INTRODUCTION AND BRIEF TOURISM ECONOMY HISTORY AND INFLUENCES 

• The development of Weston-super-Mare as a resort began in the early 1800s.

• The first hotel, the Royal Hotel was built on the site of a farmhouse destroyed by fire.

• Probably the most important boost to the area was the opening of Weston-super-Mare railway station in 1841. This was linked to the Bristol and Exeter line and provided a link with London. A later line brought in the first travellers from the Midlands.

• The opening of Birnbeck Pier in 1857 enabled Bristol Channel steamers to dock in Weston-super-Mare and introduced a new way for visitors to access the resort.

• Weston’s close proximity to Bath and Bristol, the clean sea air and open spaces led to its reputation as a health spa in the 19th Century

• Dating back to Victorian Times, the famous Weston donkeys are still a familiar sight on the beach during the summer months.

• The Grand Pier was built during the early 1900’s. The Pavilion originally housed a theatre. Following a fire, the Pavilion was rebuilt in the early 1930’s and instead of a theatre it now housed a large funfair. In 1974 the Pier was listed as a Grade 2 monument of historic importance.

• From a major Victorian health spa Weston-super-Mare continued to prosper until mass tourism in the 1970’s.

• Since the 1970’s, staying visitors have declined and day visitor numbers have increased. This is a common British seaside resort trend.

• Many external factors influenced the decline in visitor numbers at seaside destinations, such as: - new UK attractions, cheaper and easier foreign travel and the changing expectations of visitors. One way of reversing the decline in staying visitors is to focus on the short breaks market, attracting visitors to the area for a short break/weekend break so they will visit again and stay longer.

VISION FOR DESTINATION MANAGEMENT IN NORTH SOMERSET

The North Somerset tourism industry is vital to the local economy. Over 5.8 million visitors came to the district in 2005. Approximately £268.44 million is generated by tourism, which also provides over 5,300 jobs for the local workforce (STEAM Report 2005). The vision for tourism development in North Somerset is to sustain and create additional employment and business opportunities in tourism, and to maintain and improve the quality and variety of visitor accommodation, attractions, amenities and services so as to be mutually beneficial to residents and visitors throughout North Somerset. The Destination Management service is responsible for the marketing of North Somerset as a tourism destination, achieved through a co-ordinated marketing approach including targeted publications, public relations and co-ordinated advertising campaigns. The team also provides the Tourist Information service and manages the Weston Welcomer Programme. It provides information for existing businesses and potential investors, and represents the interests of the local tourism industry in the planning process and in regional and national forums.

STRATEGIES & BACKGROUND English Tourism Council ‘Sea Changes’ Report (2001) In response to changes in the market, the English Tourism Council, now called VisitBritain, produced the ‘Sea Changes’ document in 2001, which concluded that “English seaside resorts have seen long term decline, with their market share falling by over 50% since the 1970s” Some of the issues raised in the report:

• Growth of package holidays – due to the climate, cheap air travel, choice of destinations, new experiences available and increased amount of leisure time available to most people.

• A lack of investment, vision and quality improvements in English seaside resorts.

• Deteriorating infrastructure and over-dependence on the public sector. Ways to respond to these issues:

• Diversification into other industries less reliant of tourism; more partnership working and private investment.

• Broaden the tourism offering. Seaside tourism is still important but must be balanced with other forms of tourism, for example rural tourism.

• Acknowledge the social consequences of decline of seaside tourism plus the image of the resort. Blue Skies Tourism Strategy – getting it right for residents and valuing visitors In response to the ‘Sea Changes’ report, North Somerset Council began work on a 20-year tourism strategy known as ‘Blue Skies’. North Somerset Council's and the industry’s approach to tourism is laid out in the strategy. The strategy recognises the importance of tourism in the area and how, if handled correctly and sensitively, it can have a positive impact on the quality of life for residents and the experience for visitors. Blue Skies began with the largest research and consultation exercise ever undertaken by North Somerset Council. The research took place in 2000, followed by a launch in 2001. The aim of the research was to find out the views of stakeholder groups, look at tourism trends nationally and regionally, and create a vision for the future of tourism to which most stakeholders could subscribe and support. Leading on from the consultation, action plans were drawn up for Weston-super-Mare, Clevedon, Portishead and the rural areas.

