Champion the sector and drive forward the industry s shared Strategic Framework for Tourism. Advise Government on English Tourism issues

Transcription

1 Lyndsey Swift Head of Strategic Partnerships & Engagement VisitEngland The role of VisitEngland Champion the sector and drive forward the industry s shared Strategic Framework for Tourism Advise Government on English Tourism issues Provide official intelligence on tourism and visitor economy in England Promote England's tourism offer Support local areas grow their economies through tourism 1

2 Enjoy all that England has to offer with Blacks everything you need for Life Outdoors Get more. Book with a local 2

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4 Regional Growth Fund 3 year marketing programme with core business objective to grow tourism locally and work with partners to achieve 5% growth To bring together groups of like-minded destinations and develop campaigns based around common themes creating an Amazon effect for consumers. Unique Selling Points are the key within campaigns! Campaign themes - Rural, Coastal, Heritage and Cultural Our shared ambition England s Strategic Framework for Tourism % growth year on year in the value of tourism Creation of 225,000 jobs Additional 50bn expenditure Driving collaboration & partnerships 4

5 Priorities for rural tourism growth Develop visitor experiences and products that are less weather dependent and can be enjoyed all year round Increase the promotion of England s rural products and experiences Rural communities to benefit from the value of tourism and lead tourism development/ management in their areas Tourism is Big Business in England The sector is currently worth 97bn It provides 2m jobs Projected to be 158bn (2020) It benefits every part of the country 5

6 National Assets - Local Gems England s National Parks 95 million visitors each year 87 million day trips Visitors spend 4bn - about one third of the spend from rural tourism in England Supports 68,000 FTE jobs Exmoor National Park 1.3m visitors each year high proportion of overnight trips Visitors spend 93m each year, drives 226m of visitor economy spend Supports 4,301 jobs (NP and surrounding area) Source: Valuing England s National Parks 2013 Trends were very mixed around the country last year Domestic Holiday Trips in England - Year on Year Change 2011 vs 2012 (%) 8% 0% -2% -1% -3% -6% All Holidays South West Source: GB Tourism Survey Large city/ large town Seaside Small town Countryside/ village 6

7 Concern about the economy and personal finances is on-going and widespread and disposable income has fallen by 4% in real terms since 2007 % strongly / slightly agree Very concerned about it Concerned about job security Worried about making ends meet Oct/Nov 08 Feb/Mar 09 Jun-09 Oct/Nov 09 Feb-10 Sep-10 Mar-11 Sep-11 Feb-12 Sep-12 Feb-13 Source: VisitEngland Staycation Research Indications are positive for a good summer (visitor numbers) Accommodation Visitor Attractions 44 Up Down Nov 2012 Jan 2013 Apr 2013 Jul 2013 Nov 2012 Jan 2013 Apr 2013 Jul 2013 The late Spring/ early summer period saw a return to the recovery that started at the end of 2012, with more businesses now reporting an increase than those reporting a decrease in visitor numbers. Source: VisitEngland Business Confidence Monitor Wave

8 Advance Bookings (accommodation) up! Just OK Good Very good Jan-12 Jan-13 Survey conducted: July 2012 July 2013 Period asked about: Until end of summer hols After Easter hols until Mid-July Advance booking levels are significantly up & show a significant improvement compared with July Source: VisitEngland Business Confidence Monitor Wave Tourism s Day in the Sun Diamond Jubilee Torch Relay Olympic and Paralympic Games Cultural Olympiad Rugby Union World Cup

9 The next major national event Third largest global sports event (after Olympics and FIFA World Cup) 2.9 million tickets will be sold 400,000 international fans visiting England from over 100 countries Shoulder period No displacement or accommodation issues Involves 48 matches taking place over a six week period from 18th Sept to 31st Oct 2015 Communities and businesses essential to the visitor experience 9

10 Keeping focussed National and international marketing momentum Implementing a new digital strategy New funding sources ACE, Defra, LEPs Keeping ahead of the game! Stay ahead of the competition! Last minute is the new norm Deal seekers - consumers seeking added value Demographic changes - people active for longer! Social media is the new word of mouth - 65% of people in England use social networking sites Growth of urban tourism - growth of 2.9million visitors to urban areas since 2006 Mobile is king! Users want more than an e-brochure Trophy experiences Multiple short breaks replacing the traditional fortnight 10

11 We can t fix the weather or the economy but... Lack of knowledge plus broad brush prejudices can prevent consideration of much of England Lacking information and inspiration Many simply don t know what they don t know large swathes of the country are unfamiliar and/or not expected to be appealing patchy awareness even amongst the self proclaimed more knowledgeable empty nesters Potential visitors have a relatively narrow repertoire of places visited or wanting to visit and often only have a vague perception of not yet visited wish list places Liverpool, Birmingham, Leicester triangle, is there anything there to see or do? (London: Pre-family) I think the majority of seaside towns in the UK are tacky apart from Cornwall. (London: Pre-family) (South East)The wrong kind of people not for me. (Derby: Empty nester) Source: VisitEngland Thematic Research We need to provide 3D inspiration and information to build consideration and eventually, action Where to go? Heard of places or have vague appealing image, but not always both Need a sufficiently 3D view to be compelling What s there to do? Beautiful scenery is not always enough, especially for longer trips (and if it rains ) Where Is it? People's geography can be quite poor, and location and proximity steers are helpful Source: Motivations and Barriers Research 11

12 Northumberland 105 ENGLAND 92 Levels of satisfaction vary widely around the country 94 Cornwall 110 Lake District Other Devon Blackpool 87 Liverpool 102 Bristol 80 Yorks Dales 103 Manchester 81 Chester 96 Bath 96 B mouth Torquay New Forest 105 Leeds 97 Cotswolds York 101 Skegness Peak Nottingham District shire 97 Birmingham 74 Isle of Wight 104 Scarborough Oxfordshire Stratford Hampshire East Sussex Brighton 92 London Other Norfolk Essex 67 Gt Yarmouth Kent Suffolk 93 Welcome & Customer Service key to Visitor Satisfaction Welcoming & Friendly People is a key driving strength and has a significant impact on England s overall satisfaction levels HOWEVER Very High Levels of Customer Service is one of the poorest performing attributes Overall England Visitor Satisfaction figures 12/13 12

13 Priorities at the local level Every area is different but Increasing business Improving the offer the visitor experience Identifying the barriers to business growth locally Research/ information the need to understand what s happening in the market, etc. A Destination Management Plan (DMP) is a shared statement of intent to manage a destination over a stated period of time. 13

14 Destination Management Plans What does a DMP do? A DMP is Not a marketing plan Not a document that is written by the public sector Not the business plan for the Destination Organisation 14

15 Principles for developing a DMP Describes the principles behind a DMP Freely available to all destinations Identifies the key stages and core elements Not a prescriptive manual Partnership = Success Collaboration is key - Locally and nationally Strategic Partnerships - National Parks England & VE - AONB Accord - Visitor Gifting - Arts Council / English Heritage / HLF Focus on destination qualities & visitor experience - Promotion can help get people here but without a great experience they may not come back or shout about it to others! 15

16 Visitor Economy Conference December, London Future growth priorities discussed Market trends and insights that will help the sector stay competitive Learning from innovation inside and outside of the sector More information on the National Tourist Board Search VisitEngland (business support videos) Fortnightly newsletters 16