Agenda item

To consider a report by the Team Leader: Tourism, Marketing and Events (copy attached) detailing progress achieved to date with various tourism initiatives and their contribution towards delivering the Council’s overall ambition in relation to economic development and seeking members’ views thereon.

11.15 a.m. – 12 noon

In the absence of the Leader the Tourism Leader: Tourism, Marketing and Events introduced the report (previously circulated) detailing the progress achieved in relation to various tourism initiatives and their contribution towards delivering the Council’s overall ambition in relation to economic development.

During his introduction the Tourism Leader drew attention to the success of the North East Wales and North Wales Tourism Partnerships and the latter’s achievement in being awarded £140k Welsh Government funding for the purpose of promoting the area’s winter tourism offer, which would support the vision of marketing the area as an all-year round tourist destination.  The aim of this was to increase the number of tourists visiting the area, but in doing so realising sustainable all-year round economic benefit rather than mass seasonal tourism which benefited the economy for a limited period of time.

In response to members’ questions the Corporate Director: Economy and Public Realm and the Tourism Leader advised that –

·         the Council’s Tourism, Marketing and Events staff were willing to work closely with local tourism and events groups when they arranged events in their local areas.  With a view to simplifying the process and achieving maximum promotional coverage for local events the Events Notification process had been simplified.  The Events Notification form had now been reduced in size to two sides of A4.  Upon receipt of a completed form it would be shared with all services and officers who would need to be notified of the event.  In addition the proposed date for the event would be checked against other known events being held that day and if it was felt that the event would be impacted by other events in the local area the organisers would be notified.  This did not necessarily mean that the date would have to change it was just a mechanism in place to raise awareness and help support the success of all local events

·         as part of the work to deliver the ‘Connected Communities’ corporate priority a report was scheduled to be presented to the ‘Communities and Environment Board’’ at its October meeting on how infrastructure in the county could be improved to support the holding of different types of community and tourist focused events

·         there would always be a need for additional visitor overnight accommodation in Denbighshire.  The central part of the county seemed to have a limited number of overnight accommodation for tourists.  South Denbighshire was well served by hotels and guest houses, whilst the north of the county had a large number of touring and static caravan sites.  Nevertheless, Denbighshire did have a considerable number of quality self-catering accommodation, many of which were 5* rated

·         Visit Wales had funding available for holiday accommodation businesses who aspired to be awarded 4* or 5* ratings to help them achieve this goal

·         social media coverage had definitely increased the number of potential visitors accessing information on the local area in recent years, this was illustrated in the various appendices attached to the report, including Appendix 13 which included the Scarborough Tourism Economic Activity Monitor (STEAM) information.  STEAM measured the impact of both day and staying tourists on the local economy

·         social media was used to raise the area’s profile and what was on offer in Denbighshire for tourists, but it was only one of a number of profile raising platforms used for this purpose.  The number of social media ‘hits’ seemed to peak when specific awareness raising campaigns were undertaken

·         work was underway to reduce the number of social media platforms currently used by the Council’s Tourism, Marketing and Events Service to promote the local offer, with a view to delivering more focused marketing material and information

·         the ‘Blogs’ to which links were included in the appendices were written by independent individuals.  These individuals were funded by Visit Wales to produce the ‘Blogs’, and whilst some of their narratives may be subject to editing for factual correctness, every effort was made to ensure that the individual ‘blogger’s’ personality and style was clearly visible in their ‘Blogs’

·         that all public information produced by the Council and its public partners were published bilingually

·         the Council had not closed any of its Tourist Information Points (TIPs), there were a number of these unmanned facilities across the county in public buildings, e.g. libraries and recently one had been opened at the Rhug Estate, Corwen.  Discussions were currently underway with the operators of the new Premier Inn in Rhyl to explore the possibility of locating a TIP there.  The Council currently operated two Tourist Information Centres (TICs) one in Rhyl and the other in Llangollen

·         there were no plans at present to reduce the level of service provided at the county’s TICs.  TICs could also generate income through bookings and the sale of books etc.  Information on the number of visits to TICs on an annual basis would be provided to members

·         local businesses already worked collaboratively with TICs in relation to bookings, goods and activity packages etc. whilst accommodation providers which were part of a chain tended not to regularly interact with TIC booking services.  There would always be room and opportunities to improve the services on offer

·         the county’s TICs and TIPs held a wealth of knowledge on local points of interest and history.  Library Service staff in particular were well versed on their local areas and were an invaluable asset for sharing knowledge with visitors to help them maximise and enjoy their experience of visiting the area

·         there was no evidence that local accommodation businesses were raising their prices when ‘special’ large events were held in the county.  However, as they were independent businesses they were permitted to lower and raise their prices as they so wished, private businesses were guided by market forces in this respect

·         some considerable amount of funding for tourism projects did come from the European Union.  Consequently Visit Wales was at present seeking assurances from both UK and Welsh Governments on future funding following the UK’s departure from the European Union.  Future funding for tourism, similar to a number of other areas, was unknown at present

·         the all-year round visitor experience in Denbighshire and the neighbouring areas would target both day visitors from nearby cities such as Liverpool and Manchester as well as individuals and groups who wanted to spend quiet weekends in the area, or experience outdoor activity weekends away.  A mixture of both low and high spend visitor experiences, and

·         North Wales was now beginning to develop its own tourist identity, similar to the Lake District.  The winter tourism project was the first time that the entire region had worked together on a specific single project, therefore this project was being regarded as a potential ‘blueprint’ for the future.

Following detailed discussion the Committee –

RESOLVED that subject to the above observations and the provision of the requested additional information, to receive the data and information provided in the report and associated appendices.