PP Research NWDA Tourism Strategy

The Strategy for Tourism inEngland’s Northwest 2003 - 2010

Revised 2007

Developing the Visitor Economy

ContentsThe Strategy for Tourism in England’s Northwest 2003 - 2010

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1 The Tourism Vision 4

2 Strategic Aims 7

3 Sustainable Development 9

4 Strategic Objectives 10

4.1 Quality of Life 11

4.2 Superior Skills 12

4.3 Sense of Place 13

4.4 Signature Projects 14

4.5 Signature Events 14

4.6 Easy Access 15

4.7 The Attack Brand Approach 15

4.8 The Power of Information 17

5 Putting the Strategy into Practice 18

6 Next Steps 21

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The Strategy for Tourism in England’s Northwest: Developing the Visitor Economy

Introduction This strategy updates the original Tourism Strategy forEngland’s Northwest that was published in June 2003.It is the result of a mid-term review rather than a fullreassessment of the sector and its competitive position.A full review will take place in 2010.

The 2003 strategy has given inspiration and guidance tothe agencies that support tourism in the region and thebusinesses that provide for our visitors. Some of theambitions in the strategy have already been realised,good progress has been made on many, while othershave proved more challenging. Overall there has beensubstantial investment in tourism, the establishment ofrobust and effective support structures and, crucially,recognition of the contribution that tourism and the visitoreconomy make to the economic prosperity of England’sNorthwest.

The experience of these first three years, the productionof a new Regional Economic Strategy (RES), and thenational consultation associated with the 2012 OlympicGames are all reasons for reviewing and refining the2003 strategy, and have all been drivers of this mid-termreview.

This revised strategy is designed to: • Strengthen the region’s focus on offering some of the

best visitor destinations in the UK; • Connect with the growing importance being attached

to the role of local authorities in place-shaping; • Ensure that work is aligned with both the new national

thinking on tourism, and with the Regional Economic Strategy, and;

• To give centre stage to the principles of sustainable development.

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1/ The Tourism Vision

• Being able to offer the best quality experiences to our visitors, because we have gained a detailed, in depth understanding of what they are seeking

• Providing service that is of the highest quality; doing that little bit more than people expect

• Having excellent, prize winning hotels and other places at which visitors can stay

• Providing wonderful food and drink, using local produceas much as possible

• A public realm that is characterised by high quality design that in places is exceptional

• A region-wide programme of events and festivals that celebrate our historical, cultural and environmental diversity

• Having a productive, highly talented workforce

• Demonstrating through action that we really care for ourenvironment and for the people who visit our region andits destinations

• Doing all of this for ourselves too, because being proud of our region and enjoying living here are essential ingredients of a great quality of life

• Generating economic and social benefits for our communities and for the region as a whole by adding value in all that we do

Providing real excellence and superbexperiences means:

The tourism vision for England’s Northwest is that withinten years, it offers our visitors real excellence and superbexperiences, wherever they go, and has a thriving visitoreconomy that is second to none.

Providing Real ExcellenceThe ambitions set out below underpin the vision and willbe used to drive quantitative targets at the sub-regionallevel, through the process of destination managementplanning that is led by each of the five tourist boards.

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England’s Northwest is home to some wonderful placesand some of the best businesses in the world. Researchhowever shows that the region is still underperformingwhen it comes to convincing people to choose to visit. Tobe noticed, we need to lead with the best.

We must encourage and assist those places andbusinesses that want to improve the visitor experiencethat they offer. The priority for action is to work with thosewho are already excellent, and those aspiring toexcellence, as these are the businesses that will help usto achieve our vision.

We have to showcase our best businesses and our bestplaces if we are to demonstrate both what the region iscapable of, and what more needs to be done to achieveour vision.

Different approaches will be needed for different types ofbusinesses and in different circumstances. Localauthorities have a key role to play in ensuring that alldevelopment activity is of the best quality and adheres tohigh standards of design. Tourist boards will need tosegment their membership and adopt an accountmanagement approach to the relationships they buildwith businesses, providing different products andservices accordingly.

Why Tourism MattersTourists are important because of the economic andsocial benefits that they bring. We are all tourists at somepoint, and much of the tourist activity in the region is bypeople from the region.

