Plans to reinvigorate Staffordshire’s visitor economy through a renewed drive by the county council and its partners have been set out today.
The county council is a member of Staffordshire’s Destination Management Partnership (DMP), along with district and borough councils, Stoke-on-Trent City Council and local businesses. It promotes Staffordshire as a place to visit with its wealth of leading national attractions.
With the value of tourism and the visitor economy to Staffordshire in 2019 estimated to contribute £1.87 billion of Gross Value Added economic impact (almost 10% of the Staffordshire economy total) it is critical to the county’s economic growth. In 2019 there were more than 28 million visitor trips made and an estimated 32,000 employees within the wider sector.
County attractions include Alton Towers Resort, Drayton Manor Park, the National Memorial Arboretum, the National Brewing Centre and the FA’s national football centre at St George’s Park. And as one of the hardest hit sectors by pandemic, a commitment to support tourism, hospitality, and leisure is a vital part of the county council’s five-year Staffordshire Means Back to Business economic recovery strategy.
Today the county council’s cabinet backed the proposals to strengthen the DMP and help Staffordshire’s visitor economy to get back on its feet. This includes an additional county council investment of up to £200,000 and enhanced support and closer working between district, borough and the county councils. There will be stronger promotion of Staffordshire as a visitor destination, a focus on research and intelligence, lobbying work with the Government and other key organisations and continued business support.
Philip White, deputy leader and cabinet member for economy and skills said:
“Staffordshire is home to world-class visitor attractions that attract visitors from across the UK and beyond. Our tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors contribute £1.87billion to the Staffordshire economy every year. The pandemic has hit those sectors directly with a significant knock-on effect to people and businesses across the county.
“We want to build on the extensive programme of support we’ve already delivered to Staffordshire businesses in the past year. Working through a revitalised Destination Management Partnership with other local authorities we want to reignite tourism in Staffordshire and turn up the volume on the amazing attractions that call our county home
“The recently launched Staffordshire story and brand-new approach to marketing our great county presents a further opportunity to reboot the activities and priorities of the Destination Management Partnership and provide the impetus for us to reinforce Staffordshire’s position as the nationally valued centre of the UK.
“We believe these proposals will help our visitor economy emerge from the current difficult period, take advantage of the staycation opportunities that lie ahead and build a better future for tourism and for the people who work within the industry in Staffordshire.”