Five partnerships made up of tourism businesses, town and parish councils and special interest groups are now implementing the Blue Skies tourism strategy, in conjunction with the council’s Destination Management team:

• Clevedon Tourism

• Portishead Tourism

• Weston Tourism

• Rural Products Group

• Rural Visitors Group (accommodation/attractions/access)

For further information on Blue Skies visit the council website www.n-somerset.gov.uk

PARTNERSHIP WORKING

North Somerset Council fully supports partnerships with the private sector, external organisations and other sector bodies and regards this as an area of high importance. Private Sector Within the private sector, North Somerset Destination Management is represented on many associations, the most prominent being: The Weston Hotels & Restaurant Association - the Association is always willing to participate in joint marketing schemes with Destination Management, for example providing free accommodation for competition winners. The Association is currently working in partnership with North Somerset Council on ‘Stepping Stones’, a scheme to assist tourist accommodation achieve national quality assurance standards, and runs joint training and awareneness sessions.

Public Sector Bodies

Within the public sector,North Somerset Council's Team work closely with:

• South West Tourism - regional campaigns, publications and training.

• Visit Britain - national campaigns, publications and national quality assurance standards.

• Somerset Tourism Partnership - made up of all the local authorities in Somerset, the partnership is involved in promoting the whole of Somerset as a tourist destination.

• British Resorts Association - the association exists to promote a proper understanding of the strengths, values and benefits of the UK's domestic tourism industry.

• Sub-regional – Partnerships with Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset and South Gloucester to promote rural and overseas tourism, including a joint successful bid to the Regional Development Agency for “Rural Renaissance” funding.

• Destination Performance UK – benchmarking and sharing good practice amongst other coastal resorts.

PROMOTION OF NORTH SOMERSET AS A TOURIST DESTINATION

Visitor Market The main promotional tools used to encourage visitors to take a holiday in North Somerset are:

• Self-financing tourism brochures targeted at specific markets: e.g. families, tour groups, out-of-season visitors.

• These publications are promoted via the Weston-super-Mare Tourist Information Centre and Clevedon Visitor Information Centre and also via the tourism website.

Other forms of promotion include:

• The www.somersetcoast.com website is an increasingly useful promotional tool. A new web editing package introduced in 2004 means the site can be updated constantly.

• Marketing campaigns– the area is promoted through both national and regional consortium marketing campaigns, such as British Resorts Association and South West Tourism.

• Direct marketing: brochures and mailer cards are sent out to selected addresses around the UK. These addresses are compiled from past requests received at the Tourist Information Centre and through the purchasing of mailing lists to target new customers with specific needs e.g. rural holidays.

• Special interest leaflets produced by the Blue Skies partnerships (e.g. rural crafts and design directory, North Somerset heritage leaflet). Travel Trade Market The main promotional tool used to encourage tour operators, coach operators and group organisers to plan visits to North Somerset is the Group Getaways newsletter. This is distributed by:

• Advertising in trade magazines such as Group Travel Organiser.

• Attending travel trade exhibitions such as the British Travel Trade Fair.

• Direct mail to operators whose details are stored on our database, some 1,800 contacts in total.

• In addition to the newsletter we also provide: * Group Helpline - a dedicated trade telephone service, giving advice on accommodation establishments, attractions as well as taking requests for the Group Getaways newsletter. * ‘See for yourself’ familiarisation visits for group organisers.

