New accreditation scheme for tourism boards will make it easier for holiday makers and visitors to plan trips to must-see destinations across England
Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston stated today that tourism boards will undergo a significant restructure to make it simpler for tourists and travellers to explore a variety of English attractions.
The government wants a more straightforward system where destination management organisations (DMOs), also known as tourism boards, serve as a one-stop shop for travellers to find all the information they need about a local area and will accredit the best tourist boards as the best places to go for that information.
DMOs like Visit Cornwall, Marketing Manchester, and Cumbria Tourism have the ability to attract tourists from all over the world, encourage investment for new attractions, and strengthen the local economy. Tourists frequently utilise DMOs to organise vacations, reserve lodging, and discover nearby sites.
However, Nick de Bois, Chair of VisitEngland’s Advisory Board, observed that the landscape is congested and fragmented in his independent study of DMOs last year. For instance, the South-East alone has 46 DMOs of various sizes and shapes, which is perplexing for travellers planning vacations and businesses considering investments.
A new accreditation programme for the best-performing DMOs will be established and run by VisitEngland with funding from DCMS totaling £4 million over the next three years.
This programme will promote the tourism industry, streamline DMOs, and encourage more local investment.
Additionally, this funds will be utilised to establish a pilot in one area of the nation, providing a top-tier DMO or a group of local DMOs with the chance and resources to restructure under a new model and showcase the best of what their area has to offer.
This strategy will guarantee that visitors know where to look for reliable, high-quality information that is specific to the region.
It will imply that a family vacationing in the Lake District, for instance, will be able to quickly locate a top-notch campsite or hotel, good local dining options, details on where the landscape is well-maintained, and what selection of nearby activities are available for their kids from an experienced DMO.
With more efficient DMOs, it will be simpler for travellers to plan their getaways and for neighbourhood businesses to collaborate to give a top-notch tourism offer.
Nigel Huddleston, a minister for tourism, said:
Our ambitious level-up programme depends on our world-class tourism industry.
It makes villages, towns, and cities more appealing to visit, live in, and work in by generating jobs, supporting local economies, and fostering a sense of place.
With the aid of this new programme, individuals will be able to plan the ideal trip and be shown where to go, assisting in the expansion and improvement of our tourism sector.
DMOs have the potential to significantly impact their communities at their best.
For the Eden Project, which has welcomed more than 18 million visitors and produced £2 billion for the South West, Visit Cornwall, for instance, helped obtain over £40 million in investment.
In addition to promoting new international air routes, marketing Manchester has helped the city’s local economy by bringing in nearly £400 million annually in visitor spending.
Cumbria Tourism also played a key role in the Lake District National Park achieving the coveted UNESCO World Heritage status.
DMOs will now be known as Local Visitor Economy Partnerships under the new accreditation programme (LVEPs).
The programme will streamline the industry to make it easier for tourists and travellers to plan vacations and to understand what is offered in a region.
It will also ensure that local companies can work together to successfully promote and build their community as a must-visit destination.
Additionally, the plan will unite neighbourhood companies and the local government to effectively pitch for funds to expand the region’s tourism industry and market the area to tourists.
The tiering model pilot will coexist with the accreditation programme in a region of England.
Over the course of the following years, this pilot will provide funding and the chance for one top-tier partnership or a group of partnerships (referred to as a destination development partnership) to concentrate on activities that ensure their destination remains sustainable, competitive, and ready to address issues like improving skills, accessibility, and levelling up.
The economy of England depends on tourism.
It generated £72 billion in revenue for the UK in 2019, provided jobs across the nation, fueled regional economic progress, and made residents proud of where they lived.
Director of VisitEngland Andrew Stokes stated:
VisitEngland appreciates the chance to participate in putting the recommendations from the de Bois review of destination management organisations in England into action as well as the Government’s reaction.
Destination Management Organizations are an essential component of England’s tourism industry since they collaborate with regional businesses and government organisations to draw in tourists and investment from all over the country, thereby increasing the visitor economy.
In order to maintain England’s appeal as a travel destination for both domestic and foreign visitors, we look forward to putting the accreditation programme and the Destination Development Partnership pilot into action.
Additionally, this will make the case for further funding stronger.
VisitCornwall’s CEO, Malcolm Bell, stated:
Visit Cornwall would like to express its appreciation to Nick De Bois and the review team, and we appreciate this announcement.
Making sure that England’s tourist board structure is appropriate for the problems the visitor economy will face in the future decades has become increasingly critical in recent years.
It acknowledges prior accomplishments, but more crucially, it establishes a transparent framework for the proposed Local Visitor Economy Partnerships.
These public-private partnerships will ensure coordinated domestic and international marketing, increase productivity, improve the quality of employment by addressing seasonality, take advantage of business tourism, and make significant progress on net zero and regenerative tourism developments, which are essential for the sector’s future success.
Marketing Manchester’s managing director, Sheona Southern, stated:
We’ve known for a while that there needs to be better communication between national policy and local implementation, and we’re hoping that this initiative will mark the beginning of the development of the efficient tourism infrastructure that England needs to be competitive on the world stage and put tourism at the forefront of local policymaking.
Cumbria Tourism’s managing director, Gill Haigh, stated:
The massive variety of events that make up a region’s tourism economy are held together by DMOs.
The De Bois review’s findings have received resounding acceptance.
They genuinely nailed the chances for our visitor economy to grow sustainably as well as some of the obstacles.
But more importantly, they provided the government with a clear path forward.
In order to maximise our potential and collaborate with DCMS, Visit England, and local partners to enable sustainable tourist development, investment, and business assistance, Cumbria Tourism welcomes the government’s declaration today that it aims to streamline and enhance the structure.