Archived decisions

HAMPSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL

Decision Report :

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1) Summary:

1.1. Roger Tym & Partners (RTP) were commissioned by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council South East (MLA South East) to undertake an economic impact assessment of museums, libraries and archives in the South East region focusing on tourism.

1.2. Tourist visitors to museums, libraries and archives spend £229,981,260 in the South East's visitor economy. The vast majority of this expenditure is attributed to museum visits (£223,974,525 or 97%). Libraries and archives are thought to contribute £6m in visitor expenditure although the study has found that there are opportunities for greater contribution of these facilities.

1.3. An exercise was carried out using the Roger Tym & Partners (RTP) methodology to identify the impact of Recreation & Heritage museums and archives on Hampshire's visitor economy. Although the results must be treated with caution, Recreation and Heritage museums and archives are estimated to make a contribution of £8,711,450 to the county's visitor economy.

1.4. In order to build on this and increase visits to the County's heritage and cultural sites across Hampshire, the Tourism Section will be leading on the development and implementation of `Culture-all' a cultural tourism campaign in 2009/10. The campaign will launch in March 2009 with the clear aim of increasing visits from local residents and tourists.

2) Recommendations:

It is recommended that:

2.1. The Executive Member for Recreation, Heritage and Communities supports the `Culture-all' campaign to raise the awareness of Hampshire's cultural product from March 2009 and notes the contribution of Hampshire County Council's assets to the economy of the County.

MAIN REPORT

1) Purpose of the Report:

1.1. Roger Tym & Partners (RTP) were commissioned by the Museums Libraries and Archives Council South East (MLA South East) to undertake an economic impact assessment of museums, libraries and archives in the South East region focusing on tourism.

1.2. This report highlights the key findings and uses the same methodology to identify the contribution of Recreation and Heritage sites to the visitor economy of Hampshire

2) Contextual Information:

2.1. Hampshire's visitor economy is valued at £2.3 billion per annum. The sector employs over 50,000 people

2.2. Recreation and Heritage museums, libraries and archives attracted over 7 million visits in 2007/8.

2.3. Hampshire and Isle of Wight households spent an estimated £2.4 billion on recreation and culture in 2004/5.

3) Study Methodology

3.1. The study process took shape in two parts; a telephone consultation exercise was carried out with tourism professionals to explore the value and role of the sector within the broader visitor economy. Secondly a set of visitor profiles were developed along with data relating to the number of visits to museums, libraries and archives in the South East in order to provide an economic impact assessment.

4) Role of the Museum, Library and Archive Sector in tourism

4.1. The museum, library and archive sector seeks to balance provision for local and community needs through cultural and learning activity and also as visitor attractions, which not only serve to promote the culture, history and heritage of the destination but also generate revenue for the area in which they are placed.

4.2. The South East has the largest proportion of museums of any English region; the sector includes a wide variety of museums with a number of large attractions and many small and medium sized facilities.. Museums are considered to be a very valuable component of the visitor economy; they provide enjoyment and learning opportunities for visitors, contributing to the mix of attractions that makes a successful visitor destination.

4.3. The study identified that museums are part of the network of `things to see and do' within a destination and are particularly complementary to heritage destinations such as Oxford, Canterbury and Winchester. In this respect most museums are unlikely to form the primary motivation for generating a staying visit to a location; however the large and medium sized facilities will attract specific day visits.

4.4. The review of the wider South East visitor economy suggests that the South East is not perceived as a single visitor destination, but more a collection of separate destinations, such as the New Forest, Portsmouth and Winchester. The mix and spread of different sized museums across the region helps to contribute to the tourism offer in the less well known/visited areas and helps to disperse tourism visits to areas that visitors may not otherwise visit.

4.5. Library facilities service a large volume of visits; however their role and services are primarily orientated towards resident and community use. As a result there are very few tourist visits to libraries. A small number of `new breed' facilities in the South East such as the two Discovery Centres in Hampshire and the Jubilee Library in Brighton are thought to attract a wider variety of visitors, where cafes, galleries, exhibitions and performance events serve to attract both local users and tourist visitors.

4.6. It is thought that archives attract a significant proportion of tourist visits, where around 54% of visits are classed as either tourism day or staying trips. One of the key reasons for visiting South East archives is to research family history, which can attract visitors from a variety of areas. Despite this, the overall volume of visits is low compared to museums and libraries.

