Agenda item

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investments submits a report to update the Commission Members on the progress to date made on the delivery of actions outlined in the Leicester Tourism Action Plan 2020-2025.

The Director of Tourism, Culture and Inward Investments submitted a report to update the Commission Members on the progress to date made on the delivery of actions outlined in the Leicester Tourism Action Plan 2020-2025.

Slides were presented (attached).

Key points included:

• The report showed the importance of tourism as a sector.
• The UK tourism industry had shown a drop as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Domestic tourism had largely recovered, but overseas tourism had declined.
• The number of nights spent from people visiting family and friends had increased.
• Overall, the tourism sector was worth £74bn to the UK, which was 3.6% of the whole economy.  When the indirect impact of tourism, such as supply chain, was factored in, it was worth £134bn to the economy.
• Performance indicators were taken from STEAM research on tourism impact modelling. This was a bottom-up approach that took data from businesses.  The percent changes needed to achieve the 2025 targets were shown on the slide (as attached).
• The effects of the pandemic were still being felt, and as such it was uncertain whether the number of visitors target for 2025 would be met.
• Jobs safeguarded in the tourism industry were down due to Brexit and people being more reluctant to work in the hospitality industry.
• Trend data was shown (see attached slides) it showed the percentage change since 2011 was positive.  Three footfall counters in the city centre had shown recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, however, recovery had slowed at the beginning of 2024 due to the cost-of-living crisis and bad weather.
• Challenges to the industry included:
  • Brexit.
  • The need for a travel authorisation card for travellers, even if in transit, dissuading people from coming through the UK.
  • Businesses taking on more debt.
  • Minimum wage increases and staff shortages.
  • The abandonment of the Youth Mobility Scheme.
  • The removal of tax-free shopping.
  • The falling perception of the UK as a tourist destination.
• Tourism Trends were noted as set out in the report.
• The plan had been developed closely in parallel with Tourism Growth Plan for Leicester and Leicestershire designed to complement each other.
• There was support for a strong, distinctive and visible destination through the brand campaign, ‘Uncover the Story’.
• Considerable progress had been made despite the challenges of Covid.   Product development had moved forwards and brand campaigns Uncover the Story, Fitcation and Taste the Place have been launched by the Place Marketing team.
• The plan was organised around 4 themes – Product, Place, Positioning and People.
• The ‘Product’ included tourist attractions such as Jewry Wall, Leicester Cathedral & Heritage and Learning Centre, the Great Central Railway the King Richard III Visitor Centre, The National Space Centre, The Phoenix, Leicester Market, the Curve, DeMontfort Hall, Mattioli Arena, Itineraries and Trails (including Heritage Panels and riverside and waterways), New leisure venues and new restaurants, as set out in the report.  Additionally, 5 new hotels had opened since 2020.
• The ‘Place’ included:
  • Developing connections through the Connecting Leicester scheme, the transportation scheme including the £47m scheme to introduce electric buses, the free HOP! bus and St Margaret’s Bus Station (the UK’s first carbon neutral bus station).
  • Festivals as set out in the report, and additionally the Radio 2 in the Park festival.
  • A safe night-time economy, including Purple Flag accreditation, the Best Bar None scheme, St John’s Ambulance and the Walk Away Campaign as set out in the report.

• ‘Positioning’ schemes were set out on the slides as attached.
• Marketing initiatives included:
  • Leicester Heritage Trail.
  • Fifteen itineraries as ideas for people in Leicester for a day or more or for less than a day. These had over 33,000 downloads from Visit Leicester website.
  • Five new city centre trails.
  • A pocket map promoting the top 30 attractions.
  • The Old Town brochure.
  • Tear off Legible Leicester map pads provided to Visit Leicester, hotels, shopping centres and transport hubs.
  • The Cultural Quarter brochure.
• ‘People’ included the Leicester Volunteer Tourism Ambassador Scheme and Skills Training as set out on the slides and in the report.

The Committee were invited to ask questions and make comments. Key points included:

• The plan was welcomed, particularly with regard to events that lifted people’s spirits and the Jewry Wall project.  However, it was acknowledged that recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic would be slow.
• Any uptick in tourism from the Renoir Exhibition would be monitored and recorded and reported on in future meetings.  It was noted that this was a very important work of art and as such a lot of effort would go into promotion, including an animation of part of the painting and work linked to the inspiration behind the painting.  There would be rigorous standards of security.  The exhibition would run from May to September 2024.
• A main focus of the Volunteer Tourism Ambassadors was on the visiting ‘family and friends’ market.  This would mean that people from many cultures were coming into the city and who would want to learn more.
• The Phoenix had resources to appoint outreach workers targeting the Asian and Black communities.  An example of this was the events put on surrounding the Bob Marley: One Love film, which had included a DJ and Caribbean food.  This event had sold out and had been repeated due to demand.  Additionally, The Phoenix had the Asian Film Festival.
• Work had been undertaken at Curve, working in five different community neighbourhoods and working with schools in order to maximise the local audience.
• Work had been undertaken by museums to get out into communities and listen to communities to ensure that it was not necessarily the usual people coming to museums.  A scheme would be initiated whereby Councillors would be asked to bring four residents of their wards to Leicester Museum and Art Gallery for them to see what was there and ascertain what people wanted to see.
• A report on engagement for museums was suggested to come to the Commission.
• The Bring the Paint festival would feature internationally famous street artists. Leicester had a good reputation in Europe for street art.
• The Chair raised questions on sports tourism, a phone app for Visit Leicester, and the diverse culture as a unique selling point.  He would contact officers about these outside the meeting.
• One of the trails was the Thomas Cook trail.
• Leicester, a ‘friendly’ and ‘walkable’ city had been named one of the UK’s best destinations.  The city had been shortlisted for best UK destination at the Group Leisure & Travel Awards.

AGREED:

1)    That the report be noted.

2)    That comments made by members of this commission to be taken into account by the lead officers.