According to the official definition, you are a touristwhenever you go somewhere different, whether your triplasts no more than a day or whether it lasts far longer; upto a year. You are a business tourist when work takes youto somewhere that you don’t normally go. The money wespend as tourists is what we measure when we talkabout the economic value of tourism. We can think oftourists from outside the region and from outside thecountry as well as from within the region. And we canthink of tourists who spend one or more nights here, aswell as those whose trips last no more than a day.

We want to encourage more people both from within andfrom outside the region to come and enjoy what we canoffer and to spend money. Tourism is already thiscountry’s third largest earner of foreign exchange. Nearly8% of the country’s workforce is employed in the tourismsector, and it generates a high percentage of new jobsand provides valuable routes into work for young people.Encouraging more people from this country to be touristshere helps with our balance of payments, and can alsohelp reduce damaging greenhouse gas emissions fromlong distance travel.

Locally, tourism can be the focus of efforts to regenerateplaces, raising the quality of life for residents, generatingnew hope for communities and stabilising outwardmigration. Tourists support leisure and sports facilitiesand in rural areas, help to sustain local shops, pubs andother services that residents also enjoy. Tourism has aparticular role in generating and sustaining artistic andother cultural activity and in supporting the care andmanagement of our historic and natural environment.

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Tourism and the Visitor EconomyThis is a tourism strategy, but tourism is unusual in that itis not what you buy that defines you as a tourist, butrather where you are. You are a tourist if you visitsomewhere that is outside your usual environment. Ofcourse what is usual for one person will be unusual foranother. This strategy has to cover all of the places thattourists go, or may want to go, and is interested in all ofthe experiences that are available to them.

The strategy therefore has as its focus both the peoplethat are this region’s tourists and the places that are thedestinations for those tourists. In caring for these two, wealso care for the region’s residents; indeed it is ultimatelytheir interests that are paramount, since it is for theireconomic and social well being that we are working.

When thinking about the activity of all visitors within adestination, whether tourists or not, it is useful to have asingle term that describes it; we use ‘Visitor Economy’ forthis purpose. So, the quality of our public places, ourparks, the transport systems, the architecture, thegateways, the parking, the cultural activity, all matter andall need to be as good as we can make them, for thesake of the tourists, the other visitors we wish to serveand local communities.

At the core of the concept of the visitor economy are allof the elements that make for a successful andsustainable destination, for both tourists and non-tourists;it embraces:

• All of the things that attract people to the place; this means the diverse range of destinations in the region,the natural environment, our heritage and culture and the places that give life to this, iconic buildings, the retail, sport and leisure facilities, food, gardens, eventsand scenery. In other words, all of the things that make a place special, distinctive and capable of engendering pride, therefore making it a place worth experiencing.

• The infrastructure that helps to reinforce and shape the sense of place and make it an easy place to visit; the quality of design, the signs, transport, parking andorientation, interpretation, public spaces and amenities.

• The services that cater for the needs of visitors, and ofresidents, generating economic and social activity and increasing spending; including the hotels and bars, pubs, restaurants and galleries, the everyday events and the day-to-day services that make a placeclean, safe and welcoming.

To create a successful and sustainable visitor economy,we must manage all of the elements in an integrated andlong-term way, with a clear focus on the needs of boththe tourists we seek to attract, and the residents whoseneeds we serve.

The Visitor Economy

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2/ Strategic Aims The Aims of the Tourism StrategyThis strategy sets out the steps needed in order toachieve our vision. It does this using a framework of sixstrategic aims that are strongly connected to the RegionalEconomic Strategy (RES). These strategic aims will guidethe detailed delivery objectives of the programmes thatare described here and each of the DestinationManagement Plans produced by the five sub-regions.

The vision within the RES is of a ‘dynamic, sustainableinternational economy which competes on the basis ofknowledge, advanced technology and an excellentquality of life for all’. It aims to achieve this vision byfocusing action on three major drivers. The six strategicaims for tourism are clearly connected to these threedrivers identified within the RES; they are designed tohelp deliver the outcomes of the RES.

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The first major driver within the RES is increasedproductivity and a bigger market share within the region;there are three tourism strategy aims that support thedelivery of this:

1 Enhanced communication with the region’s visitors;2 Higher levels of productivity and performance from the

businesses operating in the visitor economy;3 Improved products and higher quality experiences for

all of the visitors to the region.

