Meet Roag Best, owner of the Magical Beatles Museum and Casbah Coffee Club. He’ll be at the show on opening day (25 March), taking part in an exclusive Keynote Q&A panel on Music Tourism hosted by Marketing Liverpool.
This must-attend session, starting at 1pm, will also feature: Kevin McManus (head of UNESCO City of Music), Julia Baird (John Lennon’s sister and honorary president of the Strawberry Field project), and BBC Radio Merseyside presenter Paul Beesley.
What’s your favourite place to visit in the UK and Ireland (and why):
Well, discounting Liverpool as I live in Liverpool, I would say Port Meirion. I love any form of creative outlet and for one man to dream of being an architect and making his dream come true and creating something like Port Meirion just inspires me. It’s like you see something of him and how he thought by what he has created. It really is quite wonderful.
What’s your favourite music tourism marketing campaign? – why do you think it was so successful?
I think BIG (Beatles Industry Group) in Liverpool, working in a collaborative way with Sirius Radio in the USA, to bring a family of Beatles fans to Liverpool to experience our city from a Beatles perspective.
Being met at the airport by a psychedelic Rolls Royce, staying at the Hard Days Night Hotel, seeing where it all truly began at the Casbah Coffee Club, visiting the Magical Beatles Museum in Mathew Street and The Beatles story in Albert Dock. Live entertainment at the Cavern Club and so on. The campaign reached over 30 million people. And the family who won loved it.
Brexit 2020: What do you think are the implications for the domestic travel & tourism industry?
I really feel it’s far too early to gauge any effects, if any effects.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The most rewarding aspect to my job is giving people more than what they expected. Making their visit to my attractions the stand out visit. The talked about visit. The memorable visit. The ‘I want to go back for more’ visit.
And the most challenging?
Working with creative people is amazing and I love it, but it’s also the most challenging because creatives don’t think like other people and can be quite chaotic at times. So, you are always shifting through. Making sense of chaos to make it work. Sometimes it’s just tiresome.
Who or what inspires you to be even better?
I’m from a background of achievers. It’s innate in my family. We want to do better and achieve more. Make a difference.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given?
I couldn’t possibly share the best advice I’ve ever been given…
How important is The British Tourism & Travel show to the industry it serves?
I think it’s very important for the marketplace. Show your wares, meet others and network.
What are you most looking forward to about your panel session?
Having the freedom to deliver what I have to say about Liverpool as a tourist destination and the importance of The Beatles as an industry within our city, and why people should make and take the time to come and see what we have to offer.
See Roag at British Tourism & Travel Show 2020
And the Beat Goes On……How Does a UNESCO City of Music Drive Tourism? 12:45pm in the Keynote Theatre on Wednesday 25 March
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to register for British Tourism & Travel Show, taking place at the NEC Birmingham on 22-23 October.