4.7. Tourist visitors to museums, libraries and archives spend £229,981,260 in the South East's visitor economy. The vast majority of this expenditure is attributed to museum visits (£223,974,525 or 97%). Libraries and archives are thought to contribute £6m in visitor expenditure although the study has found that there are opportunities for greater contribution of these facilities.

4.8. Staying visitors contribute 60% of the total expenditure associated with visits to museums, libraries and archives. In the context of the overall South East visitor economy, museum, library and archive visits contribute around 2.25% of annual regional visitor spend.

4.9. Overall, museums, libraries and archives in the South East are estimated to support 15,245 jobs in direct employment within the facilities concerned, 3,307 through other businesses in receipt of visitor expenditure and 1,404 through indirect and induced effects. The total direct and indirect employment supported is 19,956 jobs.

5) Contribution to the Hampshire Visitor Economy

5.1. An attempt has been made to identify the contribution of Recreation & Heritage department sites to the Hampshire visitor economy. The figures are based upon the methods used by Roger Tym & Partners. Whilst this methodology may be appropriately reflective and representative of the South East as a whole, it might not be entirely appropriate either when used for Hampshire as a whole or when identifying the impact of individual museums. In particular, it may not fully take into account the difference between local authority run museums and possibly more tourist oriented museums. Therefore the following results need to be treated with caution.

5.2. The table below estimates the contribution of Recreation & Heritage sites to the Hampshire visitor economy.

5.3. Assumptions are made that libraries are almost exclusively used by local people, and thus deemed not to make any contribution towards the visitor economy. It is recognised that Discovery Centres may make some small contribution towards the visitor economy, however not enough data is available to make an estimate.

5.4. Winchester Discovery Centre, Gosport Mezzanine, and Gosport Local Studies Centre have been excluded from the tables. The Red House Museum is in Dorset, so will benefit the visitor economy there rather than Hampshire.

6) `Culture all' - Hampshire County of Culture Campaign

6.1. In order to build on this and increase visits to the County's heritage and cultural sites across Hampshire, the Tourism Section will be leading on the development and implementation of `Culture-all' a cultural tourism campaign in 2009/10. The campaign will launch in March 2009 with the clear aim of increasing visits from local residents and tourists.

6.2. The `Culture-all' campaign will aim to raise the profile of cultural product across the county and raise the profile of HCC's support of cultural services The campaign objectives are to

· Raise awareness among Hampshire residents of the breadth of high quality cultural product in the county

· Engage Hampshire residents to participate in local cultural events and activities

· Showcase HCC owned and managed sites

· Celebrate Hampshire's local distinctiveness and sense of place

· Create a legacy after the campaign.

6.3. The campaign will focus on promoting both traditional and contemporary cultural product that is unique to Hampshire and showcases the county's sense of place. It will take a thematic approach, enabling complementary product to be brought together from across different services, departments and locations. The campaign will be delivered through on-line (eg websites and e-newsletters) and off-line (eg PR agency activities, brochures and Hampshire Now articles). Measurement of campaign success will be through the MORI residents survey, website traffic and value of press coverage, amongst others.

7) Conclusions

7.1. Recreation and Heritage sites have an important role in contributing to the Hampshire visitor economy that is in addition to their primary role of meeting resident and community needs.

7.2. The Recreation & Heritage department is also in a position to enhance the contribution made by its sites and the wider cultural heritage of Hampshire to the county's economy. `Culture-all', a campaign to promote Hampshire as a `County of Culture' from March 2009 will be a key means of raising increased awareness of the county's attractions to both local residents and tourists. The campaign will be led by the Tourism Section and involve a wide range of services across the County Council and other local authorities and public agencies.

8) Recommendations:

Please see Executive Summary for recommendations

CORPORATE OR LEGAL INFORMATION:

Integral Appendix B

Race and Equality Impact assessment

Race and equality impact assessment has been considered in the development of this report and no adverse impact has been identified.

Crime prevention issues

The County Council has a legal obligation under Section 17 of the Crime and Disorder Act 1998 to consider the impact of all the decisions it makes on the prevention of crime. The proposals in this report have no impact on the prevention of crime.