The second major driver within the RES is to grow thesize and capability of the workforce, ensuring a higherproportion of those able to work do so; a single tourismstrategy aim supports this:

4 For the people who work in the visitor economy to have, and to be using, improved levels of skill.

The third major driver within the RES underpins the twoprevious drivers. It is for the region to create and maintainthe conditions for the sustainable growth of the economy;two tourism strategy aims support this goal:

5 An improved infrastructure for the visitor economy;6 For all activity related to tourism and the visitor

economy to be based on the principles of sustainabledevelopment

The priority of the Regional Economic Strategy is to closethe gap in Gross Value Added (GVA) between theNorthwest and the English average. The region is still notcontributing its full potential to the UK economy and themajority of the region’s £13 billion GVA gap is due tolower productivity.

The sixth goal for tourism is an underpinning principlewhich needs to be a reference point for all actions andinvestment decisions. In support of this, a sustainabledevelopment framework for the tourism sector is beingproduced and will be published as a supportingdocument to this strategy; this will provide practicaladvice on all aspects of sustainable tourism.

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3/ Sustainable Development

SustainabilityThe Regional Economic Strategy makes a strong andclear commitment to the concept of sustainabledevelopment; this must be central to the Tourism Strategyfor England’s Northwest too. This means adhering to theUK ‘Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development’: • Living within environmental limits; • Ensuring a strong, healthy and just society; • Achieving a sustainable economy; • Promoting good governance, and; • Using sound science responsibly.

The UK Sustainable Development Strategy identifies fourpriorities for UK Action: • Sustainable consumption and production; • Climate change and energy; • Natural resource protection and environmental

enhancement, and; • Sustainable communities.

These principles and priorities will be applied to all of theobjectives described in the following sections.

Social InclusionTourism should and does provide opportunities for all; theobjectives set out below will be achieved in a mannerthat strengthens social inclusion, supports the tourism forall agenda, and celebrates diversity.

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4/ Strategic Objectives

The strategic objectives described below are those thingsthat need to be achieved in order to realise the strategicaims we have set for ourselves; these revised objectivesare in keeping with those set out in the original strategy.The objectives are grouped into two: the first group dealswith the broad objective of creating a high quality visitorexperience, and the second group covers the objective ofpromoting the region effectively.

The Visitor ExperienceOur ‘visitor experience’ objectives are to:

Productivity, Performance & Quality1: Help businesses improve their performance and the

quality of the products and services that they provide; Stimulate competition, and; Overcome barriers to higher productivity, performance and quality.

Superior Skills2: Improve the skills of our workforce and the

attractiveness of our sector as an employer.

Sense of Place3: Improve our public realm, and the built and natural

environment.

Signature Projects4: Support and encourage projects that will transform

the region’s appeal to visitors.

Signature Events5: Support and encourage a programme of sustainable

events of national and international significance.

Easy Access6: Make it easer for visitors to get to, and travel around,

the region.

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The Visitor Experience4.1 Productivity, Performance & Quality

A strong, focussed effort is required to improve businessperformance, as it is this that will contribute most toclosing the region’s gap in GVA identified in the RES. Ourobjective is to increase the ability of businesses tooperate productively and profitably through the provisionof high quality, high value-added products and servicesthat our visitors want to buy and experience.

The five tourist boards will lead on this within their sub-regions, where they have an important strategic role. TheDestination Management Plans that they help to createmust reflect the need to improve productivity andperformance; they need to address both the barriers to,and the opportunities for, achieving improvement. Touristboards will work to ensure that mainstream businesssupport provision and dedicated sectoral programmesmeet the needs of tourism businesses. Tourist boards willalso encourage participation by businesses inprogrammes aimed at improving productivity andperformance and at improving the skills of managers inachieving these.

Attracting VisitorsOur ‘attracting visitors’ objectives are to:

The Attack Brand Approach7: Use a market led approach to the promotion of the

region and its destinations by focusing on attack brands and winning themes.

The Power of Information8: Make it easier for visitors to plan and book their trip,

and to find the information they need to make the most of their stay.

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The Agency will play a role in addressing the structuraland policy barriers to improving productivity, working withother regional bodies. The Agency will also play a leadingrole in shaping the Regional Spatial Strategy and will takean active interest in Local Development Frameworks inorder to strengthen the region’s ability to plan for tourismgrowth.

The role that national quality assurance schemes canplay in this should be exploited to the full. This will meanthat only quality inspected properties will be marketed tovisitors. It will also mean that tourist boards will be activein specifying and promoting core requirements forcustomer care, sustainability and access to businesses intheir area. And it will mean that both regional and sub-regional agencies work to improve market intelligenceand share this with businesses in a way that helps themto make good investment decisions that support thevision and aims of this strategy.

