17 INDUSTRY NEWS Industry news Latest news from the craft industry Curious Universe reveals new licensed Squishmallows Dedicated to sourcing sustainable alternatives to traditional methods of production, design and packaging, Curious Universe announces a new line of licensed Squishmallows Arts & Crafts products for 2023. With multiple industry accolades under its belt, including Toy of The Year 2022, Squishmallows continues to be an incredible success story that is now set to take the world of Arts & Crafts by storm. Incorporating a host of cute, colourful Squishmallows styles the new collection from Curious Universe will include a Crystal Creations Carry Case, Crystal Creations Folder and a Colour and Carry Activity Kit, alongside multiple new designs within the Kaleidoscope branded collection. With sales of over 1.8 million to date, the company’s bestselling Kaleidoscope Colouring Kit has been reimagined for 2023 with a new sustainable and eco-friendly format. Experience the world of Squishmallows with on-theme activity content and puffy, tactile stickers, all encased within a perforated card packet – there’s no single use plastic! The clean, modern pack design includes a die-cut colouring pad and the recyclable packaging emblazoned with an environmental logo helps parents and gift givers to make informed purchasing decisions. This logo will run across many of the new Curious Universe products for 2023, in line with the company’s ongoing commitment to developing sustainable products. Another best-selling format in Curious Universe’s portfolio to incorporate the loveable Squishmallows Squad is the Colour and Carry Activity Kit. This format has been creatively reimagined to address the demand for eco-friendly solutions. The plastic insert tray that usually holds the internal components has been replaced with a cardboard alternative. These small changes, once introduced to a whole range, can make a huge difference to our eco-footprint. Additional Squishmallows licensed products within the Kaleidoscope range include Kaleidoscope Sticker Bomb containing over 500 stickers and finely-detailed Squishmallows Etch Art Creations. Tourism brings cheer to the British Economy As we enter autumn and the start of a new school year, tourist resorts around the UK are counting the profits after another booming staycation season. Chief amongst these chosen destinations for holiday makers was the South-West* of England, home to the most important regional event of the trade show calendar, Giving & Living (14th to 16th January, Westpoint, Exeter). Hospitality tech provider Zonal and CGA by NielsenIQ found in a survey of more than 2,000 UK consumers that 81 per cent of respondents intended to holiday in a UK hotel this year. 44 per cent avoided overseas trips due to cost-of-living increases, whilst 39 per cent are staycationing because they prefer to travel within the UK, up 12 per cent from 2022. Some 28 per cent said they’d stay in a UK hotel more than once in this year. Extremes of heat overseas have also made the more temperate British climate more appealing. It isn’t just Brits who are enjoying the treasures our native shores have to offer. VisitBritain/VisitEngland, reported that last year the UK welcomed 31.2m inbound visitors who spent £26.5bn. Spend per visit in 2022 was well up on 2019, partly due to a longer than average length of stay for visitors, especially in the first quarter of the year. The overall tourism forecast for 2023 is 37.5 million visitors, who are predicted to spend £30.9 billion, according to sources. This is an upgrade on earlier forecasts due to strong end of year results for 2022. VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said: “Our upgraded forecast is on the back of the stronger recovery we’re seeing, led by the USA with spending by American visitors up 42 per cent to a record £6 billion last year alone. Spending by visitors from our major European markets including France and Spain is also coming back strongly.” Looking ahead to next year, the forecast is very positive, with visitor numbers expected to have fully recovered to their pre-Covid volumes by the end of 2024. Giving & Living organiser, Mike Anderson of Hale Events said: “The British tourist trade is undoubtedly benefitting from the rise of staycations and continued enthusiasm for holidays closer to home. The restoration of visitor numbers from overseas is very positive news that bodes extremely well for the 2024 season”. For more information about Giving & Living call 01934 733433, email: mail@hale-events.com, or visit the website: https://givingliving.co.uk
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