Tourism - Autumn 2011 - issue 147 by Tourism Society

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The Tourism Society Trinity Court, 34 West Street, Sutton, Surrey SM1 1SH T 020 8661 4636 F 020 8661 4637 E journal@tourismsociety.org W www.tourismsociety.org Registered in England No. 01366846. ISSN: 02613700 Designed and produced by Script Media Group Contact Tony Barry 47 Church Street Barnsley S70 2AS T 01226 734333 E tb@whpl.net W www. whpl.net ÂŠ Copyright 2011 The Tourism Society Tourism is the journal of the Tourism Society.The views expressed in Tourism are those of individual authors and not necessarily those of the Tourism Society. Whilst unsolicited material is welcomed, neither transparencies nor unpublished articles can be returned. The Tourism Society cannot be held responsible for any services offered by advertisers in Tourism. All correspondence must be addressed to the Editor. Tourism is only available to members of the Tourism Society and on subscription, it is distributed quarterly to 1800 professionals working in national and regional tourist boards, local government, travel agencies, and tour operators, visitor attractions, accommodation and catering, entertainment, information services, guiding, consultancies and education and training.

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Contents

Editorial Making it happen ... With the launch of the Government’s Tourism Policy in March, and with the summer season drawing to a close, it’s time to take stock not only of the performance of our individual businesses, but also whether the policy will deliver what the industry needs. This issue of the Tourism Society Journal looks at how tourism operators and businesses are coping with the new tourism landscape, and whether the Coalition’s commitment and stated ambitions for the sector can possibly be realised. VisitBritain’s June visitor figures were encouraging, and VisitEngland’s 2010 visitor attractions survey also provided comfort showing admissions up 3% overall, but with customers hunting out the free, rather than paid-for, attractions. Georgina Kelly from Warwick Castle provides us with a practical checklist on how to impress government and economists, ending on an explicit point about VAT uncompetitiveness. Tourism Alliance’s Kurt Janson looks at what comes after the Red Tape Challenge, and questions whether the speed of the Parliamentary process and the resource required will be up to the much bigger challenge of actually amending the legislation to reflect our ‘wish list’. While other articles question the value of localism and partnerships as effective mechanisms for change, Andy Wood gives us his perspective as Chair of New Anglia LEP. Getting up close and personal to the economies of smaller geographic areas may or may not prove useful to tourism businesses in the long run, but we can only hope that the net result is attractive destinations across the country, with accommodation and services to match. As we reflect on a summer that has seen unprecedented civil disturbance in cities across England, we must hope that the dreadful images flashed onto news screens across the world will not deter our overseas visitors as we approach a landmark year for UK tourism. It must be a year that sees the whole of the UK capitalising on the Olympic benefits and one in which we can showcase all of the great things that we have to offer. Enjoy the issue ....

VisitBritain:Tourism Policy delivers a sense of purpose David Bishop MTS, Head of Tourism Affairs,VisitBritain

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Reducing Regulatory Burden: Just how easy is it to cut red tape? Kurt Janson MTS, Policy Director,Tourism Alliance

Outbound: Getting the balance right across all sectors Luke Pollard, Head of Public Affairs, ABTA

VisitEngland: Industry needs to back up the recognition it is getting Louise Stewart, Partnerships and Performance Director, VisitEngland 6-7 Case Study: New Anglia LEP Andy Wood, Chairman, New Anglia LEP

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Transport: Coach tourism supports the domestic market Chris Wales FTS, Chief Executive, Coach Tourism Council

Attractions: Let people know what you’re worth Georgina Kelly, Head of Marketing, Warwick Castle

Destination Management: Implementing the Tourism Policy at a destination level Neil McCollum MTS, Head of Tourism, Greenwich Council

Tourism Consultants Network: For what we are about to achieve … Paul Buchanan FTS, Director, Hall Aitken

Small Businesses: Dealing with the detail Andy Woodward FTS, Chief Executive, Farm Stay UK

Education:Will Government policy lead to closer links with practitioners? Paul Bamber MTS, Tourism Lecturer, University College Birmingham

Conference Report

Membership News

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Martin Stringer MTS | Executive Secretary,The Caravan Club

From the President’s Desk A decade ago an entrepreneur I much respect predicted that the three great growth industries of the 21st century would be tourism, telecommunications, and financial services. Of these three the outright winner – probably beyond the expectations of the most optimistic prophet – is telecommunications.The explosion of mobile services and internet use have revolutionised the way we work and interact socially. No wonder the world’s richest man owns a telecoms company.The clear loser of those three has to be financial services. It may have exploded in size but as recent events have shown the destructive

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force unleashed by ill judged risk taking and the massive legacy of personal and national debt will haunt us for years to come. But what of tourism and its future? International tourism continues to grow. Across the globe there were some 940 million tourist arrivals and the value of global tourism is some $940 billion – a steady but not spectacular increase broadly reflecting the growth in world economic activity. However, hidden in the headline statistics are some interesting trends. China has shot up the table and is now the third most visited country in the world after France and the USA. In value terms it is 4th for receipts, but the

really interesting statistic is that it is third in terms of spend overseas giving it a net deficit slightly larger than the UK’s. The lesson is clearly that not all growth is good. Indeed how you grow is as important as achieving growth in the first place.That is a lesson we should apply in the UK. The most successful tourism destinations, and the most sustainable, are those which go for yield based on real value rather than a simple pursuit of numbers. I wonder where these three industries will be in another 10 years’ time?

Lord Thurso MP FTS | President,Tourism Society

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VisitBritain

Tourism Policy delivers a sense of purpose Penning this article, almost a year to the day since David Cameron gave his extraordinary speech on tourism at the Serpentine Gallery in Hyde Park, it is difficult to believe how much change and how much progress tourism has seen in the last twelve months. A year ago we had warm, and welcome, words, a growing budget deficit, and the threat of cuts. Today we have clarity. A Government Tourism Policy which aims to deliver policy changes across Government to free the tourism industry to create jobs and growth. A focused, and yes, smaller, VisitBritain with a clear mandate to use the great events Britain is hosting in the next few years to showcase us to the world; backed by £100 million of public and private sector funding. So, one year since the Serpentine, and one year to go to the Olympics. A good point to pause and look at what has been done, and what we have still to do. “For too long tourism has been looked down on as a second class service sector. That’s just wrong. Tourism is a fiercely competitive market, requiring skills, talent, enterprise and a government that backs Britain. It’s fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy.” David Cameron, 12 August 2010 The Prime Minister set out an ambition for tourism. He wanted it to grow – to attract more visitors from overseas and encourage more Britons to holiday at home. He saw tourism as part of a growing, rebalanced UK economy. He identified a need for the public and private sectors to play a greater part, in cooperation, in order to take full advantage of the opportunities presented by the Olympic

Games. He challenged John Penrose, the Tourism Minister, with developing a new tourism policy which would enable the UK to make the best of its tourism opportunities, increase private sector participation in the marketing and organisation of UK tourism, and give direction to departments across Whitehall in order to support tourism growth. The Government Tourism Policy, published in March, distilled these aspirations into three objectives. Firstly, increase inbound tourism through a major advertising campaign. Secondly, increase the proportion of UK residents holidaying in the UK. And finally, increase the productivity of the tourism sector, to become one of the world’s top 5 visitor

‘For too long tourism has been looked down on as a second class service sector.That’s just wrong.Tourism is a fiercely competitive market, requiring skills, talent, enterprise and a government that backs Britain. It’s fundamental to the rebuilding and rebalancing of our economy’ David Cameron, 12 August 2010