A key focus will be on regional and sub-regional work tosupport beacon businesses, and to develop and supportclusters of businesses that have potential for growth andimprovement.

4.2 Superior Skills

A well trained and skilled workforce is fundamental to theperformance of tourism businesses and to the quality ofservice and experience provided to visitors. This isrecognised in the National Skills Strategy, which providesa national framework for action.

Our wider ambition is to generate more GVA for theregion; to generate more wealth for us all. That meansgenerating more profit and paying more in wages. Thereis a virtuous circle here; we want better, higher quality,more productive businesses, that generate more profit,require higher skilled staff and are able to offer better payand conditions, and better careers. The real driver of skillsimprovement will be the growth of businesses offeringhigher quality products and services.

Work in this area will be led by the Tourism Sector Skillsand Productivity Alliance, and by tourist boards whoserole it will be to lobby, influence and persuade others toensure mainstream training provision delivers the skillsthe visitor economy needs. Partnerships will bedeveloped with training providers, Learning and SkillsCouncils and others.

The tourist boards will also provide a signposting role fortourism businesses in their area to the most appropriatesources of help and ensure the focus is on achieving theskills and motivation needed to deliver the right kind ofvisitor experience.

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4.3 Sense of Place

A destination’s sense of place – the quality of itsdistinctiveness and its authenticity – is the key to makingit stand out for visitors. The quality of the public realm, thenatural environment and the built heritage are thefoundations of this. Managing, enhancing and sustainingthese to the highest standards will ensure that the regioncan offer high-quality and distinctive experiences tovisitors. Destination Management Plans must capture andgive life to this ambition.

For visitors the sense of arrival determines their view of aplace and the enjoyment of their stay. Orientation,signage and information all play their part as well as thephysical quality of arrival points – rail and bus stations,arterial roads and car parks.

We need to raise our standards of design in particular;our aim should be to make our region a beacon of highquality design.

The role of local authorities is paramount in creating astrong sense of place; this is the objective through whichthey can make the greatest contribution to the visitoreconomy. To do this well, local authorities will need tounderstand what visitors expect and need on their visit;they should use the expertise that exists within our tourist

boards and elsewhere to help them do so. By workingtogether we can design places that will work well forvisitors, and for residents, and that will help delivereconomic and social prosperity for the good of the wholecommunity.

There are a great many others who will play a role fromnational agencies like Natural England, English Heritageand the National Trust, through the range of culturalinstitutions, to local trusts and voluntary organisations.Regional and sub-regional partnerships will be built anddeveloped by the NWDA and the tourist boards to ensurethat a distinct and attractive sense of place is identifiedand nurtured in every part of the region.

The implementation of the Marketing the NaturalEnvironment Strategy produced early in 2006 will takeforward the sustainable product development andmarketing opportunities presented by the region’soutstanding natural heritage.

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4.4 Signature Projects

Signature projects are major capital projects that will havea transformational impact on the visitor economy.Regional signature projects will have an international anda national significance. The requirements for signatureprojects will include:

• Substantial capital spend (in excess of £50 million for regional signature projects and £15 million for sub-regional signature projects)

• Action to build and reinforce an attack brand• The creation of a unique, highly attractive sense of

place • A transformational impact on the visitor economy

around them

Current regional signature projects include:

The Renaissance of the Lake District, including LowtherChester Super ZooBlackpool’s revivalHadrian’s WallMersey WaterfrontThe Regional Casino

Sub-regional signature projects, which have national andregional significance, should be identified in the sub-regional Destination Management Plans. Again there arelikely to be only a few of these.

4.5 Signature Events

Events provide added value to a visit, but they can alsobe the motivation for a visit.

Thousands of events take place in our region every year,with many reflecting a local sense of place anddistinctiveness. It is however important to identify thoseevents which merit the accolade of being signatureevents; they must be truly of the region, and have thepower to attract visitors and attention from outside theregion and from overseas. Two examples illustrate this:Cheshire’s Year of Gardens and the Kendal Mountain FilmFestival.

