Louise Stewart Director of Strategy and Development

Strategic Framework: A Growth Strategy for English Tourism

Who is the strategy for?

VisitEngland

Business

Local organisations

Third Sector

Government

Industry engagement pre-consultation (Feb)

Industry-wide consultation- Mar to May

Launch of final strategy - July to be agreed

Post launch engagement – July onwards

Indicative Timeline

A resilient and globally competitive tourism industry that acts as a key driver of the economy and local prosperity

across England

The vision is to build:

The strategic objectives are to:

Increase the contribution of tourism to the

English economy

Increase tourism employment and local prosperity

Strengthen the competitiveness of

businesses and England’s tourism

offer

These objectives will be achieved by:

Investing in tourism products and experiences in line with market trends & strategic needs

Attracting & retaining motivated people and developing their skills

Increasing the visibility & understanding of England’s tourism offer

Overcoming barriers to business competiveness and investment

Investing in the infrastructure and environment on which tourism growth relies

Priority 1 – Investing in tourism products & experiences in line with market trends & strategic needs

Action will be taken in these areas:

Making evidence available on market trends & building understanding of it

Developing locally differentiated products & experiences

Investing in products suited to people with access needs

Investing in year round products & experiences (seaside & rural)

Developing cultural assets and iconic buildings & attractions

Investing in facilities & services for the business visits & events market outside of London

Increasing personalisation of tourism products & experiences

Strengthening activity & participatory tourism experiences

Priority 2 – Attracting & retaining motivated people and developing their skills

Action will be taken in these areas:

Repositioning of the industry as an employer & career choice

Increasing digital skills & capability in the industry

Employing & developing skills matched to the needs of new markets

Increasing the number & quality of apprenticeships

Strengthening collaboration between the industry & the academic and teaching professions

Develop vocational training within the industry

Priority 3 – Increasing the visibility & understanding of England’s tourism offer

Action will be taken in these areas:

Understanding product-market fit and identifying the most effective channels for target markets

Strengthening domestic marketing

Making the most of major events and seeking to attract more of them

Promoting the England offer to inbound markets

Facilitating access to travel planning information of consistent quality, including new media

Priority 4 – Overcoming barriers to business competitiveness & investment

Action will be taken in these areas:

Increasing resilience & minimising the impact of external shocks

Improving access to finance for tourism investment

Strengthening business support for tourism SMEs

Reducing unnecessary regulations on tourism businesses

Influencing the planning system to support sustainable tourism investment

Strengthening use of, and access to, IT in tourism businesses

Reducing disincentives in inbound travel, such as visas and taxes

Increasing awareness of tourism growth benefits & opportunities amongst development bodies

Priority 5 - Investing in the infrastructure and environment on which tourism growth relies

Action will be taken in these areas:

Increasing London airport capacity & developing use of regional airports

Investing in & removing road traffic bottlenecks on key tourist routes

Sustaining conservation, maintenance & access in natural landscapes, coastal & heritage sites

Ensuring readiness for HS2 & HS3 through advance planning & links

Increasing connectivity to superfast broadband in all parts of England

Sustaining maintenance of the public realm

Improving provision of public transport & facilitating use by visitors, especially in rural areas

Promoting regeneration, investment & up-keep of town centres

Measuring success

CATEGORY MEASURE PROXY / ANNUAL MEASURES

VE & PARTNER ACTION MEASURES

ECONOMIC CONTRIBUTION

GVA e.g. visitor spend

EMPLOYMENT Full time employment

ONS employment in tourism industries

GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS

Global ranking measures

e.g. Nations Brand Index (Britain)

A resilient and globally competitive tourism industry that acts as a key driver of the economy and local prosperity across England

To increase the contribution of tourism to the English

economy

To increase tourism employment and local

prosperity

To strengthen the competitiveness of

businesses and England’s tourism offer

1 Investing in tourism products and experiences in line with market trends and strategic needs

2 Attracting and retaining motivated people and developing their skills

3 Increasing the visibility and understanding of England’s tourism offer

4 Overcoming barriers to business competitiveness and investment

5 Investing in the infrastructure and environment on which tourism growth relies