In 2017, Visit Kent was awarded €168,144 - a share of the €3.8 million that seeks to put the local market back at the centre of our town centres by promotion of the market, click and collect schemes and unique food and drink experiences that attract both locals and tourists. GoTrade (Growth of the Visitor Economy through Traditional Markets, Employment and Skills) is a three-year project which runs until December 2020 led by Basildon Borough Council. Local markets in Gravesend, Basildon, Great Yarmouth, Amiens, Pas de Calais, Caen and Louvigné in Brittany have been selected to pilot a series of initiatives to increase visitor footfall and enhance the visitor experience of traditional markets. Visit Kent is the only Destination Management Organisation in the project and has helped the market towns to work more effectively with their tourism stakeholders to promote their markets, their stories and their unique food, drink and local cultures. Visit Kent has helped the partners develop their itineraries and has helped promote the Channel markets in consumer and travel trade events in Netherlands, Germany and London.
In Kent, we have worked closely with Gravesham Borough Council and Kent Farmers Markets Association to promote local events in and around Gravesend Market and the North Kent area.
For more information on GoTrade and our partners go to the project website and watch our project video on YouTube.