The Strategy for Major Events in England's Northwestpublished in March 2004 defined major events as thosegenerating at least £1million for the regional economyand attracting significant national and international mediaattention. The approach set out in the events strategy isto develop and support a portfolio of regional majorevents under three headings:

• Global Giants - making the most of existing global events which take place in the Northwest e.g. Grand National, golf’s Open Championship

• Organic Excellence - nurturing and growing events which have been created in the region e.g. Liverpool Biennial, Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture 2008, Manchester International Festival

• Attack Zone - bidding for existing world class events e.g. Turner Prize, World Swimming Championships

We will build on the opportunities presented by London'ssuccessful bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games andParalympic Games. The Games are an opportunity toshowcase the region to the world. They also present achallenge to tourism businesses to aspire to truly world-class standards.

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4.6 Easy Access

The transport infrastructure is a fundamental part of thevisitor economy. Both leisure and business visitors requireconveniently located and accessible airports and railstations providing first class gateways to the region. Theyrequire excellent rail and coach connections, easilyaccessible car hire and road networks. And yet thisprovision is outside the control of tourism bodies.

The role of the NWDA and the tourist boards musttherefore be one of building partnerships, collectingevidence and influencing and persuading at regional andsub-regional level, in order to ensure that visitor needsare taken account of in transport planning.

A balance has to be struck between the demands forincreased air travel and the need to limit emissions ofgreenhouse gases. Manchester and Liverpool airports willcontinue to be actively promoted as internationalgateways and opportunities taken to develop newpassenger services into Blackpool and Carlisle airports.However the majority of promotional effort will be withinthe UK market. This is consistent with the nationalstrategy of promoting domestic tourism, benefiting bothbalance of payments and the carbon footprint.

In the interests of environmental sustainability,opportunities will be taken in promotional activity and indeveloping specific routes, to encourage the use ofpublic transport, while recognising that many parts of theregion are readily accessible only by car. An importantcontribution which can be directly delivered by the touristboards (working with transport providers) is ensuring thatintegrated, comprehensive route planning information isavailable online.

Product development initiatives will be undertaken toencourage the use of public transport and to addresstraffic congestion and parking problems.

Attracting Visitors4.7 The Attack Brand Approach

Destination MarketingThe Attack Brand approach is about leading in ourpromotion with what is strongest and has most appeal tovisitors. Despite strides forward in the last three years,recent MORI research, commissioned by the NWDA intoperceptions of the region, shows there is still a long wayto go in ensuring that the Northwest is seen as offeringthe best tourism destinations in the UK.

The region has four attack brands which are capable ofattracting the attention and meeting the needs ofsignificant numbers of the high spending visitors who areneeded to grow the visitor economy; they are:

• The Lake District• Manchester• Liverpool• Chester

Blackpool is a mature brand in need of investment andrepositioning; its redevelopment is a priority and will becrucial to attaining attack brand status.

The attack brands will be the lead brands promoted bythe NWDA and the tourist boards. The NWDA will ensurethe alignment of tourism campaigns with the wider imagemarketing of the region.

There are two or three sub-regional destinations whichwill have a strong appeal to specific market segments ofreal potential and could be viewed as ‘sub-regionalattack brands’. The tourist boards will identify thesedestinations, based on their market potential. The tourist

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development programmes focusing on high yieldmarkets, backed up by appropriate subventions wherethese will give a good return. This is complemented by acomprehensive programme to improve service standards.The designation of ‘Business Tourism Zones’ (specificareas within the region where business tourism isconcentrated, where special transport and public realmimprovements will help business tourism to growsuccessfully) and a programme to encourage thedevelopment of leading edge new facilities and serviceswill enable businesses to take on the role of marketleaders, stimulating competition and driving up quality.

In order to deliver the action programme, the strategyproposes the creation of a Northwest Business TourismNetwork; a strong consortium of conference bureaux. It isalso proposed to create a new Conference BusinessDevelopment Office to provide a regionally coordinatedresearch function, and to act as the hub for joint activity.The nature of business tourism means that the potentialfor growth is strongest in the major cities and resorts, butthere are niche opportunities for the rest of the region aswell.

Day VisitsDay visits are an important element of the visitoreconomy. Day visitors also sustain the infrastructure ofattractions, restaurants, and shops that are essentialelements in attracting overnight visitors. Tourist boardswill be responsible for leading actions to grow the dayvisitor economy in their area.

boards will be responsible for developing approaches todispersing visitors across the region through promotionand information.

