VisitEngland – Responding to a new environment James Berresford, CEO VisitEngland

The winds of change Demise of regionalism in all its guises The rise of localism and LEPs & DMOs Government Tourism Policy

New Government Tourism Policy VisitEngland leadership and DMO growth Grading Review Brown Signs Business Tourism Sub national funding (TBIDS etc.) Skills Bank Holiday consultation Regulation Task Force Transport infrastructure Visas Border Control Domestic growth targets International Olympic campaign Order changed to group responsibility leads – VE, then government and then VB

What does this mean for VisitEngland Tourist body of last resort Act as the national body for English destinations and tourist firms Act as a source of good practice Focus on domestic tourism Review of VisitEngland’s role in delivery of quality schemes Review of England Net and especially the National Product Database

A new direction for VisitBritain ‘Researching, creating and delivering a series of marketing campaigns to attract even greater numbers of inbound travellers to the UK……. Nearly all other responsibilities will be transferred to VisitEngland or simply abolished as unnecessary distractions from their core purpose’.

How has VisitEngland responded

VisitEngland’s Mission To lead and drive forward the quality, competiveness and sustainable growth of England’s Visitor Economy by providing strategic direction, intelligence and coordinated marketing for the sector. Through partnership and collaborative activities we will support our partners at national and local levels to deliver excellent visitor experiences, achieve economic growth and increase investment and employment.

What VisitEngland does Inspire visitors to choose England Facilitate the private sector to meet gaps in supply Support local areas to achieve greater coordination Be the official source of intelligence on tourism in England Champion the sector and quality within it at all levels

Insight and Communication How we are set up VisitEngland Business Development Insight and Communication Marketing Partnerships

Our leadership and engagement VisitEngland Destinations Forum Strategic Industry Advisory Group Visitor Economy Forum

The strategic framework seen as pivotal One year on from Framework launch Action plan consultation – very positive response to phase one Phase two consultation – Quality, Transport and Skills – late summer Action plans launched at Partners for England (last in current format) on June 16th One year on Paper will launch at Partners for England Include reflections on the new landscape and how the action plan and tourism policy work together Consultation response With many organisations marking statements on how they will deliver actions BUT we need more There were calls that actions should be more innovative – that’s a shared responsibility and TMI members have a role to deliver this.

And of course the day job goes on A “Time to be in England” Regional Growth Fund II Cultural Olympiad event with LOCOG/BBC 14th July Pilot visitor satisfaction survey tracker New day visits survey Social media & comms English tourism week

It won’t be easy: Post RDA landscape of Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) National public sector cuts Local public sector cuts Early stages for many LEPs and they are still embryonic We all need to work to ensure that what LEPs said about tourism in their submissions is seen through

This is a collective responsibility A collective responsibility in a time of such change the strategic framework is our collective guide… This is a collective responsibility 14 14

Destination management New audiences who need to understand the value of destination management We need to: Have a collective understanding to ensure we communicate the same messages nationally and locally Measure our impacts and share results to prove our case Destination management action plan TMI and members have an important role to play New audiences need to understand the value and impact of DM when done effectively We need a collective understanding of what WE mean in order to communicate the same messages nationally and at local levels We also need to constantly measure our impacts and share our results to prove our case One mechanism to achieve this is the destination management action plan, an out come of which we are already working on – a paper on the role/ function of destination management. TMI and its members have a big role to play in delivering this.

Succeeding in a new landscape Celebrating and sharing best practice & innovation Securing connectivity between local and national Making sure the focus is on the destination