Hampshire County Council

Executive Member - Economic Development Item 2

28 February 2005

Tourism Section Service Plan 2005/06

Report of the Director of Recreation and Heritage

Contact: Andrew Bateman ext. 5423 e-mail: [email protected]

1. Introduction

1.1 This service plan aims to demonstrate the contribution made by the Tourism Section to the delivery of:

· Hampshire County Council's corporate priorities

· Hampshire's Cultural Strategy and Recreation and Heritage department's objectives

· Hampshire County Council's Tourism Strategy 2000-2005

1.2 These actions also support the delivery of:

· Statement of Priorities for Tourism in Hampshire by the Hampshire Tourism Committee (partnership of public and private sector tourism interests) and Tourism South East

· Tourism ExSEllence - the Strategy for Tourism in the South East by Tourism South East

1.3 Tourism in Hampshire:

· Tourism is worth £716m to the Hampshire economy and 36,000 jobs are directly and indirectly supported by tourism (4% of the workforce).

· Spend by UK and overseas staying visitors is higher in Hampshire than any other county in the South East

· Day visitors spend an additional £690m

· Tourism is a force for economic generation, helps support community and cultural facilities and projects a positive image

· Tourism is a growth industry as opposed to manufacturing which is in decline

· The rural economy is becoming increasingly reliant on tourism spend to maintain its viability

2. The Context

2.1 Although located within the Recreation and Heritage department, the Tourism Section has a corporate function.

2.2 The Executive Member responsible for tourism is the portfolio holder for Economic Development.

2.3 The County Council's tourism function has an informal but important leadership role in informing and assisting the tourism activities of district and borough local authorities

2.4 The Corporate Tourism Group, which meets quarterly, provides an important mechanism for developing and maintaining links with services and projects in the Environment Department, Chief Executive's and Property Business and Regulatory Department, as well as within the Recreation and Heritage Department.

2.5 Constructive working relationships with the tourism services of the 11 Hampshire district and borough and two unitary authorities are maintained through the Hampshire Tourism Officers Forum, which is run by the Tourism Section. This meets quarterly.

2.6 Hampshire has formed a sub-regional private and public sector partnership as a consequence of a reformed regional tourism structure in the South East. A statement of Hampshire sub-region priorities has been published and will inform greater partnership working across the county to address tourism industry challenges.

2.7 The Tourism Section manages and part-funds North Hampshire Tourism - a partnership between Hampshire County Council, Basingstoke and Deane Borough Council, Rushmoor Borough Council and Hart District Council.

2.8 The County Council is a financially contributing member of Tourism South East - the regional tourist board

3. Risk Issues

3.1 Key issues influencing the delivery of the tourism service:

· Limited scope for applying to national and European funding schemes as a result of perceived low levels of deprivation

· The Defence of the Realm military heritage marketing consortium would probably collapse without its strong Hampshire County Council support

· Hampshire district and borough authorities are looking at increased efficiencies within their tourism services, which may lead to an increased dependence on the leadership and activities of the County Council. This situation is reflected nationally

4. Outcomes

4.1 We are striving to deliver a Hampshire tourism industry and product that:

· generates jobs and creates business opportunities

· is diversified and supports the local economy

· adds to the variety of local life and widens opportunities for culture and recreation

· offers a rewarding experience for the visitor and creates a positive image for Hampshire

· draws on the environmental quality of Hampshire and celebrates its distinctive character

5. Tourism Strategic Themes

5.1 The Tourism Strategy 2000-2005 highlighted the following strategic themes:

5.2 Tourism Theme 1 Safeguard Hampshire's environment and community interests

· Protecting the quality and character of Hampshire's natural and built environment

· Ensuring that the voice of local communities are heard to prevent a growing opposition to tourism

Linkages

Corporate Strategy Aim 2 Stewardship of the environment. Protecting our environment through environmental sustainability and ensuring that Hampshire continues to be a place where people want to live, work and visit

Cultural Strategy

· Stewardship of the county's cultural heritage

· Reinforcing sense of place and community identity

5.3 Tourism Theme 2 Increase economic benefit

· Maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Hampshire and not maximise visitor numbers

· Be selective about the type of tourism development, its location and markets targeted

· Integrate tourism into the local economy and improve the performance of tourism businesses

Linkages

Corporate Strategy Aim 3 Achieving Economic Prosperity. Leading the development of a strong, diverse and sustainable economy which supports jobs, businesses and investment

Cultural Strategy

· Achieving economic benefits

5.4 Tourism Theme 3 Provide a quality product and experience

· Continue to improve the quality of Hampshire's tourism offer

· Highlight local distinctiveness

· Raise the standards of accommodation, attractions and customer care

· Capitalise on new ways to deliver information to visitors

Linkages

Corporate Strategy Aim 3 Achieving Economic Prosperity. Leading the development of a strong, diverse and sustainable economy which supports jobs, businesses and investment

Corporate Strategy Aim 5 Improving Services. Ensuring our services are inclusive and continuously improving to meet the changing needs of the whole community. This can be achieved by the provision of electronic services such as the Visit Destination Management System, which enables Hampshire's tourism product to be marketed and booked on-line.

