Creating great destinations in England’s Northwest An introduction
Contents 3 Foreword 4 Beyond Tourism 8 New Thinking on Place Making 14 The Art of Place Making 19 Key Facts
Foreword Here in England’s Northwest, tourism is one of our most important and vibrant sectors. Growing the visitor economy is one of our primary aims. We have realised, however, that this is more than simply building attractions, hotels and resorts, important as they are; It’s about creating “attractive places”. This means making places attractive for local people to spend time as well as providing places that are appealing for visitors. One leads to the other. Put simply, good places to live are good places to visit. The Regional Tourism Strategy reflects this thinking. It places emphasis on developing the visitor economy, rather than a narrower focus on tourism. Place shaping involves the challenging task of creating successful destinations from diverse ingredients. England’s Northwest has made tremendous progress on this agenda. In both our urban and rural areas, we have seen huge improvements in the public realm, attractions, festivals and events as well as the quality and variety of visitor accommodation. There is a genuine
buzz about them. In the course of a decade, Manchester and Liverpool have leapt from off-the-radar to becoming two of the most successful city destinations in Europe. There is a great deal to be proud of, but still much to do to create destinations that are the envy of the world. The Tourism Team at the NWDA has developed tools to assist all those in the region with an interest in place shaping. The main purpose of the Creating Great Destinations conference and report is to publicise these tools and to encourage everyone to explore and make use of them. We have also been working with Places Matter!, the architecture and built environment centre for the Northwest, to help improve the quality of design in the region. Securing public and private sector investment in place making is increasingly challenging. A feature of our work is that it does not focus solely only on big-ticket investments.
Rather it focuses on working at a micro level with businesses and other organisations in local areas. The “Mosaic” approach to place making builds from the bottom up decentralised approach. It stimulates adventurous place making activity by small groups in communities across the region, facilitated by the public sector. We all have our part to play. And we can all play our part.
Nick Brooks-Sykes Director of Tourism Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA)
Annie Atkins Programme Director Places Matter!
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Beyond Tourism Our visitor economy is not just about people from outside the region; it’s about everyone who lives and works here too.
Investment in the visitor economy needs to encompass a myriad of different elements that interact to make a successful and sustainable destination. It includes everything that attracts people to a place – the shops, the townscape, the landmark buildings, the heritage, the culture, the scenery, the natural environment, the leisure facilities, the events, and so on. In other words, all the things that make a place special, distinctive and worth experiencing. It also needs to address the quality of the infrastructure – such as signage, transport, parking, orientation and interpretation – that enables people to get to and around places. Finally, investment in the visitor economy needs to encompass the services that help, visitors and residents alike to enjoy places - information and booking services and the day-to-day services that make a place clean, safe and welcoming. The feel of a destination also plays its part in creating a sense of place. It is an almost indefinable characteristic that
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has a big role in generating an emotional response to a place and a strong influence on whether it is enjoyed, revisited or recommended. To create a successful and sustainable visitor economy, it is necessary to manage and nurture all of these component parts, thinking both of the interests of residents and visitors. Successful visitor economies are central to the regeneration of towns and cities and to creating economic growth and job opportunities. The more radical the development, the more opportunities it will bring for job creation. Employment opportunities range from flexible, part-time jobs to highly-skilled, entrepreneurial positions in a sector that is undergoing a genuine transformation. Developing a thriving visitor economy requires work by many different organisations. It is not the exclusive preserve of tourist boards or classic tourism businesses like attractions and hotels. It involves local authorities, town and city centre management organisations, developers, cultural organisations and more.
Tourists and visitors A “tourist” is technically defined as someone travelling to a place that is not their “usual environment” for a period of less than twelve months. They are called a “staying visitor” if they spend one or more nights at their destination and a “day visitor” if they return home the same day. The term “visitor” is used more loosely to describe anyone visiting a place, whether it is their usual environment or not. The NWDA has been leading in providing more accurate information about the size and nature of the visitor economy. The agency commissioned major surveys, using innovative on-line methodology, of the day visitors and staying visitors in 2007. This provided a wealth of new information about the visitor economy in the region as a whole, the sub-regions and individual places. The research is being repeated over 2009 and will be available in summer 2010.