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economies for competitiveness. “We are refocusing VisitBritain (VB) onto researching, creating and delivering a series of marketing campaigns to attract ever-greater numbers of inbound travellers to the UK” Government Tourism Policy, March 2011 In many ways the Policy marked a step change. For VisitBritain, however, this new direction of travel had been apparent for some time.The Comprehensive Spending Review, in October, presented VisitBritain with a 34% budget cut, spread across 4 years. At the same time, however, the Government challenged VisitBritain to deliver the best ever marketing campaign for an Olympics host country. At a time when the Government was working to reduce the budget deficit, and as a result less public money was available, the Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt, worked with VisitBritain to raise £50 million of funding, in cash and marketing-in-kind, from the private sector to support a four year long marketing programme. The £100 million pound ‘Britain,You’re Invited’ partnership, aimed at attracting 4 million extra visitors, was launched at

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No.10 Downing Street on 5 January 2011.The successful delivery of this marketing programme is VisitBritain’s main focus. Since January the pace has, if anything, increased.The launch of a celebrity TV advert in June (the first for a decade) will be followed in short order by a major tactical marketing campaign in September.The end of the year will see a major social media campaign targeting friends and relatives. Reduced budgets and a concentration on VisitBritain’s core marketing remit have meant a number of changes to VisitBritain’s structure and activities, as mandated by the Tourism Policy. “Noncore” activities have been stopped. VisitBritain exited business tourism (though retaining bid support for major events).VisitBritain also took the decision to reduce the number of overseas markets it is active in from 35 to 21.The remaining markets, together, represent around 76% of inbound visitors in the UK. In line with other ‘quangos’,VisitBritain has cut back on policy and advocacy.The Tourism Policy does, however, require VisitBritain to retain ‘a streamlined advisory function’, in order to provide Government with advice on issues which are either non-devolved, or affect the UK’s international competitiveness. The government’s third objective for the Tourism Policy is to make Britain’s visitor economy one of the five most competitive in the world. International competitiveness, and the assessment of Britain’s

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situation relative to our key competitors, therefore, assumes a greater importance within VisitBritain’s streamlined advisory function. This gives VisitBritain’s advisory function a clear focus and is already being reflected in a number of ways.VisitBritain has focused on tighter competitor sets to enable meaningful comparisons between Britain and other destinations for each of our core markets, and is now using these to work up a 'Britain tourism plan' for each overseas market.These will be used to agree with the tourism industry, our commercial partners and Government the priority areas to address to ensure Britain gains its share of global tourism Armed with this knowledge,VisitBritain will be focusing on a tighter set of policy issues around inbound tourism.Two areas of the tourism policy, in particular, offer potentially significant benefits for visitors. The Tourism Policy sets out a number of ways to improve the visa applications process, including increasing online visa applications, providing guidance in local languages and sharing Visa Application Centres with trusted allies (e.g. the USA and Australia).The aim is to improve the visa application process, to make it more convenient, and less time-consuming. VisitBritain’s analysis of the UK visa regime, and our ability to provide Government with international comparisons, is an important part of the case for these policy changes. The second is the Deregulation Task Force, set up by the Tourism Minister,

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which will report on its recommendations in November this year. Sandie Dawe,VisitBritain’s chief executive, chairs the Travel sub-group of the task force, and is examining a number of issues including Air Passenger Duty and package holiday regulation. So, what a difference a year makes. Where there was concern and uncertainty we have clarity and a sense of purpose. We have a Tourism Policy which affirms the Government’s belief that tourism can grow, and should be supported to grow, and that growth will contribute to economic recovery by generating jobs and wealth across the country. Far from being abolished,VisitBritain has a new lease of life delivering, in partnership with the private sector, a major four-year marketing programme which will take advantage of the huge opportunity presented by the recent Royal Wedding, and next year’s Diamond Jubilee and Olympic and Paralympic Games to showcase the best of Britain to the world, and invite them to visit. The Tourism Policy also recognises the importance of competing globally for our share of world tourism. With staff in 21 countries overseas, a respected research capacity and the ability to provide Government with analysis and advice, this is another area where VisitBritain is uniquely well able to contribute. The Tourism Policy has given VisitBritain a clear focus, and we’re fully committed to delivering on it.

David Bishop MTS| Head of Tourism Affairs, VisitBritain

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Reducing Regulatory Burden Just how easy is it to cut red tape? The good news is that after years of lobbying regarding the high regulatory burden faced by UK tourism businesses, 80% of which are SMEs, the Tourism Minister has established a Regulation Taskforce to tackle the issue. The Taskforce has formed three subgroups which are now analysing the hundreds of submissions that were received from the public, businesses and Trade Associations as part of the recent Red Tape Challenge to determine what regulation can simply be repealed and what regulation needs to be amended to reduce the burden on businesses. Where the current regulations need to be amended, the sub-groups will enter discussions with the relevant Government Department to try to develop an agreed solution that can be presented to the Minister. This process will continue until the end of November when the Taskforce is due to present a final report, with associated recommendations, to the Minister for his, and Government’s, consideration. It is expected that the Government will respond to the report in the new year with the agreed recommendations on regulation to be repealed or amended then entering the legislative programme. So the earliest it could reasonably be expected that new legislation will be passed and the regulatory burden on businesses will decrease will probably be the end of 2012 (new legislation is generally only brought in twice per annum – 1 April and 1 November). While there are considerable expectations within the tourism industry that the Regulation Taskforce will be able to bring about a concerted reduction to the burden faced by tourism businesses, there still remain a number of questions regarding how successful this initiative will be in reducing regulatory burden. One of main questions relates to the ability of the Parliamentary system to undertake all the proposed amendments. That is, the usual way of amending legislation is through an amendment Bill.The Department responsible for the legislation has to consider how best to amend the legislation, write a consultation docu-

Kurt Janson MTS| Policy Director, Tourism Alliance

ment inviting public submissions, wait three months to receive the submissions, analyse them, publish a response detailing the outcome, produce draft legislation, undertake an impact assessment and then get the resultant Bill through Parliament.This can be long process and takes considerable Departmental resources to achieve. The problem with this process is that, with the Red Tape Challenge, the Government is reviewing a vast range of legislation under 14 different themes all at the same time (it’s worth remembering that all the legislation related to food and drink manufacture and provision, alcohol and entertainment licensing, holidays and travel and operating accommodation businesses is just one theme). Across all themes there will be hundreds, if not thousands, of pieces of legislation that are being reviewed with recommendations being made as to how they should be amended or repealed. Making all the proposed amendments could choke the Parliamentary system for years. Of course, there are ways of reducing this problem by using consolidation Acts

Issue 147 Autumn 2011

which consolidate a range of existing legislation into one new piece of legislation or omnibus Acts that amend and repeal a wide range of legislation at the same time. However, even these options have constraints – consolidation Acts are usually very time and resource intensive while omnibus Acts tend only to be used when making a range of minor amendments. Which leads to the conclusion that, at some stage, the Government will have to prioritise which legislation it amends so that it can allocate Parliamentary time. This need to prioritise is reinforced by two further points – that the Government is undertaking significant cuts in the public sector so there will be fewer people available to work on the amendments, and that there will still continue to be an ongoing stream of new legislation demanding Departmental and Parliamentary time. All this invites the inevitable question – in a battle for Departmental and Parliamentary time, how high a priority is amending legislation that impacts upon tourism businesses?

