Why Suffolk and Norfolk need a joint Local Visitor Economy Partnership

Visit East of England Chairman Dr Andy Wood OBE DL tells us why Suffolk and Norfolk should work together to form a new Local Visitor Economy Partnership.

Visit East of England, which also operates Visit Suffolk and Visit Norfolk, has had a burgeoning relationship with VisitBritain and VisitEngland since it was launched in Spring 2019.

The key reason for establishing VEE was to work collaboratively with other Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and local authorities to overcome the concern from the national tourism bodies that they ‘only heard white noise coming out of the East’.

That was best seen at our VEE & Partners’ Visitor Economy Conference last November at The Hold, Ipswich when keynote speaker VisitBritain chairman Nick de Bois hailed this collective approach as ‘trailblazing’ and ‘unseen anywhere else in the country’.

Prior to becoming VisitBritain chair Mr de Bois was asked in 2021 to conduct an independent review of Destination Management Organisations. This outlined a new streamlined structure of accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), helping reshape destination management across England, reducing fragmentation and bringing coherence to the DMO landscape.

Developed and administered by VisitEngland, this national portfolio of strategic and high-performing LVEPs aims to support collaborative working locally and nationally on shared priorities and targets to grow the local visitor economy.

A ￡2.25m three-year pilot has been established in the North-East, with Visit County Durham, Visit Northumberland LVEP (DMO) and NewcastleGateshead Initiative becoming LVEPs. The latter is also the over-arching Destination Development Partnership (DDP) lead, the body accountable to VisitEngland.

In the meantime, Expressions of Interest opened for unfunded LVEPS in March. Subsequently, 12 more destinations have been accredited, including Visit Herts, Visit Kent, Cumbria Tourism, Visithullandeastyorkshire, and Visit Cornwall and the Visitislesofscilly. These LVEPs are part or wholly funded by local authorities, with private sector support.

As tourism and hospitality is the largest industry sector and biggest employer, Suffolk and Norfolk should have an ambition to become an accredited LVEP too.

A joint Suffolk-Norfolk bid to become an LVEP would bring more joined-up regional work, economies of scale, shared best practices, and provide amplification of the excellent work being done at a local destination level.

In future VisitEngland and VisitBritain will only be working with accredited LVEPs so if we don’t have one, we will once again be on the outside of the national tourism geography.

What will we miss out on? Benefits of close working with the national tourism bodies include travel trade missions, access to business support and training programmes, toolkits and resources, thought leadership, PR and campaign opportunities, and the ability to bid into national funds.

It is worth remembering on this final point that VEE has successfully bid on behalf of all our DMOs and local authorities for more than ￡700,000 of national marketing funds in the past five years to initiate national and international campaigns for Suffolk and Norfolk, including The Friendly Invasion, Anglia is GREAT, Escape The Everyday and Enjoy Summer Safely.

This is alongside our other work that includes developing travel trade and product development, conducting market intelligence and research, advocacy with national bodies including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, business support, promoting the tourism awards with local winners going forward to the VisitEngland Awards for Excellence, and the ￡1.5m VENI skills project with West Suffolk College and other stakeholders. As well as this, DCMS acknowledged VEE’s crucial role in the sector’s response to the Covid pandemic.

VEE is also the lead promotional channel for the established joint Suffolk-Norfolk Culture Board and its activity, not least Head East. The Culture Board’s success working across two counties, led by Suffolk County Council and Norfolk County Council, was an important precedent and motivation for creating VEE.

Much of this work is encompassed in the Destination Development Plan (DDP) we published last November in consultation with local authorities, DMOs and other stakeholders, including VEE board members Greater Anglia and London Stansted Airport. The DDP will be updated as we progress, particularly on shared objectives such as skills, employment growth, sustainability, accessibility, and inclusivity.

Since Covid, it has been a very challenging time for the tourism and hospitality sectors, but it is an industry that can bounce back quickly. Suffolk and Norfolk together becoming an LVEP will help accelerate that growth and ensure this region keeps its place at the national tourism table.

Mr Wood is the Chief Executive of Adnams and sits on the VisitEngland Advisory Panel.

#tourism #visitoreconomy #suffolk #norfolk #eastofengland