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How much is the visitor economy worth? The economic benefits speak for themselves. In 2008, an estimated £14.3 billion was generated by visitors to the region; the largest proportion of this revenue was from day visitors (£9 billion). The Northwest Tourism Economic Account (2007) estimates that visitor spending was directly responsible for the creation of £3.7 billion of value added plus a further £2 billion through supply chain and wage effects, bringing total tourism value added in the region to £5.7 billion. Tourism dependent employment accounted for an estimated 6.7% of the region's workforce (225,000 workers).
Tourism Consumption in England’s Northwest (2007) All £m
Industry
Tourist type
Day Visitors
UKDomestic
Outbound
Business
International
0.0
597.0
0.0
320.8
355.8
1273.5
14.6
1.2 Hostels and non-serviced accommodation
0.0
306.4
0.0
3.2
16.0
325.7
3.7
1811.4
203.9
0.0
237.7
255.7
2508.8
28.8
3.1 Railway transport
96.1
22.0
0.0
4.3
8.0
130.4
1.5
3.2 Other land transport
78.6
52.2
0.0
3.3
24.3
158.3
1.8
3.3 Water transport
0.0
8.7
0.0
0.0
3.3
12.0
0.1
3.4 Air transport
0.0
3.6
925.3
0.3
9.6
938.8
10.8
3.5 Ancillary transport & travel agencies
0.0
0.0
216.9
0.0
5.0
221.8
2.5
4.1 Recreation and entertainment
409.0
51.7
0.0
12.3
28.8
501.9
5.8
5.1 Retail and distribution (inc fuel retail)
725.5
66.9
0.0
28.0
42.7
863.2
9.9
6.1 Fuel Refining
719.3
224.7
0.0
56.0
3.0
1003.0
11.5
3840.0
1537.0
1142.1
665.9
752.2
7937.3
91.0
681.1
38.7
0.0
21.7
45.3
786.8
9.0
4521.1
1575.7
1142.1
687.5
797.5
8724.0
100.0
51.8%
18.1%
13.1%
7.9%
9.1%
100.0
All identified industries 7.1 All other regional industries All regional industries Percent
Key Sources:
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%
1.1 Hotels, motels & other serviced accommodation
2.1 Restaurants, cafés and bars
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Total Internal Tourism Consumption
Figures from Understanding Tourism’s Economic Impact’ NWDA 2009
NW Day Visitor Survey NW Business Tourism Survey NW Staying Visitor Survey International Passenger Survey UK First Steps Tourism Satellite Account
Liverpool’s place making success Liverpool has transformed its appeal as a destination, creating a series of exceptional experiences in different parts of the city. Retail is an important part of the offer of any town and city, and Liverpool One is an exemplar of a modern city centre shopping development. It follows current best practice of being integrated into the street pattern rather than an inward facing mall, and a selection of architects were used to give variety and interest to the buildings. It was planned as a mosaic of different experiences, with concentrations of like-minded shops and restaurants in different parts.
King’s Waterfront is the single largest development on Liverpool’s Waterfront. Its centrepiece is the new Liverpool Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre. Situated on the banks of the River Mersey it has had a substantial – and highly visible - impact on the city’s economy. It has underpinned large scale investment in hotels and revitalised the Waterfront, with new bars and restaurants opening up.
up as a whole to reinforce the character of Liverpool and its local identity. Liverpool One, the Liverpool Echo Arena and BT Convention Centre and Central Village are all showcase examples where factors such as the emphasis on pedestrians, new signage, street furniture and lighting have come together to create distinctive and attractive public spaces.
Liverpool’s City Centre Public Realm Implementation Framework is a design code to guide public realm. Prepared by Liverpool Vision and the City Council, the Framework has ensured that the many public realm works join
As recognition of the work carried out at the Waterfront, the Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link won the Public Space Award at the Northwest Tourism Awards 2009.
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New Thinking on Place Making Great places to live and work are great places to visit We live in a world where people can choose where they go, when they go and how they get there. We can move between different towns, cities and countries with ease. Place making has a major role to play in attracting more visitors to our region and in ensuring that people who live here enjoy their localities. For many of our bigger towns the main challenge is to persuade a larger and more diverse mix of people who live within a few miles to visit their town centre more regularly, rather than travelling further afield for shopping, recreation and work. Doing this will improve the quality of life for all residents and will help towns and cities to attract more investment and also reduce carbon emissions.
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The primary aim for any town or city is to be an attractive place to live in, with a range of places to shop, eat and a vibrant cultural scene, all set within an appealing townscape or landscape. Professionals who think about how to make towns and cities better places often say that it is about making them more “liveable”. The towns and cities worldwide that are rated as the most “liveable” have places for people to live, work and stay in their centres, places to socialise, eating and drinking venues and a rich cultural and entertainment programme. They are pedestrian and cycle-friendly, with good public transport.
The ‘Mosaic’ approach to place shaping The NWDA has been working with a number of towns and cities around the region to generate approaches to improving the visitor economy in the context of the particular diversity. This work has been based on the “Mosaic” approach. It is explained in detail in the Guide to Place Shaping in Towns and Cities, and you can see how it works in the context of a specific city in the report on Place Shaping in Chester. (Shown on page 12). The approach starts with the basic principle that all towns and cities are made up of a “mosaic” of different experiences which are created by likeminded businesses and organisations clustering together. Taking Manchester city centre as an example, the Northern Quarter is populated with independent shops, restaurants and bars; Market Street and the Arndale Centre are dominated by
high street shops; Chinese shops and restaurants congregate in Chinatown; gay-orientated businesses cluster on and near Canal Street; and many fashion boutiques congregate on King Street. Clustering like this can be seen in even the smallest town. The most appealing towns and cities have a mosaic of experiences which are each different and distinctive but which are of high-quality in their own right. To use an analogy, the different experiences are like the different sections of the orchestra. The challenge is to get them to each sound good individually, and to play in harmony. The mosaic approach is, essentially, to break towns and cities down into small bite-sized chunks and then to work with the property owners and tenants in each of them to nurture a strong and distinctive sense of place.
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People have differing preferences in places The reason that businesses of similar type tend to congregate together is because they are trying to attract similar types of customers. The way that estate agents locate together is an obvious example of this – they are making sure that anyone who is looking to buy a house is likely to find them. The same sort of effect is at play in influencing where different sorts of businesses decide to locate in towns and cities. This, in turn, determines the experiences that towns and cities offer.
There are many factors that drive what people are looking for in a destination. Age and life-stage are two of the most obvious. Families with children typically look for different things than older couples or groups of young friends. The ArkLeisure model (see box) is an alternative, psychographic approach to understanding differing preferences, specially designed for the visitor economy. It categorises people according to the type of leisure experiences that they like.
ArkLeisure model
Mass Market
STYLE HOUNDS ‘Young Free Single’, impulsive Fashion counts Brand counts Looking for fun with friends Most not seriously sporty
Innovators COSMOPOLITANS Strong, active, confident Style & brand important, but as an expression of their self made identity High spenders especially on innovation and technology Looking for new challenges, new experiences Globetrotters
HIGH STREET Main stream early adopters Followers of high street fashion Care what others think Happy to buy packaged options FOLLOWERS Strongly influenced by what others will think Don’t want to be seen as old fashioned Less active Slow to adopt Avoid risk
HABITUALS Largely inactive, low spending group Very traditional, strongly resistant to change Risk adverse Value relaxation, peace and quiet
Sustainers
DISCOVERERS Independent in mind and action Little influenced by style or brand but interested in new options Buy on function and value to them Looking for new and educational experiences
TRADITIONALS Self reliant internally referenced Slow to adopt new options Strong orientation towards traditional values Value individual attention & service
FUNCTIONALS Self reliant Price driven Value function over style Traditional values, but interested in new experiences, not risk adverse
The ArkLeisure model was developed by Arkenford Ltd on behalf of VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, to provide a better way of understanding the preferences that people living in the UK have for spending their leisure time. It divides people into eight categories. The NWDA used this model to analyse the results of two major research studies, the 2007 Northwest Day Visitor Survey
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Independent Market
and the 2007 Staying Visitor Survey, and is doing so again with the integrated 2009 Day and Staying Visitor survey. The model has also been used in catchment area surveys in places like Southport and Bolton to show what type of people they currently appeal to, and to show the relative appeal of different sections of their town centres to different types of people.
The Place Making Mosaic Whereas the ArkLeisure model shows the preferences of people, the ‘Place Making Mosaic’, developed by Locum Consulting with the support of the NWDA, is a place making tool that concentrates on the physical experiences that attract people to places.
space of the retail offer or the number of hotel rooms. The Guide to Place Shaping gives examples of how it can be used in this way.
It’s a simple way to model the various types of experiences that a destination offers, such as its hotels, restaurants, and shops. It gives a richer picture than, for example, simply measuring the floor
Corporate High Prices
Mid Prices
Low Prices
PREMIUM BRANDS
The Place Making Mosaic is also a way of assessing the range of experiences offered by different parts of a town or city. By mapping the different parts on the grid, it is possible to identify existing clusters, and where there are strengths and gaps. That makes it easier to identify where interventions can best be made and what they should be.
Corporate – Independent
COSMOPOLITAN
HIGH STREET
VALUE BRANDS
Independent
PREMIUM INDEPENDENTS
BOHEMIAN
TRADITIONAL
TRADITIONAL INDEPENDENTS
THE PLACE MAKING MOSAIC © Locum Consulting & David Geddes
The Place Making Mosaic Towards the left of the model are experiences dominated by corporations – the commercial offer is largely branded chains and property tends to be owned by larger property companies and financial institutions. Towards the right of the model are experiences dominated by independents – the commercial offer is largely locally owned businesses and property tends to be in multi-ownership by relatively small companies. Towards the top of the model are experiences dominated by high-end businesses – businesses here tend to compete on quality rather than price. Towards the bottom of the model are experiences dominated by value-orientated businesses – prices here are a large factor in how they position themselves.
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The importance of heritage townscapes it is dwarfed by heritage townscapes. This is because people like to spend leisure time in places where they can sense the past and have a distinct character. Destinations with a strong heritage element are often more successful than those without.
There is often a clear demarcation between the places in towns and cities where the main multiples congregate (‘flagship zones’) and areas where independents, niche multiples and culture orientated organisations gather (‘oasis zones’). Both need attention in any city or large town.
The upshot of this is that all towns and cities should look carefully at where there is potential created by historic townscapes to nurture attractive oasis style areas. The Guide to Place Shaping gives many examples of where this has been done well.
The quality of the oasis zones often determines how attractive a place is to visitors. In nurturing this, many Northwest towns and cities can perhaps look to make progress in the short-term. Often, conservation zones, or other places where there are older buildings, are the best places to nurture attractive oasis areas. They are often the places most conducive to distinctive independent businesses and to creative and cultural organisations. The NWDA, in partnership with English Heritage, recently commissioned research into the economic importance of heritage. It differentiated between heritage “landmarks” - museums, cathedrals, and other heritage attractions - and heritage “townscapes” made up of collections of historic buildings and streetscapes. The research demonstrated that, although the landmarks have great economic value,
Flagship Zones Corporate High Prices
Oasis Zones
Corporate – Independent
PREMIUM BRANDS
Independent
PREMIUM INDEPENDENTS
COSMOPOLITAN
St Michael’s Row St Werburgh St
Watergate St East
Grosvenor SC Mid Prices
HIGH STREET
Northgate St South
Eastgate St Foregate St West Pepper t
Godstall Lane St John St Lower Bridge St St Werburgh Row Bridge St
Friars Gate
BOHEMIAN Northgate St North/Rufus Ct
Watergate St West
Commonhall St
Forum Shopping Centre Brook St Foregate St East
Low Prices
VALUE BRANDS
Frodsham St
TRADITIONAL
Indoor Market
TRADITIONAL INDEPENDENTS
THE PLACE MAKING MOSAIC © Locum Consulting & David Geddes
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Using the Place Making Mosaic in Chester The Place Making Mosaic has been used to map the centre of Chester and suggest ideas for how the city can nurture distinctive experiences in different parts of the centre. In the city’s main streets and shopping arcades, national multiple brands dominate. When you reach the extremities of the main streets, each has its own character – they are dominated by value-orientated multiples, independents, or a mix of independents and smaller national multiples. Bars and restaurants are located on the ends of the flagship streets. There are also “oasis” areas such as Godstall Lane. There is a need to focus on polishing the offer, expanding flagship zones and nurturing the mixed-use oases.
The Destination Checklist The Destination Checklist in A Guide to Place Shaping provides a simple way to assess the nature and quality of the different elements of the destination offer in your area.
workshops to go through each step of the checklist; or it could commission some research prior to completing the checklist, to give more information on its visitor offer and how it is perceived.
It involves rating each aspect of the destination offer – from transport links, shopping and accommodation to arts and culture, restaurants, bars and visitor information services.
The Destination Checklist is one of the first steps to improving a place’s tourism offer. It is a quick and easy way to identify priorities for improvement and investment which will help create distinctive and sustainable places.
There are various approaches an area might take - it could organise
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The Art of Place Making Conducting a place making “orchestra” Local government's role in place shaping is crucial. Sir Michael Lyons’ inquiry into Local Government outlined the importance of place making and the fact that local government can use its powers and influence creatively to promote the wellbeing of a community and its citizens. This is fundamental to improving satisfaction and prosperity. But place making is not easy. It involves many different component parts, from small things, like the design of individual shop fronts and availability of information about events, to large things, like revamping the public realm and building new cultural facilities. Improving all of these cannot be the job of a single organisation but, to continue the orchestra analogy, a local authority is the conductor. Civic leadership is the essence of the conductor’s role. Leaders and chief executives of local authorities set the
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pace. The Guide to Place Shaping in Towns and Cities has examples of places that have been transformed as a result of dogged determination of civic leaders, often requiring a degree of courage in the face of opposition. Furthermore, many of the most successful towns and cities in the world have got that way because their leaders have been able to inject and embed a certain impetus and momentum. Local authority planners have a particularly crucial leadership role. They have been encouraged and required to take a more proactive approach to place making in the development of Local Development Frameworks and Area Action Plans. Many places in the Northwest have been transformed as a result of progressive work by planning officers. The Place Making Mosaic tool is intended to be of particular use to planners and to encourage them to nurture distinctive and attractive experiences.