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Outbound

Getting the balance right across all sectors The Government is in a quandary about tourism. On the one hand there is a clear commitment from the Prime Minister to develop the sector, to bring in more tourists and to refocus the holiday plans of Brits from travelling overseas to enjoying more domestic trips. On the other hand it has imposed rampant levels of air tax, costly visas, and restrictions on aviation growth constraining new routes, especially from the emerging economies. The Coalition's tourism policy attempted to straddle both sides of this debate, with a hefty focus on how domestic and inbound tourism will deliver benefits, but with scarce mention of outbound. Perhaps politically, this was the right way forward for a newly elected Government; but a year on, is this still the right prescription for a healthy tourist industry? Well, on the face of it, if you solely look at domestic tourism, the Government has some successes to point to. Aided by the Royal Wedding and the Olympics build up, things have seemingly been going well; efforts to cut red tape have proceeded apace and tourism infrastructure has been slowly recovering from the abolition of the RDAs. However, it's now time for further, more comprehensive, treatment. This is especially true as there can be no doubt that the summer’s riots, which were broadcast around the world, will likely have reduced the appeal of the UK for some. With a tourism policy so heavily skewed towards attracting new tourists from overseas, that's an issue for Ministers. Before I offer my own recommendations, it needs to be stated that tourism is a resourceful and resilient sector, one that often succeeds despite Government and not because of it. However, there is no doubt that there are things Government can do to assist all three parts of the sector, domestic, inbound and outbound. Firstly, Government should look again at the self-imposed impediments to immediate growth, namely tax and regulation.

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Supporting tourism: is the Government in it for the long haul? Rising levels of APD are making the UK unattractive to visitors at a time when value for money is paramount.This has been a Government created impediment and only Government can address it. Cancelling the double inflationary rise in APD due next year is one way to help at the margins whilst hacking back the level of APD would act as a welcomed shot in the arm for UK tourism. When launching his policy the Tourism Minister, John Penrose, explained the absence of outbound in his policy as a reflection of the success of the sector showing it didn't need Government help. Some significant holiday company failures and economic woes later, that assessment doesn't seem as pertinent anymore. A rebalancing of efforts to reflect a genuine concern about the health and wellbeing of the outbound sector would certainly be welcome. What's more, addressing the outbound sector’s major concerns – high rates of

APD and a lack of aviation capacity – also addresses two of inbound tourism's major gripes. The outbound sector must also be careful of what we wish for. Ronald Reagan often joked that the scariest moment for business is when Government calls saying they're here to help. But there are certainly things Government can do to lighten the load on tourism businesses in every part of the sector. Whether domestic, inbound or outbound, Government departments, including those outside DCMS, can and should do more to fully realise the potential of the tourism industry for generating jobs and contributing to the economic recovery. Now, as MPs return to Westminster from their summer recess, it is vitally important that Government refocuses on how they can remove impediments which prevent the trade from doing what it does best – running successful businesses and taking people on holiday.

Luke Pollard | Head of Public Affairs, ABTA Issue 147 Autumn 2011

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VisitEngland

Industry needs to back up the recognition it is getting VisitEngland was not alone in welcoming the announcement that the Coalition Government would produce a Tourism Policy.The industry has required clarity about the commitment of Government to this important part of the economy for a long time. When the Policy was launched in March 2011 it provided a formal acknowledgement and appreciation of tourism’s importance to the economy from the very top, from the Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. We particularly welcome the focus on addressing legislative and policy barriers to growth and of course the prominent role that VisitEngland should play in facilitating the Policy’s delivery, supporting local areas and growth of the industry. Equally, we welcome the drive by the Tourism Minister, John Penrose, to ensure that the policy is implemented across Government departments, again something that tourism professionals had been asking to be done more effectively for some time. To a new Minister the industry must be very confusing, with so many bodies delivering for the different sectors of tourism and across different geographies. The complex characteristics of the industry exist for many reasons, both practical and political, meaning that seemingly simple aspirations are sometimes difficult to

achieve. In a period of significant funding and political changes there is a risk that some of these constant challenges become more pronounced. The wider Government policy of localism recognises that a ‘one size fits all’ solution, imposed from a national level, can inadvertently act as a barrier to growth and innovation at the local level. But for tourism this has been recognised for a long time. Every tourism destination is a construct of its geography, business base, natural and built assets, strength of its political and business leadership, its sense of identity and the level of shared focus and ambition. Whilst it makes the work of the national tourist board appear more challenging, it also gives us and our partners greater flexibility to work together.Yet localism hasn’t taken away the desire of local partners for national leadership, collaboration and coordination; it appears to have reinforced it, especially in the absence of other sub-national coordination structures.The challenge now is having the ability to communicate with our stakeholders at national and local level.The number and range of people eager to work with us, to get involved in tourism, to support tourism and to benefit from tourism is growing and almost each engagement is unique. Our new collaboration structures will

‘We particularly welcome the focus on addressing legislative and policy barriers to growth and of course the prominent role that VisitEngland should play in facilitating the Policy’s delivery, supporting local areas and growth of the industry Equally, we welcome the drive by the Tourism Minister, John Penrose, to ensure that the policy is implemented across Government departments, again something that tourism professionals had been asking to be done more effectively for some time.’

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help us provide opportunities to engage with VisitEngland and others. The focus on Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) in the policy, and the need for the private sector to be more involved in directing and funding their activities, provides the biggest challenge for destinations.This approach is not new – DMOs have been moving in this direction for some time with varied levels of progress. But the sudden loss of funding has meant many have had to make severe cuts in staffing and activity levels, whilst trying to attract new funding and build relationships with new bodies such as the Local Enterprise Partnerships. Recent funding cuts to tourism bodies at all levels has caused a difficult year for many, those moving on and those left behind, as we refocus on the absolute priorities and stop doing some of the activities that had previously been delivered.Those moving on are not all lost to the industry. We have retained some of that expertise in new roles and some have made the leap into self employment

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Picture: ©Britain on View/Britain on View

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Local business and tourism interests need to work together and business ownership, a new tea shop in Alnwick, exciting new additions to the consultancy and coaching world, a new catering business, the list goes on. Despite all the challenges I am encouraged by the resilience of the individuals and organisations to reform and redefine themselves and maintain a strong sense of collaborative and partnership working, at a local level and with VisitEngland. The Local Enterprise Partnerships have recognised tourism with many making it one of their priorities. Some LEPs have tourism expertise on their Boards, such as the New Anglia LEP, or have created tourism task groups and in some cases have supported and initiated bids to the Regional Growth Fund for tourism projects. This didn’t happen by accident – the recognition given to tourism by Government, the work of VisitEngland, the voice of local businesses and the work by Destination Management Organisations and Local Authorities have all helped to make sure that tourism has not been ignored by these new bodies. We need a network of viable tourism bodies at national and local level to work with businesses and other stakeholders to develop and grow the sector.Time will tell how many are able to adapt quickly enough but VisitEngland is working hard

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to support them, with expertise, advice and facilitating learning between destinations.The VisitEngland Destination Pathfinder Programme is gaining momentum and we hope to be sharing lessons from our featured destinations soon. The Strategic Framework for Tourism in England 2010 – 2020 remains the shared driver for tourism collaboration and its recently launched Action Plans align with many of the Government Policy aspirations; so the industry is already delivering against the policy. Whilst the industry now has the desired acknowledgement of its role in economic growth, it is under greater pressure than ever to prove that public sector investment has significant impact and ensure that the private sector increases its contribution to the activities that they benefit from. This is not about expressing the familiar market failure arguments but proving that over time public sector investment is working to address them, rather than accept them. It is also about evidencing the growth that tourism generates.The sector confidently states that tourism creates and supports employment but it’s not always easy to prove in a sector so impacted by external factors, such as exchange rates and the activities of our competitors.