MARKETING STRATEGY

New branding: ‘Enjoy Somerset’s Coast & Country’ To move away from the ‘Weston-super-Mare Holiday Guide’ image of a typical UK seaside resort with children on the beach, we have adopted a more relaxed West Country feel, suggesting quality and tradition in contemporary style, building on the positive image of Somerset.

• In 2006 one main brochure was produced (70,000 copies).

• A short breaks / out of season direct mail brochure was also produced.

• The web site www.somersetcoast.com was launched in July 2001 with web hits increasing year on year. Distribution

• Up to 2001 the Holiday Guide was sent to customers held on a database of past respondents.

• In 2002 direct mail was increased by purchasing 60,000 names and addresses of people likely to take specific types of holiday and this led to 100,000 enquiries (over 2 years).

• In 2003, 2004, and 2005 100,000 direct mail cards were sent out to past respondents held on the database.

• In 2006, 80,000 direct mail cards were sent out to a combination of past respondents and new targeted individuals. Advertising campaign

• Up to 2001 national press campaigns were run to promote the resort in newspapers including the Sun, TV Times, People’s Friend magazine. However, this proved too expensive and generated a poor response rate.

• From 2002 onward, joined British Resorts Association campaign. Increased use of press releases, radio interviews and TV interviews to generate free publicity in addition to a revised national press campaign including the TV Times, Daily Mirror and Sunday Express. SUSTAINABLE TOURISM Our commitment to Sustainable Tourism Sustainable Tourism satisfies visitors, businesses and local communities without damaging the environment now or for the future. With our Blue Skies Partners we are working to promote sustainability by:

• Promoting local products, food, drink and crafts

• Supporting business to achieve quality standards

• Encouraging environmentally friendly use of energy

• Setting up of recycling schemes

• Encouraging tourism which respects the local natural, built and cultural environment

• Encouraging walking and cycling in North Somerset.

NORTH SOMERSET DESTINATION MANAGEMENT – THE FUTURE

• Tyntesfield - superb Victorian Gothic house and grounds situated in Wraxall, near Bristol. Recently purchased by National Trust this has become an exciting new attraction in the area.

• Events – in 2005 a New Events Group was set up to look into attracting new events to the area and a new marketing pack was introduced to encourage business sponsorship. This group was successful in attracting Channel 4’s highly popular event “T4 on the Beach” music festival to the resort in June, attracting over 27,000 concert goers, and generating an estimated £1.6 million of national television coverage. 2005 also saw the return of the Red Arrows for a 4th spectacular display over Weston-super-Mare bay as well as return visits of the International Clowns Festival and the Motorcycle Beach Race.

• Blue Skies Partnerships - all the partnerships are currently working on projects for 2006/07 and beyond.

• Regeneration - new investment opportunities will arise from the Weston Area Development Framework, the Weston Regeneration Partnership and Civic Pride (see North Somerset Council’s website for details – www.n-somerset.gov.uk ).

• ICT improvements - future improvements already in pipeline. The tourism website www.somersetcoast.com was relaunched in spring 2003, with much more functionality. The installation of an Information Kiosk at Weston-super-Mare Tourist Information Centre is also planned.

• Bristol International Airport links - closer working partnership with Bristol International Airport to encourage incoming tourists to stay in area, including the new direct route from New York provided by Continental Airlines.

• Destination Management Organisation/Partnership – closer working with other local authorities in Somerset, to promote the sub-region to visitors as a whole, in addition to joint project working including a visit Somerset ICT project.

• Filming Locations – North Somerset Council is officially recognised as a ‘film friendly’ local authority, by South West Screen. This means we encourage and assist, where possible, filming in the district, recognising the economic and promotional benefit of filming to our area.

• Rural Renaissance – along with Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire Councils, North Somerset was successful in obtaining matched Regional Development Agency funding to boost the rural economy in the West of England

Source: North Somerset Council Economic Development Unit, Blue Skies Tourism Development and Destination Management Team. www.n-somerset.gov.uk 

Tourism in the West of England

The tourism industry (including hospitality and leisure) in Bath, