The Mersey Partnership Publishes City Region’s Tourism Vision to 2020

6 October 2009

Visitor Economy Has Potential to Generate £2bn and Create an Extra 14,000 Jobs

Liverpool City Region's Visitor Economy has the potential to support 37,000 jobs and generate 60% growth in visitor spend to top £2bn a year by 2020, according to a major new strategy published today (Monday 5th October, 2009) by The Mersey Partnership (TMP)

The visionary document - Liverpool City Region Visitor Economy Strategy to 2020 - sets out a framework to propel the city into the Top 20 of Europe's most visited short-break locations and into the Top Five UK Conference Destinations.

The sector currently employs 23,000 and drivers £1.3bn economic activity annually.

As the City Region's official Tourist Board, TMP has responsibility for co-ordinating the strategic development of the Visitor Economy. Its new strategy says the significant public and private sector investments made in recent years, together with the momentum generated by the success of European Capital of Culture 2008, leave the City Region perfectly placed to develop its destination offer.

Lorraine Rogers, TMP Chief Executive, says:

"The Visitor Economy has the potential to grow by 60% in the next decade. That's impressive by any standards and underlines the fact that this sector is not ephemeral. It is capable of capable of generating £2bn and employing 37,000 people. No other sector in our region has that potential which is why the Visitor Economy is being taken very seriously. No other destination in the world has assets, attractions and infrastructure quite like ours. This strategy has been produced with our public and private sector partners. Together we have identified how it can grow, generating further wealth and prosperity for our region."

Liverpool City Region has the potential to generate 16m staying visitor nights by 2020 (compared to 11m in 2007) and to generate annual day visitor spend of £1,236m by the same date, according to the document. Day visitors currently contribute £838m to the region's Visitor Economy.

The report states: "By using the Visitor Economy as a vehicle to address wider economic and social issues, Liverpool and the City Region can reap further rewards."

By 2020, the report says, Liverpool will be renowned for its diverse and distinctive culture, for its iconic waterfront and World Heritage Site and for its festival spirit.

"Liverpool will be particularly famous for its great sporting and music events and a reputation for being a stylish and vibrant 24 hour city; popular with couples and singles of all ages. Good food, shopping and public transport underpin the offer and the City Region will be famous for its friendliness, visitor welcome, its care for the environment and its distinctive visitor quarters built around cultural hubs," says the report.

The TMP strategy sets out how tourism businesses must focus on achieving identified goals; the City Region's cultural assets can play a further role in renaissance and regeneration, the overall Visitor Experience remains critical to future growth.

Liverpool remains as the leading attack brand with Southport and England's Golf Coast as subsidiary brands. Culture and heritage will be at the heart of destination marketing activity and the destination will develop its prime cultural assets, building on artistic excellence to stage blockbuster exhibition sand performances.

The report stresses that greater economic benefits can be achieved by encouraging both short break and day visitors to disperse to district attractions, notably the classic resort of Southport, the Wirral and Sefton's coastal offer and the public art and industrial heritage attractions in St. Helens.

It states: "The City Region is not homogenous and contains a variety of experiences with different target markets. There is a need to make sense of this from a consumer perspective and deliver fewer but clearer messages to different markets at the right point in the consumer journey."

It adds: "Elsewhere in the City Region initial priorities for investment in the quality of the visitor experience and in presentation and management will be the Wirral and Sefton coasts, West Kirby, Port Sunlight and St. Helens town centre."

As part of its own restructuring announced in July, TMP is creating a new Tourist Board led by Chair Ian Ayre, Liverpool FC's Commercial Director and Deputy Chair Michael Eakin, Chief Executive of the RLPO.

Culture and the Visitor Economy has been identified as one of four Transformational Actions in the City Region's Multi Area Agreement with Government that sets out long term plans for sustainable economic growth across the region.

Nick Brooks-Sykes, Director of Tourism at the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA), said:

"The launch of this new visitor economy strategy is great news for Liverpool City Region. It recognises the importance of tourism to the economy and sets out the aspirations to grow this further.

"It is now vital that Partners prepare their action plan to help deliver this strategy. We also need to agree on the responsibilities for delivery. TMP has a lead role to play in the delivery of this strategy and I look forward to working with them and their partners to ensure we can meet its objectives."

Full and Summary Reports are available under the download section.

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