Thematic marketingThematic marketing recognises that many people aremotivated by a particular activity or interest. It is also auseful mechanism to tie together a range of destinationsand present them to the market. A number of themes areidentified at the regional level as having market potential:these are Cultural Activities, Natural Environment;Gardens and the Golf Coast.

At the sub-regional level the tourist boards will identifythose themes that have the best market opportunity.Tourist boards may work together on marketing commonthemes. There are also opportunities for tourist boards tolink together places under a thematic approach.

The Regional Marketing Framework produced in 2004 willbe updated using the market research and segmentationwork that has been undertaken regionally and sub-regionally since then. This will lead to the production of abrand matrix that clearly identifies the attack brands, sub-regional brands, and themes to be used in the region,and matches these to market segments.

Business TourismThe Business Tourism Strategy has set out more detailedpolicies for business tourism. The focus is on addingmaximum value to the regional economy through market

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All this will be supported by an integrated destinationinformation management system and e-businessplatform, enabling the electronic distribution ofinformation and online booking; serving the needs ofvisitors, businesses and tourist boards alike. The ways inwhich people are acquiring information and usingtechnology for planning is changing rapidly; we willrespond quickly and appropriately to these changes.

4.8 The Power of Information

Making it easy for people to convert a tentative interestinto a visit is an important link in the chain. It is easy tospend money on marketing campaigns, brochures andwebsites. It is harder to make sure that the informationpeople need is available at the right time in the rightplace for them to plan and book, and for them to usewhen they are at their destination.

The Visitor Information Strategy will be implemented withthe aim of providing world-class visitor informationservices that exceed the expectations of our visitors. Thegoal is to provide a competitive advantage to the region,and to make a measurable and valuable contribution tothe visitor economy. A key element of the vision for 2010is that there should be one or two strategic touristinformation centres in each sub-region that becomecentres of excellence. They will provide a showcase forthe lead attack brands and sub-regional attack brands,responding to marketing campaigns, and selling thewhole region. They will also support a network of touristinformation provided through locally franchised touristinformation centres and points run by local authoritiesand others.

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5/ Putting the Strategyinto Practice

The Delivery StructureA range of partners will deliver this strategy, each withtheir own role to play but working together to ensure thebest use of resources, to avoid duplication and to sharebest practice. The main regional tourism agencies thatwill facilitate the coordination of this collective action are:

• The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), which has the leading, strategic role for tourism in the region. It is responsible for setting direction, allocating resources, managing relationshipswith, and supporting, the tourist boards. Through its specialist teams it will lead developments in ICT, business support, skills and regional marketing. The Agency will also seek to influence regional and central government, and region-wide organisations.

• The five tourist boards, which have a vital sub-regionalstrategic role in developing the visitor economy in theirareas. They will lead the delivery of this strategy in thefive sub-regions through the Destination ManagementPlans that bring together all those involved in tourism and the visitor economy, and through their strong and direct links with tourism businesses. They will be directly responsible for destination marketing, research, business engagement and project delivery.

• A Regional Tourism Management Team, chaired by the NWDA and consisting of VisitBritain and the five tourist boards, will be responsible for driving and co-ordinating the operational delivery of the strategy to ensure the achievement of regional goals, and for developing and sharing good practice. This group will oversee the delivery of regional-level action proposed in the different specialist strategies supporting tourismgrowth.

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• A Forum that will oversee the development of this strategy and the broader regional visitor economy. Thisgroup will ensure synergy and consistency between regional and sub-regional strategies, and monitor performance.

• Local authorities, which have a key role in the visitor economy and in the delivery of this strategy. Their place-shaping role is vital, and something only they can do, through their management of the public realm,licensing, traffic, attractions and events. Following publication of the Lyons Report into the future role and function of local government, and the recommendations of the Partners for England initiative, the NWDA will review the guidance on the tourism role of local authorities contained in ‘Great Destinations’. The goal is to ensure that the right mechanisms for collaboration are in place. The contribution and responsibilities of local authorities willalso be articulated within sub-regional Destination Management Plans.

Delivery of the strategy will also involve continuedpartnership work with the two other northern regionsthrough ‘England’s North Country’. Nationally, the regionwill build on the close relationship that exists withVisitBritain and will play a full role in the Partners forEngland initiative.

Integrating Economic and Tourism PlanningIt is important that the various economic and tourismstrategies and plans produced within the region areintegrated and consistent. The Regional EconomicStrategy provides a framework for both the TourismStrategy for England’s Northwest and the actions plansproduced by Sub-Regional Partnerships (SRPs). TheTourism Strategy and sub-regional action plans in turnprovide a framework for Destination Management Plans.

