A Strategic Approach to English Tourism

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A Strategic Approach to English Tourism
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Background

• British Tourism Framework Review led to the
  creation of Visit England.
• A complex tourism landscape.
• The economic climate (more with less).
• A fast changing world
• The first Tourism Strategy for England in over 10
  years.

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Tourism as a force for good

• Value
• In 2008, 922m international tourist arrivals and
  worldwide receipts of US 944bn.
• Tourism in England worth 94bn per annum.
• Employment
• Supports 2 million jobs growth sector for job
  creation.
• Excellent route into work and fertile ground for
  entrepreneurialism.
• Social
• Benefits society by preserving cultural, natural
  and built resources, and providing leisure
  opportunities.

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How are we doing? (1)

• Slowing growth
• UK sixth place in worlds tourism ranking.
• Bulk of UKs inbound market from mature
  economies.
• Geographical imbalances
• Patterns are changing.
• Cities have taken a large share of the tourism
  market.
• Seasonal demand and fluctuating capacity
• Key issue in seaside and rural areas.
• Resulted in substantially underused capacity.
• Unfavourable perceptions
• Low in German and French markets low levels of
  loyalty amongst British people
• Rooted in the past.

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Key Industry Challenges

• Inconsistent levels of customer satisfaction
  loyalty.
• Quality of welcome.
• Fluctuating demand and a volatile industry.
• Transport infrastructure deficiencies.
• Industry fragmentation.
• Skills shortages and perceptions of career
  opportunities.
• Productivity gaps.
• Economic downturn in Britain and Englands major
  international markets.
• Climate change.
• Lack of understanding of the importance of
  tourism.

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How are we doing? (2)

• Great product development

• Conferencing

• Accommodation

• Attractions

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• Great product development

• Events and Festivals

• Public Realm

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Key Industry Opportunities

• Major events e.g. 2012 Olympic and Paralympic
  Games, decade of sport.
• Great cities.
• Mature business visits and events offer.
• Variety of countryside and rural escapes.
• Unique culture and heritage.
• The Englishness of England.
• Move towards experiential travel and short
  breaks.
• Growth in low cost airlines (incoming).
• Growing use of the internet in travel and
  tourism.
• Visit England

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The Strategys Timeline
10 year
Vision
5 year
Strategic review
3 year
Action plans
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Towards 2020 Vision

• By 2020 England will rate among the five top
  tourism earning destinations in the world,
  renowned worldwide for high levels of visitor
  satisfaction, profitable and innovative
  businesses and a culture of sustainable tourism
  development, focusing on authentic experiences

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The Competitive Foundations

• Establishing a clear market positioning that
  differentiates England from competitors.
• Authenticity and innovation (a unique
  combination)
• - Be better than, and different from the
  competition Scotland, Ireland, France, Spain and
  US
• Targeting most valuable and achievable segments
  and delivering to their needs
• Growth segments
• Staying in line with customer expectations

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Objectives

• To Market England in the most efficient and
  effective ways.
• To improve national and international perceptions
  of the English product
• To embed world class practices of destination
  management
• To ensure the highest possible levels of customer
  satisfaction and loyalty

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Objectives

• To improve the productivity and competitiveness
  of tourism businesses
• To reduce fragmentation within the industry
• To realise the full potential of Business Visits
  and Events
• To embed the principals of sustainability within
  the sector
• To mainstream tourism at all levels of Government

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Keys to Unlocking Growth

• Four areas for action
• Great destinations
• Great experiences
• Great marketing
• Easy access

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Next Steps Frameworks for action

• Pillar Framework Groups (PAGs) on Great
  Destinations Great Experiences Great Marketing
  and Easy Access.
• Each has a Framework for Action with Action
  Groups to plan and implement action.
• P4E Forum will provide oversight.
• Strategy Group responsible for overall strategy
  and vision, plus sustainability principles across
  all areas.
• Research Group (currently ETIP) to cover market
  and economic research, best practice analysis and
  evaluation.
• KPIs to be determined in each action programme.

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The Vision
Objectives
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Business as usual!
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Our research tells us

• Between January and May this year, the number of
  overnight trips in England is virtually the same
  as in 2008 (1), but with wide differences by
  sector
• Holiday Trips up 15
• Business Trips down 10
• There has been growth in holiday trips to the
  seaside a third more than the same period last
  year and a 26 increase in holiday trips among
  households with children
• The return of the family seaside holiday?
• Visitor attractions performed strongly in Quarter
  2, with 15 more visitors than last year (and
  with increases in May and June as well as April,
  this wasnt just down to the later Easter break)
• BUT we know that times are challenging for many
  businesses
• Growth in self-catering/caravanning and camping
  trips (c.30) may be at the expense of the
  serviced accommodation sector
• Value growth lags behind volume growth as
  consumers seek to save money, while many visitor
  attractions report reduced secondary spend
  despite higher footfall.

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Enjoy England Enjoy every minute

• 30 increase in visits to Enjoyengland.com over
  campaign period
• 210,000 industry special offer downloads
• 850k Equivalent Advertising Value PR generated

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- Co-ordination- Guidance on measuring tourism
- Coverage and reliability- Communication and
access
THE ENGLISH TOURISM INTELLIGENCE PARNERSHIP
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Other key initiatives

• Quality Review
• Common standards review growth in user
  generated ratings
• Accommodation and attractions.
• Engaging public and private stakeholders.
• Recommendations early 2010.
• Positioning tourism locally
• Work with IDeA on improvement.
• Place Shaping / Destination Management Charter.

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An Assured England for Team England
Our aspiration