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Nor is it easy to evidence when the impact of visitor spend and sector investment is so diverse. We need to get smarter at measuring the performance of combined public/private sector investment activity to build the evidence base and improve understanding of cause and effect. 2012 provides a great opportunity for us to work with our partners across the country to keep the profile of tourism high amongst decision makers, local and national politicians, to increase understanding of the sector and demonstrate not only its economic importance but its importance to the wider health of the nation and quality of life. It is unfortunate that this level of interest in the industry is combined with major funding reductions, and at the same time as we prepare to welcome the world in 2012. However, the sector lobbied for greater recognition by Government and it succeeded.VisitEngland is committed to support them to deliver their policy aspirations, where these align with the industry’s priorities, and we urge our partners to do the same. This level of profile for tourism may not last forever, but it will be a much shorter period if we prove ourselves unable to work effectively both together and with government to deliver growth.

Louise Stewart| Partnerships and Performance Director, VisitEngland

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Case Study

New Anglia LEP It is well known now that in May 2010 the new Government announced the closure of Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) throughout the country. RDAs were largely supporters of tourism and undoubtedly some loss of impact in the sector will be felt but the need for spending reductions and questions about the saliency and relevance of RDAs to the localities and economies they supported led to their demise. The future for large parts of the economic development agenda therefore now rests with new private sector led bodies called Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) of which there are some 37 now in existence throughout the country. Billed as new and dynamic public/private partnerships, LEPs by and large represent smaller geographies than RDAs and are designed specifically to get closer to and understand better the economies they support. Often and quite understandably people fall into the trap of comparing LEPs to RDAs. On the ground the differences between the two could not be more stark. RDAs were well resourced, well funded public bodies with significant staffs working full-time on economic development. LEPs on the other

hand have very few staff and very limited financial resources but do benefit from significant business input.The later development can only be a good move, and whilst the impact of LEPs will be very different from RDAs they do have a significant opportunity to enable economies to be rebalanced creatively through a focus on private sector job creation.The acid test, however, and key to realising these benefits, will be the development of enduring relationships built on trust between central government, local government and the business community. The potential for 'talking shops' and bureaucracies to emerge that will ultimately disenfranchise business people remains a significant risk. In May this year the New Anglia LEP received Government approval and set about its task. Much good work had been done preparing the ground in the formal run up to approval and I was very encouraged by the enthusiasm of business people throughout the area to get involved as indicated by the fifty-four high quality applications for the six private sector Board positions.This optimism has been further reinforced by the way in which the public sector across both

ÂŠ Britain on View Rod Edwards

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counties (Norfolk and Suffolk) has enthusiastically supported and got behind the initiative. The original plan during the LEP development phase (prior to its official recognition) identified two priority areas.The first of these related to the well established energy sector in Norfolk and Suffolk.This comprises a mature off-shore oil and gas industry, nuclear power generation at Sizewell and one of the largest off-shore wind developments to be built anywhere in the world taking place over the next few years.The potential for indigenous companies to grow and create jobs and the opportunity to attract new inward investment into the LEP area should ensure significant economic benefits over the coming years. In many respects it is the role of the LEP, working with the Energy sector, to ensure these benefits are secured. In this regard one of its first tasks was to submit a bid for an Enterprise Zone covering the towns of Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft to underpin the opportunity. We will not hear until later in the summer but if successful such a development would go a long way towards making secure a significant jobs boost in both towns. The second area of priority identified was tourism. Across the LEP area the sector is an economic and employment giant, contributing ÂŁ4bn and accounting for 74,000 jobs. With a long and unspoilt coastline, wonderful market towns and urban centres that have managed to combine great heritage with modern progressive development, the area has so much to offer. Tourism has been characterised across both counties by a number of small bodies, often publicly funded and acting very much alone to further their own local areas.This has worked to a greater or lesser extent but it is fair to say the bodies have often lacked scale and the financial resources necessary to achieve the cut-through needed in an increasingly crowded, changing and noisy media envi-

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Andy Wood (left) and Peter Barry (right) present LEP proposals to Brandon Lewis MP for Great Yarmouth ronment. Also, acting in isolation the bodies have not always captured the benefits to be gained from adopting a visitor’s perspective. A perspective that, clearly, is not constrained by administrative boundaries and tight geographies. Making change in this area is sensitive and it is important not to be critical of the good work that has gone before.The fragmented approach, however, has made it considerably more difficult over the years for tourism to argue its case in a coherent and compelling way to policy makers.The formation of the LEP offers the opportunity to look afresh at how things could work for the better.

The first step was to hold a Tourism Summit in the spring.The outline proposal, overwhelmingly supported, was for a combined ‘back-office’ for tourism in Norfolk and Suffolk. It is planned this will be a small, focused body without public recognition.The brands of Suffolk and Norfolk are what will continue to be publicly promoted to complement and enhance the destination-based campaigns being delivered at local level.The combined body will be a public private partnership, led by the private sector and increasingly funded by the private sector.

Norfolk and Suffolk – ensuring duplication is avoided and the visitor experience continually improved upon.

The roles that it will undertake will be:

To provide website management and support – for the top tier brands of

To provide marketing support for destinations and to co-ordinate joint campaigns, including 2012.This will include campaign planning, ensuring value for money (joint print and media buying and effective distribution), supporting Tourist Information Centres and ensuring the ‘halo’ effect of national campaigns is maximised for Suffolk and Norfolk.

‘We have seen enthusiasm for this model from the private sector and a number of companies signing up to help fund the body. We are not there yet but have come a long way in a short time and need to keep up the tempo as the great opportunity presented by releasing the professionalism, creativity, energy and enthusiasm of the tourism sector will deliver jobs and so much more for the New Anglia LEP area.’

We have seen enthusiasm for this model from the private sector and a number of companies signing up to help fund the body. We are not there yet but have come a long way in a short time and need to keep up the tempo as the great opportunity presented by releasing the professionalism, creativity, energy and enthusiasm of the tourism sector will deliver jobs and so much more for the New Anglia LEP area.

Underpinning the whole rationale for LEPs is the notion of private sector leadership.This is a philosophy that New Anglia has carried forward into tourism and we have been fortunate to have the leader of one of the largest tourism businesses in the area step forward to take up the challenge of capitalising on the opportunity.

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To provide an effective ‘conduit’ to/from the National Bodies – VisitEngland and VisitBritain This role will also encompass influencing policy formation and lobbying for the industry, as well as ensuring that the profile of Suffolk and Norfolk within national marketing and PR campaigns is maximised.

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To provide PR support – organising national and foreign press trips. To provide research and intelligence – market size, employment, growth, job numbers, benefits and costs of the tourism sector. To act as the vehicle for bids to the Regional Growth Fund, European and specific Project funds.

