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A Strategy for the East Midlands Visitor Economy

Destination East Midlands 2010, the tourism strategy for the region was developed by Locum Consulting in 2003. This strategy is due to end this year. East Midlands Development Agency (emda) is now consulting on the future development of the visitor economy over the next ten years.

The current strategy covered a wide range of areas including branding and marketing, infrastructure, performance and measurement.  In the last eight years the nature of the tourism industry has changed dramatically: 

• There is now a greater reliance on the internet for bookings and information
• Better access to the region by Eurostar and low cost flights
• Increased customer demand for high quality experiences combined with value for money offers
• Greater collective intelligence on the value of the sector to the local economy and understanding of individual customer segments
• Changes in consumer buying  e.g through third parties such as laterooms.com and lastminute.com
• There have also been changes within the industry’s structure, with the introduction of DMP’s and Visit England.

All of these factors need to be reflected in the new strategy.

The Consultation Process

emda’s tourism arm, East Midlands Tourism (EMT) began a consultation process in March 2010. This involves the public and private sector and anyone with a stake in the future success of the sector.  

The first stage of the consultation was an online questionnaire widely promoted by EMT and the region’s five Destination Management Partnerships (DMPs).

Among those completing the questionnaire were accommodation providers, event organisers, attraction proprietors, tourist information centres, universities and local authorities.

Online Questionnaire

The questionnaire was anonymous and there were 10 questions to answer.  The focus was on:

• Achievements since 2003
• Ambitions for the visitor economy in 2020
• Principles for investment in the sector
• Capital investment priorities
• Future indicators of success
• Top 3 short-term priorities

The questionnaire evaluation is available to view.

Workshops

A series of workshops have taken place across the region in partnership with the DMP’s. These give participants the opportunity to discuss future priorities and the vision for 2020 in detail.  A  list of workshop participants, is available and more workshops are planned for June.

This feedback will be used to inform future direction and ensure the wants and needs of the industry are reflected in the final document.

Strategy Publication

The first draft of the new strategy will be published this September.  At this point a further period of consultation will begin before the final version is completed. 

Regular updates will be sent out in DMP newsletters.  You can also sign up to receive the EMT e-newsletter, which will provide information surrounding the further development of the strategy.