Center Parcs is set to reawaken The Venue, its conference and events space, in September 2022 at two of its UK destinations: Woburn Forest in Bedfordshire and Sherwood Forest in Nottinghamshire.
The reopening of both locations comes after a period of closure due to the pandemic, and an extensive £2.5m investment in upgrading and enhancing the facilities at Woburn Forest.
According to Center Parcs, rumours of the relaunch have already resulted in interest reaching pre-pandemic levels, with booking enquiries from agents up 10% since 2019 and a large proportion of confirmed bookings being from past clients eager to return. Bookings can now be made for autumn 2022 onwards.
“To say ‘we’re back’ is extremely exciting,” said Julia Green, the newly appointed Sales & Commercial Manager at Center Parcs. “Following an in-depth study of the current trends within the industry, we’ve reviewed our product offering and made changes in response to client demand. We haven’t just switched back on, we’ve repositioned an already fantastic product to make it more enticing and rewarding than ever before.”
Pre-pandemic, both Woburn Forest and Sherwood Forest were welcoming repeat bookings from the likes of Virgin Holidays and Giggling Squid. In 2022 and beyond, Center Parcs’ ambition is to welcome back repeat bookers while securing new clients eager to embrace the great outdoors and make use of the new facilities.
Colin Whaley, Sales & Marketing Director, said: “The conference and events industry’s reawakening since the pandemic has seen a spike in interest in unique locations with nature at the heart, allowing businesses to combine valuable work and collaboration with wellbeing, all in a professional environment. We feel the relaunch of Woburn Forest and Sherwood Forest couldn’t be better timed.”