Andy Wood | Chairman, New Anglia LEP

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Transport

Coach tourism supports the domestic market Although the Coach Tourism Council (CTC) is not a lobbying organisation - we leave this to our strategic partners at the Confederation of Passenger Transport and the European Tour Operators Association – we do like to keep our finger on the pulse of Government tourism thinking to assess how it impacts on our members’ interests. The core mission of the CTC is to promote coach tourism to the general public through an on-going PR campaign. Around seven million people take a coach tour in the UK each year and this is set to increase at a rate of 5% a year. Coaches help feed a huge domestic tourism industry – after all, where would castles, stately homes and tourist attractions be without coaches bringing passengers through their gates? The same goes for hotels – when business bookers depart coach groups fill up the accommodation. In the booming West End of London, coach groups account for 15% of the 13 million plus who go to see top London shows, so imagine the value of the coach passenger spend to West End pubs, restaurants and shops. Coach travel is six times safer per mile than a car, is twice as clean as a train, four times more efficient than a car and SIX times cleaner than planes (which unlike coaches pay no taxation on their fuel). So where does coach tourism feature in the Government’s Tourism Policy? Allow me to quote one sentence from the document: “This means that British domestic tourism has seen declining levels of package tour holiday activity, apart from small-

scale specialist tour operators in sectors such as heritage or walking holidays, or a few coaching firms such as Shearings.” This is the only mention of coaches within the entire 49 pages of the report which does not mention group travel at all. It is really disappointing that such a major contributor to UK tourism, carrying both home-grown tourists and those visiting from overseas, should be so ignored. CTC membership is made up of 150 national and local coach tour operators. All operate package tours to coastal, city and countryside resorts from the Scilly Isles to the Shetlands; hardly ‘a few coaching firms’ and certainly not ’small scale’. All produce at least one holiday and excursion brochure each year and are investing money advertising their tours in local newspapers – thus promoting domestic

‘Coaches help feed a huge domestic tourism industry – after all, where would castles, stately homes and tourist attractions be without coaches bringing passengers through their gates? The same goes for hotels – when business bookers depart coach groups fill up the accommodation. In the booming West End of London, coach groups account for 15% of the 13 million plus who go to see top London shows, so imagine the value of the coach passenger spend to West End pubs, restaurants and shops.

Christopher Wales FTS| Chief Executive, Coach Tourism Council

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tourism.The Tourism Policy is now asking the private sector to take the lead in promoting domestic tourism. The disbandment of the regional tourist office structure will lead to confusion until a new structure evolves.The current system may not be perfect but it is a system and is used in coach tour planning and offers practical help such as arranging fam trips, providing free images for operator brochures and booking local tour guides. It remains to be seen whether tourism regions driven entirely by commercial interests will see the benefits of running such marginal activities. The Minister’s announcement that his central aims are the growth of domestic tourism and the reduction of red tape are welcomed so we look forward to seeing the shape this will take and how the booming UK coach tourism industry can continue to contribute to growth without being hamstrung by unnecessary bureaucracy. From the lack of a mention of the coach tour industry in the document one could be excused for thinking we are on the fringe of domestic tourism. But let me assure you, having been making a major contribution to national and local economies for the past 90 years, we will continue to do so way past whenever the next strategy document is published!

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Attractions

Let people know what you’re worth Many celebrated the publication of the new Government’s Tourism Strategy that was produced so quickly after they came to power last year. It appeared to demonstrate clearly that at last the Tourism sector was taken as a serious business sector for the UK to be dependent upon, and that the Government was determined to support this sector – and as soon as possible. And so the Government Tourism Policy was created with both David Cameron and George Osborne working the PR machine to announce the policy, the vision and the importance of tourism. However, given time to digest the Policy, there are some areas of opportunity that haven’t been highlighted enough: 1. It has failed really to get to grips with or fully to understand the true potential of the tourism industry to the UK, both in terms of Imports (of Overseas Visitors) and of the measurement of the impact the tourism industry has in its contribution to the economy of the country. 2. It is somewhat naive in thinking that tourism only appears and exists around seasonal/significant events such as the Jubilee/Olympics. It seems to forget that, like any other business in the UK, we need the support in the industry 365 days a year, not for one-off events. It also doesn’t acknowledge some of these larger focused events can actually negatively impact day-to-day tourism in the UK. 3. Mr Cameron made a bold statement about becoming a Top 5 tourist destinations listing, ignoring that Britain has been slipping down the league table for some time with price competitiveness being a key cause. According to the World Economic Forum Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report, Britain was 133 out of 133, taking into account ticket taxes, airport charges, fuel prices, hotel price index and national purchasing power levels – and this before the 20% VAT introduction.

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Within the attractions sector there are some simple steps we, as tourism champions, should undertake to help the Tourism Strategy be taken seriously by the Government and economists in the UK: 1. Every attraction, big or small, should have at their hands ’Economic Contribution Statements’ that governments, businesses, economists, journalists are used to seeing and hearing from other industries. We need to start speaking their jargon. When discussing performance, use the phrase ‘economic impact’ Discuss income in terms of its impact on the local economy and regional economy (or national for bigger brands and companies) When talking about employment ensure you also include indirect jobs you provide in your area Calculate your size of business in terms of number of employers in the area (as tourism is people driven you could find yourself a significant player at times)

Remind people of your recent investments Know where your visitors are coming from including your overseas trade – talk confidently about Inbound and Domestic visitors 2. Ensure Key Messages on all PR and press initiatives clearly demonstrate your economic worth. In the Midlands, news programmes about manufacturing-based product launches from new cars to a new widget are constantly shown on the regional broadcast. But trying to get broadcast coverage for the launch of a new attraction or product within a leisure attraction is impossible and deemed by news producers to be ‘too commercial’ as a story.They don’t understand tourism is an economy-impacting business. 3. Lobby the initiative supported by Merlin Entertainments Group and other tourism organisations to reduce the VAT

Tourism isn’t just the mega events levels on tourism businesses. Other European governments provide practical support to their tourism and leisure industries. France and Spain, for example, apply VAT rates of 5.5% and 8% respectively on visitor attraction entry tickets and hotel accommodation (standard VAT rate in Spain is 18%). Last year France reduced VAT on restaurant bills to 5.5%, while Germany reduced VAT on hotel accommodation from 19% to 7% . This year has seen Ireland introduce a temporary tax reduction to 9%.

Georgina Kelly | Head of Marketing, Warwick Castle Issue 147 Autumn 2011

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Destination Management

Implementing the Tourism Policy at a destination level The Government’s new Tourism Policy has been with us for a number of months now and when set alongside the VisitEngland framework it undoubtedly represents an ambitious and challenging set of objectives for the tourism industry. However, the question still remains, what impact is it making at a destination level and where does it fit into the key priorities facing under-fire destination managers? At any other time a new policy from Government would have been a sign for optimism among professionals within the industry, but coming as it did in the wake of far-reaching public sector cuts, the abolition of the RDAs and the creation of a patchwork of LEPs, I think the reality is that for many destination managers the implications of the policy have been lost in the maelstrom of change that has engulfed the industry. In the year ahead, financial sustainability is probably the overwhelming requirement for all destination management organisations, be they DMO or public sector or something inbetween. Seizing upon that buried optimism for a minute, it is worth looking at some of the key components within that policy to see where they are and what relevance they have at a destination level. The desire by Government to repair market failure and modify long-established tourist boards has certainly forced destinations up and down the country to consider carefully how they deliver activity and in many cases seek out new strategic partners to help them do so. A positive outcome to start with. However, on the flip side it has left many destinations ‘orphaned’ without any form of subregional or regional structure to work within. Giving the consumer and industry responsibility for visitor accommodation quality schemes is another objective that seemed to be heading in the right direction. Consumer awareness of the scheme had been a long-standing challenge and maybe the solution was as the Government envisaged. However, the reality is that the new horizon has yet to

Neil McCollum MTS | Head of Tourism, Greenwich Council

Picture: ©Britainonview / Britain on View

All destinations need good marketing appear and industry confidence in the scheme is already waning. In London the excellent work undertaken by the LDA and Visit London in developing and rolling out the London Quality Marque has been thrown out of the window as part of the transition to London and Partners. The mention of brown signs is enough to make any destination manager wince but a Government policy that promised to review the policy and procedures to make sure they met the needs of the industry is surely a sign for sanguinity. However, there is no evidence of this review finding its way down to local authority transportation policies and is this really something that will make or break our tourism industry? The same can be said for the proposals to move the first Bank Holiday in May. Having responded to a number of consultations on this proposal the overwhelming consensus seems to be leave it as it is, on the basis that no one has been able to prove that moving it will generate

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any identifiable benefits to the industry. Barbecue manufacturers will breathe a collective sign of relief. With less than a year to go until the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics the one aspect of the Government policy that does reach right down into the inbox of destination managers is the desire to attract four million extra visitors over the next four years off the back of a £100 million marketing campaign.The one thing that will drive change at a destination level is success and that won’t happen without a strong and focused marketing effort. The recent civil unrest in London, Birmingham, Manchester and elsewhere will undoubtedly have an impact on how overseas visitors perceive the UK and its destinations.There is now an even greater need for destinations and the Government to work together on selling Britain overseas and let us hope that this policy is the catalyst to allow that to happen.