Cultural Strategy

· Achieving economic benefits

· promoting access, inclusion and participation

5.5 Tourism Theme 4 Work together to create marketing impact

· Marketing meaningful destinations and developing Hampshire wide themes and products that make sense to the consumer

· Establish a stronger Hampshire branding where it makes sense to do so

· Joining-up with other Recreation and Heritage services

Linkages

Corporate Strategy Aim 1 Maximising Life Opportunities. Creating opportunities for the whole community and reducing the impact of discrimination and deprivation, through the provision and support of high quality and accessible learning and caring services. This can be achieved by increasing people's awareness and enjoyment of Hampshire's natural and cultural diversity

Corporate Strategy Aim 3 Achieving Economic Prosperity. Leading the development of a strong, diverse and sustainable economy which supports jobs, businesses and investment

Corporate Strategy Aim 5 Improving Services. Ensuring our services are inclusive and continuously improving to meet the changing needs of the whole community. This can be achieved by the provision of electronic services such as the Visit DMS, which enables Hampshire's tourism product to be marketed and booked on-line.

Cultural Strategy

· Achieving economic benefits

· promoting access, inclusion and participation

· supporting lifelong learning

5.6 Tourism Theme 5 Develop a better understanding of tourism

· Monitor tourism trends and performance to better understand visitor needs

· Ensure that the impact of tourism is measured and understood to inform strategy development and secure community support

Linkages

Corporate Strategy Aim 2 Stewardship of the environment. Protecting our environment through environmental sustainability and ensuring that Hampshire continues to be a place where people want to live, work and visit

Corporate Strategy Aim 3 Achieving Economic Prosperity. Leading the development of a strong, diverse and sustainable economy which supports jobs, businesses and investment

Cultural Strategy

· achieving economic benefits

· stewardship of the county's cultural heritage

6. Making It Happen

6.1 Delivering against these strategic themes and delivering the outcomes will be dependent on the Tourism Section:

· delivering an annual action plan

· establishing and progressing joint working arrangements on projects through the Hampshire Tourism Committee and Hampshire Tourism Officers' Forum

· developing an integrated approach to working with the broad range of Recreation & Heritage services

· maintaining effective working relationships with other county council departments, regional agencies, voluntary groups and the commercial sector

· ensuring that some activities have a medium to long-term life-span

7. Action Planning

7.1 The following elements of the tourism budget are medium term activity commitments that are on-going partnership projects or membership subscriptions. They comprise some 60% of the annual budget

7.2 The Tourism Section needs to be able to respond to opportunities presented by the market-place and the actions of government and its agencies. An `ever-green' dynamic approach is critically important to the development and implementation of an action plan. Therefore the activities listed in the action plan may not be delivered exclusively by the listed actions. Additional actions in some cases may be added to support delivery.

7.3 However, this approach does need to be accompanied with on-going measurement and evaluation of the contribution made towards the delivery of the desired outcomes

7.4 An Action Plan accompanies this plan. For each activity it states

· which Tourism Theme it addresses

· how each activity will be actioned and an appropriate target

· a timeframe

· who will lead on delivery

· whether it is a cross-service or cross-departmental activity

8. Resources

8.1 Tourism Manager and Tourism Officer. 2004/5 Working budget (excluding staff and overhead costs) £127,500

9. Monitoring and Measurement

9.1 The Corporate Strategy has the following indicators that are the responsibility of the tourism section to contribute towards:

Aim 1

Increasing people's awareness and enjoyment of Hampshire's natural and cultural diversity

Priority - Promotion of HCC visitor sites and Heritage Open Days

Measure - number of visitors

Aim - increase of 3% in total visitors between 2003/4 and 2005/6

Aim 3

Promoting Hampshire as a location for investment and tourism

Priority - Focusing on sectors which can benefit from assistance including knowledge based creative and cultural industries and rural tourism

Measure - level of investment

Aim- more than £20m new investment over 3 years

9.2 Each activity in the action plan has an appropriate target and time-frame for delivery. On-going performance measurement of the tourism industry in Hampshire will take place through the Hampshire Tourism Trends Survey.

Recommendation

That the Executive Member for Economic Development approves the content of the 2005/06 Tourism Section Service Plan and the associated budget implications.

Section 100 D - Local Government Act 1972 - background papers

The following documents disclose facts or matters on which this report, or an important part of it, is based and has been relied upon to a material extent in the preparation of this report.

NB the list excludes:

1. Published works

2. Documents which disclose exempt or confidential information as defined in the Act.

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