visitors and residents.

•           Tourism is worth around £700 million per year to the Norwich area and supports over 12,000 jobs (Economic Impact of Tourism, Norwich - 2014).

•           In 2014 VisitNorwich- funded by the Norwich Business Improvement District (BID) - launched Norwich, the City of Stories a digital campaign which reached finalist status in the EDP Norfolk Tourism Awards 2015, www.cityofstories.co.uk.

•           In 2014 Norwich was named as one of Britain's Top 10 cities in The Telegraph Travel Awards.

•           In 2014 The Norwich Lanes was crowned Great British High Street of the Year in the city category. 

•           The Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts was one of the six finalists for the prestigious Art Fund Prize for Museum of the Year 2014.

•           In 2012 Norwich became England's first UNESCO City of Literature and the sixth in the world joining other great cities; Edinburgh, Dublin, Melbourne, Iowa City and Reykjavik. This accolade is a permanent status.

•           Norwich was placed 6th in volume of tourism day visits in England in 2011 (after London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds and Liverpool) and ahead of popular destinations like York, Brighton, Bristol, Sheffield and Chester.  17 million day visitors spent over £1/2 billion in 2011. Data from the 2011 Great Britain Day Visits Survey (GBDVS 2011).

•           Norwich was in the top 10 of UK places to shop (Venuescore 2011-12, The Javelin Group), having also been previously ranked 9th in the Experian Goad retail index and 8th on the CACI index.  The outstanding quality and diversity of the city's retail offer presents a major draw for visitors to the Norwich area.

•           VisitNorwich Ltd is a company limited by guarantee, a private/public sector partnership and a membership organisation representing the interests of a broad range of businesses across the visitor economy.  Its principal public sector stakeholders are Norwich City Council and South Norfolk Council.

•           VisitNorwich has been operational from 1st April 2005

For further information on Norwich and its surrounding area visit www.visitnorwich.co.uk, www.cityofstories.co.uk | @visitnorwich #cityofstories #visitnorwich | Instagram Norwich_cityofstories