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Tourism Consultants Network For what we are about to achieve ... Reading a new tourism policy (albeit by sputtering candlelight) is a rare treat in these days of austerity and now the Government has made a fuss about it, we had better look at how to make it happen. Not because tourism is a lucrative source of income for George Osborne (who kindly contributed a foreword). But because there are apparently opportunities for growth and increased productivity (as well as an urgent need to do something about 2012). No pressure then. It’s a great morale booster for people to be told by the Prime Minister that their business is valued and worthy of investment. Except when you read the small print, it is based on questionable analysis and a need to reduce public spending. It’s also a bit fuzzy about what we are trying to achieve (try growing businesses and jobs) but it’s something to work with. So how do we make it happen? Not a cheap fix, a sound investment Interestingly, the Government seems to be working on an assumption that tourism is a low-cost option for boosting growth – “compared to sectors of the economy it requires little initial funding” citing how Liverpool generated £800 million as European Capital of Culture. Which in my recollection also coincided with over £1 billion in capital investment around the city and quite a lot of effort from the team delivering events.Yes it was a great success but the truth is that tourism does require capital investment, and lots of it. Historically the cause of low growth and productivity is slow renewal of core product – accommodation, transport and attractions – because of long lead times and poor returns. So there is a strong case for stimulating new investment. Government is in a bit of a tight spot and wants to cut public borrowing, so little chance of a helping hand there – except increased tax revenues will easily outstrip any investment incentive. So a challenge for all of us is breaking down barriers to investment. Investment has a key role in reducing the industry’s cost base and improving quality leading to better pro-

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ductivity. Better margins allow for more competitive pricing and wider product choice – surely the only way to increase domestic tourism? What is being thrown out with the bathwater? But where do industry-led and funded DMOs with new ‘visitor-focused’ geographies figure in this? Remember councils provide some of the critical inputs into destination development. Good local strategy focuses on delivering a few high impact interventions of the type that can be delivered through planning policy, the right infrastructure and coordination of support. Working across local authority boundaries isn’t a way to guarantee harmony and partnerships are fine at setting strategic direction but pretty bad at delivering products and services. The problem is there is very little evidence to support the government’s wish to have the private sector drive local tourism development. Localism is where the market failure exists in this sector.

So where do the answers lie? Perhaps there are opportunities in another dusty corner of government policy where the public sector is being encouraged to make better use of underused assets. Using creative joint ventures like Local Asset-Backed Vehicles (LABV) to release buildings and land for redevelopment may provide a way forward and stimulate thinking. And linked to a well-constructed DMO partnership there is a prospect of delivering a good balance of product development and stimulating demand. It’s not Big Society, honestly Despite partnerships being good at thinking but not doing we are encouraged to do more in partnership with others particularly if they are private sector. Putting together a good partnership takes skill and leadership. Knowing how to leave people out and broker agreement around a few common goals are “must have” skills which we rarely encounter and where a good consultant is worth her – or his – weight in committee agen-

Paul Buchanan FTS | Director, Hall Aitken Issue 147 Autumn 2011

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Small businesses

Dealing with the detail Thirty years ago a Government policy, from MAFF in this case, led to the creation of Farm Stay UK as a means of helping farms diversify successfully into visitor accommodation. It started slowly and has changed course a few times, yet the momentum of the organisation is still gathering pace. Similarly the sentiment of the Tourism Policy will ultimately give the industry visibility and credibility across all government departments and has initiated some very positive and much needed debate. However, my overriding fear is that the momentum in the delivery of localised UK tourism will be lost and that regaining it may ultimately prove to be the biggest mountain to climb. This is not new or unique to the UK. Around the world ironically localism has done for its own tourism business. In 1993 Colorado voters discontinued their state tourism tax.The result was a loss of $2.3 billion dollars per year and a 33% decrease in Colorado's market share.The tax was reinstated in 1999* and the rebuilding process, regaining the momentum, began. In trying to specifically address the practical implications of the policy there are already differences of approach between the three home nations’ tourism agencies and beyond that the development of the LEPs in England. Local, Enterprise and Partnership has the whiff of oxymoron; however, it is the underlying elements that the RDA funding provided that the LEPs need to recognise in the short term and continue to deliver. Raising Industry Standards through training and skills development is one that immediately raises the alarm.The policy recognises the significant number of SME businesses yet my experience is that a large percentage of these are micro-businesses, one-man or small family operations. For a micro-business to participate in an average of £2,425 worth of training seems a tall order, yet the take-up in wellstructured programmes, delivered by the likes of BusinessLink, is generally very well-received and appreciated. Could these schemes simply evaporate in the short-term?

Andy Woodward FTS | Chief Executive, Farm Stay UK

Scaife Hall – Farm Stay UK The Red Tape Challenge is underway and the chances of success are high.The opportunity taken by the industry to comment on the Government website was poor. Surely we must help ourselves when the opportunity arises, proven with the likely revoke of the EPC rules.The issue of tax – let’s not pretend there will be cuts – is hugely important for big employers; however, the impact on the small businesses can also be devastating. The implication for a micro-business that rides the VAT threshold is considerable. Some are forced to close as they approach the ceiling as their premises are not large enough to pass through it; surely this, and that neighbouring premises can have a 20% variation in their margins, is not logical. Fortunately the policy does recognise that ‘theme’ holidays and the ‘experience’ are key elements to holidaying in the UK. Spending on hobby tourism generally has a much higher individual value and by their very nature these trips are weather-

Issue 147 Autumn 2011

proof. Logic would suggest that this is a sound area for investment but will the relevant groups be able to engage at a local level if the LEPs are not supportive? The Tourism Minister certainly created the discussion within the quality grading debate; I maintain that you can have a five-star experience in a two-star property and vice versa, which is where the user generated content debate falters. However, the ‘entry level’ schemes will become increasingly popular, particularly where they are robust and well-managed. Only time will tell whether customers will continue to demand that properties embrace the quality schemes. Ultimately the industry must help those responsible for supporting and financing tourism understand the need to do so and why it should not be allowed to pause. For once it has, it is a mighty slow process to regain that lost momentum. * www.city-data.com/states/ColoradoTourism-travel-and-recreation.html