The Regional Spatial Strategy is of particular relevanceand importance to tourism. The NWDA will work closelywith the Regional Assembly and others to improve theregion’s ability to plan for tourism growth and for theachievement of the tourism vision.

Integration is also important at a local level, withSustainable Community Strategies and LocalDevelopment Frameworks being of particular relevance;there is a need for a high degree of coordination betweenthese and the Destination Management Plans for thesub-regions, which encapsulate the priorities for tourism.

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Market and Economic Impact KnowledgeHaving accurate data and meaningful market intelligenceare vital for the evaluation of performance and forplanning and investment decisions. The Regional TourismResearch Strategy identifies the following as priorities:

Volume & Value• STEAM measures visits, spend and jobs within the

sub-regions but work remains for tourist boards to get the levels of business participation required to input robust data;

• Tourism Satellite Accounts are at an early stage of development nationally and offer the opportunity for more meaningful data and measurement; NWDA will take a leading role in the development of accounts both regionally and nationally;

• Economic impact studies to identify varying visitor value across the region;

• Tourism Demand Modelling involving scenario planning and futures analysis.

Industry Performance • Accommodation occupancy surveys;• Visitor attractions surveys;• Business performance surveys where the priority

again is on tourist boards securing participation to obtain robust data.

Market Understanding and Analysis• Visitor and spending surveys at regional and sub-

regional level, including the MORI perceptions survey;• Market segmentation work using Arkenford; • Day visitor research.

The delivery and dissemination of this programme ofresearch will give a sound basis on which to make theright investment and planning decisions, and monitorperformance.

Performance EvaluationThis strategy provides a guide to the development of thevisitor economy, defining the direction of travel and thekey objectives for the region. The size and diversity of theregion make the setting of specific measuresproblematic. Each of the sub-regions is different, withchallenges and opportunities that are specific; it is as thesub-regional level that actions must be defined, andspecific performance measures put in place. The touristboards will lead this process, which will be reflected inthe Destination Management Plans they publish.

Nevertheless it is important that there are regionaltargets; these will enable the progress of the strategy tobe monitored and provide a tangible measure of success.The high level regional measures will be:

• Improvements in perception of the region and interest in visiting the region’s destinations, as monitored through the MORI perceptions research undertaken biannually;

• Improvements in visitor satisfaction as measured by destination level surveys;

• Increases in overnight visitor spend above the UK average;

• Above average increases in the percentage of accommodation that is quality-rated by recognised schemes.

We will also institute and publish an annualbenchmarking survey that compares the region and itsdestinations to other UK and European competitors.

The Forum will be responsible for setting milestones andfor the implementation of a systematic approach to themeasurement and evaluation of performance at regionaland sub-regional levels.

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6/ Next Steps This strategy sets out a clear path that is designed tohelp the region achieve its vision of offering visitors realexcellence and superb experiences and having a visitoreconomy that is second to none. It is supported by aseries of more detailed and specific frameworks thatdefine the actions that are needed to achieve our vision.These include tourist board strategies, the TourismMarketing Framework, and strategies for BusinessTourism, Visitor Information, Research, Major Events,Marketing the Natural Environment, Cluster Developmentand Sustainable Tourism; all of these are available fromthe NWDA website.

Much of this strategy’s focus is rightly on the publicagencies that have responsibility for leading economicdevelopment. The success of this strategy will depend onthese agencies acting in a coordinated and focussedmanner to apply the principles, and achieve theobjectives, that are set out here.

Ultimately though, success depends on the thousands oftourism sector businesses in the region; it is they thatprovide the jobs, generate the revenues and produce theprofits that drive economic growth. They will only achievethis growth by understanding their customers andproviding them with the high quality experiences that willmake them all ambassadors for our region.

It is to the success of each and every one of the region’stourism businesses that this strategy is dedicated.

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This document can be made available in large print, braille,Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Somali, Urdu and Hindi.Please contact the Marketing Department on 01925 400 100.

NWDA H2031

March 2007

The Northwest Regional Development Agency PO Box 37Renaissance HouseCentre ParkWarrington WA1 1XBTel: +44 (0)1925 400 100Fax: +44 (0)1925 400 400

www.nwda.co.ukwww.englandsnorthwest.comwww.visitenglandsnorthwest.com

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