A role for many players Because the visitor economy affects so many aspects of life in towns and cities, there are roles for many people in developing, managing and marketing it – and there are lots of opportunities to work in a more integrated and effective way. Teamwork, for example, between planners and officers responsible for economic development, culture, leisure and tourism can pay big dividends. Highway engineers are another set of important players, especially where they are willing to challenge convention and support the progressive approaches seen on the continent and increasingly in the UK - giving precedence to the needs of pedestrians. There are many places in the Northwest where step change improvement in the place depends on big, difficult, changes to traffic systems. On a day to day basis, there is need for professional town and city centre
management. Increasingly, a town centre management partnership takes the form of a Business Improvement District, where businesses vote for a supplement to business rates on condition that it is spent on additional activity to improve and promote their area. Sometimes, a developer becomes the destination manager. Liverpool One is a great example of privately managed public space, setting new standards for destination management in an open city centre environment. There are great examples in London – some, like Marylebone High Street, featured in the Guide to Place Shaping – of how private companies can manage areas of cities with great panache. Finally, there is an important role for the tourist boards, both in terms of being an advocate for the visitor economy, and in making sure that the services provided for visitors are exceptional.
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Investment in character, block-by-block The Mosaic approach to place making puts emphasis on trying to build partnerships of like-minded businesses in localities of towns and cities. It advocates looking at towns and cities on a block-by-block basis. From this, strategies for investment and
improvement can be drawn up and agreed, working with the businesses operating there. This could be as simple as getting neighbouring businesses to get together and smarten up their area or set up a joint letting scheme.
The principles of nurturing distinctive areas 1. Focus on micro areas that have a distinctive character in terms of the nature of the built environment and the experiences that cluster there. 2. Establish an appropriate partnership vehicle in each micro area for pushing through improvements. 3. Be clear as to the type of experience that is being created and the type of customer that is the primary target. 4. Develop anchors that will attract the right type of person to each sub-destination. 5. Be selective in accepting tenants, aiming for those that will enhance the experience that is being created. 6. Give each micro area a name and style. 7.
Invest in built realm that is consistent with the nature of the experience that is being created and provides signals as to the type of area it is.
8. Encourage a programme of events and festivals that is of a style and nature that fits the vision for the area.
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Celebrating Lancashire’s local produce Lancashire has some of the best regional produce in the UK. The Taste Lancashire campaign, co-ordinated by Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, is a great example of promoting local food and drink and making sure that visitors’, and residents’, eating and drinking experiences are the very best to be found in the area. A Taste Lancashire quality scheme, events, festivals, farmers’ markets, themed months and short breaks are all used
to promote the sub-region and what it can offer. Businesses can display the Taste Lancashire logo and marketing material to show they’re part of the scheme and signpost people to other venues worth visiting. Celebrating the area’s food and drink offer is a great way to showcase the quality and diversity of the region and provides a way to attract and retain visitors eager to experience more.
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Conferences in Manchester Manchester is reinforcing its brand by dressing the city during high profile events. During the Conservative Party Conference in October 2009, drop banners were placed in St. Anne’s Square and Albert’s Square and dressing around the main conference site and the secure zone promoted the city’s cultural offer. This was complemented by a banner above Manchester Town Hall and additional lamppost banners at various
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sites throughout the city centre. Most of the artwork for the lamppost and drop banners depicted Manchester landmarks with the trademark Manchester ‘M’ at the bottom. Six-sheet posters were also placed in selected sites, particularly around Manchester Central and the Town Hall. These include ‘Back the World Cup Bid’ posters to encourage visitors to back Manchester’s bid to be a host city for the 2018 FIFA World Cup bid.
£14.3bn £50,000 the value of tourism to England’s Northwest
spent by visitors can create one new job
30m
6.7%
staying visitors to the region every year
of the regions workforce in tourism dependent employment
225,000
£5.7bn
full-time jobs supported by the visitor economy across the Northwest
a year value added from tourism
Renaissance House, Centre Park, Warrington, WA1 1QN Tel: +44 (0)1925 400 100 Fax: +44 (0)1925 400 400 www.nwda.co.uk www.enw.co.uk/visit www.nwtourism.net
This document is available in large print, braille, audio tape and the following languages; Bengali, Chinese, Gujarati, Somali, Urdu and Hindi. Please contact the Marketing Department on 01925 400100 October 2009 NWDA j10-24