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Education

Will Government policy lead to closer links with practitioners? The effect of Government tourism and education policy on institutions like University College Birmingham (UCB) further increases the need to strengthen the links between colleges and universities and the wider tourism industry. High on the priorities of Government has been the desire to increase productivity and competitiveness in the tourism industry. Here it is seen that the role for educational institutions is to develop relevant training and other courses needed to improve skills.The managers, employees and entrepreneurs of today need flexible professional development, whilst students, who will be the future managers and employees, need relevant qualifications. In addition, fundamental changes to education policy have also brought uncertainty and pressures to change. Universities wait to see the effects of increased tuition fees on hospitality and tourism courses. Now the pressure is on for universities to demonstrate value for money to their potential customers. When graduates in the sector traditionally earn lower starting salaries and face uncertain career progression, how will this affect future demand for hospitality and tourism degrees? In a future of greater openness and transparency potential students are being given access to more information, in order to help them make informed choices. Information about resources issues such as teaching hours, costs and quality of facilities are being made available. Crucially, further details concerning the destinations for graduates in terms of jobs obtained and average starting salaries will be accessible. In a click, the National Student Survey already reveals which hospitality and tourism courses enjoy greatest student satisfaction and the percentage of students achieving graduate

level jobs.This year some 265,000 students completed the survey nationally. The pressure is on for institutions to increase the number of satisfied students who complete the survey.There are students who are likely to be more demanding in the service and facilities that they expect. Institutions will feel more compelled to guarantee relevance and industry focus. Future employment prospects of graduates can only be enhanced when hospitality and tourism businesses directly feed into our course curriculum and when the experience and skills expected are delivered. Of course, close relationships are nothing new. MA Tourism Destination Management and BA (Hons) International Tourism Management offered by UCB have both been recognised by the

‘Institutions will feel more compelled to guarantee relevance and industry focus. Future employment prospects of graduates can only be enhanced when hospitality and tourism businesses directly feed into our course curriculum and when the experience and skills expected are delivered’

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Tourism Management Institute and latterly Tourism Society since 2007. Consultancy projects are delivered; regular guest lecturers are organised;Tourism Society members sit on industrial liaison committees; however, links continue to go further. More ‘real life’ projects set by outside ‘clients’ and delivering practical experience of project management are clearly evident at UCB. Each year in the School of Recreation, Sport and Tourism all Masters-level students are set one such project working in small groups. First they attend lectures from industry practitioners, specialising in consultancy and project management. Second they spend a week in the destination undertaking a destination audit and interviews with the local industry before writing up a tourism development plan. In April 2011 students visited Gran Canaria, working with Tourismo de Canarias to develop new products based on the four themes of volcanic experience, wellness tourism, family welcome and watersport experiences. In practical terms universities need to address greater innovation and increased flexibility of delivery. Extending weekend teaching when employees can attend, blended learning, combining classroom sessions with interactive distance learning materials and the ‘chunking’ of course materials are all being expanded. Short courses, developing business skills for SME, bespoke training programmes for larger employers are all on the increase. Recent examples at UCB include an online Spa Management training resource developed in conjunction with Champneys and a programme of courses offering start-up business advice. These are uncertain times for hospitality tourism businesses and education providers. However, what is clear is that Tourism Society members should ensure they are working closely with local colleges and universities, directly influencing the courses and services that they provide.There are opportunities for mutual benefit, and closer relationships are a welcome effect of Government policy.

Paul Bamber MTS | Tourism Lecturer, University College Birmingham

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Conference Report The theme for this year’s annual conference, held at Beaulieu in the New Forest, was ‘Innovation and Reinvention in Tourism’. Five sessions each covered a particular sector, with presentations examining new developments and approaches in each area. Transport, Accommodation, Food & Beverage, Destinations & Attractions, and Technology were all addressed. While the speakers gave examples of innovation in their particular company or sector, it was interesting to note how developments in one area could prove useful in another. For example, Dexter Morren, speaking in the SLEEP session about new approaches to hotel design, explained how inspiration was being drawn from the cruise sector with regard to developing new hotels with smaller rooms that demanded more efficient use of space. Technological developments, covered in more detail in the CONNECT session, naturally found applications in all sectors. Chiltern Railways’ marketing director Thomas Ableman described how new mobile technology was making buying and using tickets much easier for passengers, and Huw O’Connor of MOOW stressed the importance of offering customers concierge services via mobile technology to give them information on bookings, directions, taxi pick-ups etc.The power of social media to influence the public’s decisions was highlighted by Karen Plumb of Tripadvisor, who went on to describe the rapid growth in the number of contributors and how businesses must respond to reviews. Describing the important role of pubs in communities and as tourist attractions in their own right, Brigid Simmonds MTS

From left: Lord Montagu FTS, Alison Cryer FTS and Lord Thurso MP FTS explained in the EAT session that more meals are now served in UK pubs than in restaurants. Changing and updating themselves to broaden their appeal, pubs have responded to recent tough trading conditions, with some taking on the role of the local post office. PLACE looked at Dubai’s rapid growth as a tourism destination and how it is re-presenting itself after a slump, how VisitBritain is working to strengthen the perception of Britain as a welcoming destination, and at the attraction level how Warwick Castle turned around ten years of falling visitor numbers. David Quarmby CBE FTS delivered the day’s keynote address. The need to present a seamless joined up experience for visitors and customers was paramount, he said, which was a message that applied across the whole industry. Innovation for its own sake would not achieve results; it is better to assess the wishes of customers and guests and then innovate to address these. This is particularly true with technology – while it is easy to appear cutting edge what is being offered might not fulfil any necessary purpose. Each of the presentations from the conference can be seen on the member section of the Society’s website. If you have forgotten your username or password to log in, please call the Secretariat on 0208 661 4636. The evening before the conference saw delegates gather among the gleaming collection of vintage and classic cars in the Motor Museum for an informal drinks reception before riding in a London omnibus to the Domus for dinner. We were very pleased to have Lord Montagu of Beaulieu FTS, President Emeritus of the Society, join us for the evening.Tony Potter, MD and CEO of Corinthia Hotels, entertained the assembled members and guests with his after-dinner speech, in which he too stressed the need to match innovation with actual customer requirements before generously giving away prizes of a stay at the Corinthia London and a meal at the Massimo restaurant. The Society is extremely grateful to our conference venue, Beaulieu, for their generous support throughout the conference and dinner which helped make the event such a success.

Gregory Yeoman MTS Executive Director

Issue 147 Autumn 2011

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Membership News Our autumn programme of events begins at the end of September in London with a look at how tourism and travel businesses can make the most of developments in mobile technologies. In November we have two events taking place during WTM: ‘Future You’, aimed at students, and ‘Managing Tourism’s Future Business’, co-organised with UNWTO and examining the industry’s approach to handling forecast greater numbers of

travellers. If you can’t make it in person, sign up to the webinars and listen in online. Chapter events are planned in Scotland, Wales,Yorkshire and Cumbria; if you would like to establish a Society chapter in your area please contact me for information.

ing us recently from Bournemouth Tourism. She has a full calendar of events to oversee; if you have any subjects, speakers or sponsors that you would like to suggest for future events, please contact her on christy@tourismsociety.org.

I am delighted to welcome Christy Hehir to the Secretariat team. Christy is our new Sales and Marketing Executive, join-

Gregory Yeoman MTS| Executive Director gregory@tourismsociety.org

From the Chairwoman’s Desk Writing this article is very exciting for me as this is my first missive as Chairwoman of the Tourism Society. I am looking forward to continuing the over 30 years of excellent work driven by the Society and galvanising the tourism industry with the TS Board – a group of dedicated, passionate and professional people who truly want to work for a better future for travel and tourism. We have looked at the returned questionnaires from the most recent survey of our members and have already identified a few areas of concentration to make the Tourism Society work better for everyone. These areas encompass CPD programme activity, to enhance the provision of services and opportunities for individual members to grow in their professional life; a robust events programme to underpin developments within the travel and tourism community, provoke thought processes and enrich networking opportunities; strengthen links with the

tourism education sector; and contribute to the evolution of tourism strategies and policies and represent our members’ views on important and relevant issues. We want all of the members of the Tourism Society to have the best opportunities to grow within their professional lives and have the tools at their disposal to make this happen. We are also currently working on deleloping our base of member benefits, with some new and exciting benefits to members being released shortly. For a current list of benefits please visit www.tourismsociety.org/benefits. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Tourism Society, please contact the Secretariat on 0208 661 4636 or membership@tourismsociety.org. Aviva Pearson FTS | Chairwoman, The Tourism Society

Calendar of Events 2011 SEPTEMBER 29th Mobile Solutions to Maximise Tourism MacIntyre Hudson offices, London

OCTOBER 5th – 7th TMI Annual Convention ‘Rethink, Reshape, Regenerate’ The Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester

30th Tourism Society Yorkshire Tourism Question Time – Responsible Tourism Leeds Metropolitan University

25th Media Masterclass In association with TravMedia London

www.tourismsociety.org

NOVEMBER 9th Managing Tourism’s Future Business In association with UNWTO World Travel Market Excel Centre, London 10th Future You In association with ITT World Travel Market Excel Centre, London

Issue 147 Autumn 2011

18th Tourism Society Cumbria Tourism Question Time with Cumbria MPs 29th Backpacking Unpacked University of Surrey, Guildford DECEMBER 6th The Tourism Society President’s Debate London

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Membership News Congratulations to the following who have been upgraded to Fellow of the Tourism Society (FTS): Peter Birnie, Brandon Crimes, Jennifer Evans, Mandy Lane, Peter Lane, Aviva Peason, Roger Platt, Michael Sharp, Brigid Simmonds, Chris Wales, Brian Wisdom, Andy Woodward Welcome New Group Members Manchester Metropolitan University www.mmu.ac.uk Timothy Jung MTS Manchester Metropolitan University t.jung@mmu.ac.uk Amanda Miller MTS Manchester Metropolitan University 0161 247 2718 a.miller@mmu.ac.uk Steven Rhoden MTS Manchester Metropolitan University 0161 247 2749 s.rhoden@mmu.ac.uk Shobana Sehkaran MTS Manchester Metropolitan University 0161 247 2764 s.sehkaran@mmu.ac.uk Welcome New Members Silvija Prancane MTS International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) +31 639 626031 silvijaprancane@gmail.com Sheona Southern MTS Cairn Marketing Consultancy Ltd 01539 720 653 sheona@cairnconsultancy.co.uk www.cairnconsultancy.co.uk Ross Tinsley MTS Hotel and Tourism Management Institute (HTMi) +41 41 488 1125 rtinsley@htmi.ch www.htmi.ch

Rob Scott MTS Discerning Images Photography 07738 621 264 rob@discerningimages.co.uk www.discerningimages.co.uk Emma Oldham MTS Rother District Council 01424 787 838 emma.oldham@rother.gov.uk www.rother.gov.uk John Hadler MTS Galloway Travel Group 01449 765 859 jrhadler@gmail.com www.gallowayeuropean.co.uk Jamie Bolton MTS Heritage Magazine 01242 216 093 jamie.bolton@archant.co.uk www.heritagemagazine.co.uk Suzanne Richardson MTS Thorpeness & Aldeburgh Hotels 07748 822 335 suzanne@thorpeness.co.uk Nick Baumber MTS VisitWiltshire 01722 434 521 nickbaumber@visitwiltshire.co.uk Jo Rammell MTS JDR Leisure Corporate & Tourist Self Catering Accommodation 0844 884 2624 jo.rammell@jdr-leisure.o.uk www.jdr-leisure.co.uk William Smart MTS East Midlands Development Agency 01159 888 469

Corporate Member

william_smart@hotmail.com www.emda.org.uk Mark Oakden MTS Pocket Places Limited 01692 535 568 mark.oakden@pocketplaces.c o.uk www.pocketplaces.co.uk

Sumeetra Ramakrishnan MTS Middlesex University 0208 411 5497 s.ramakrishnan@mdx.ac.uk www.mdx.ac.uk

Ian Thomas MTS Newcastle Gateshead Initiative 0191 440 5731 ian.thomas@ngi.org.uk www.newcastlegateshead.com

Lorna Wang MTS Middlesex University 0208 411 4458 l.x.wang@mdx.ac.uk www.mdx.ac.uk

Amanda Lumley MTS Lumley Marketing Solutions 01233 732 432 info@lumleymarketing.co.uk www.lumleymarketingsolutions. com Kerry Godfrey MTS Guelph School of Hospitality and Tourism Management +1 519 824 4120 ext 56118 godfreyk@uoguelph.ca www.uoguelph.ca Lee Rawlinson MTS EmiratesOne +971 488 2703881 lee.rawlinson@gmail.com www.emiratesone.ae Sarah Stewart MTS Newcastle Gateshead Initiative 0191 440 5722 sarah.stewart@ngi.org.uk www.newcastlegateshead.com Abhishek Behl MTS Conservation Footprints 0131 202 6438 abkbehl@gmail.com www.conservationfootprints.com Kirsty Burn MTS Great Yarmouth Borough Council: Tourism Division 01493 846 340 kirsty@loopyhat.com www.great-yarmouth.co.uk

John Yeomans MTS Ride Yorkshire 01653 648 549 john@johnyeomans.co.uk Wyn Roberts MTS Marchnata AQUA Marketing Ltd 0845 812 7181 wyn@aqua-marketing.co.uk www.aqua-marketing.co.uk Hyung yu Park MTS Middlesex University 0208 411 4518 h.park@mdx.ac.uk www.mdx.ac.uk Lesley King MTS Northwest Development Agency 01925 400 100 leski65@yahoo.co.uk Deborah Abrey MTS College of Haringey Enfield and North East London 0208 802 3111 x2519 dabrey@staff.conel.ac.uk www.conel.ac.uk

Issue 147 Autumn 2011

Lucy Wright MTS Gloucester City Council 01452 396 572 lucy.wright@gloucester.gov.uk www.gloucester.gov.uk

Paul Szomoru MTS Newcastle Gateshead Initiative 0191 440 5729 paul.szomoru@ngi.org.uk www.newcastlegateshead.com

Paul Fallon MTS University of Wolverhampton 01902 323 279 p.e.fallon@wlv.ac.uk

Delaina Westwood-Booth MTS Expatriate Living Limited 01276 452 114 dstone@expatriateliving.com

Julia Fallon MTS UWIC 02920 416 322 jfallon@uwic.ac.uk www3.uwic.ac.uk Isabel Moore MTS Institute of Tourist Guiding 0207 953 8397 imoore@itg.org.uk www.itg.org.uk Emily Moore MTS VisitBritain 0207 578 1168 emily.moore@visitbritain.org www.visitbritain.com Ian Tempest MTS Visit York 01904 554 427 ian@visityork.org www.visityork.org Daniel Humphreys MTS Consultant 07818 067 022 djmhumphreys@gmail.com Welcome New Students Daniel Morgan Swansea Metropolitan University moggs88@hotmail.com Katarzyna Krol Bath Spa University katarzyna.krol@bathspa.org Sarah Ibrahim University of East London waffle2911@yahoo.co.uk Clarisse Boniface University of East London claliloue@yahoo.co.uk Wei Ren Oxford Brookes University chali_man@hotmail.com Monica Tambrescu University of Westminster monica_tambrescu@yahoo.com Paul Sylvester Ajani-Makam Institute of Education paulsa_makam@hotmail.com Mary Oghobase Robert Gordon University biutifulshine@yahoo.com Pelin Bardakci London School of Economics pelinbardakci@gmail.com Kalyan Bhandari University of Glasgow k_bhandari@hotmail.com Marilyn Larden Royal Holloway University of London marilynl@sustainabletravel.com

journal@tourismsociety.org

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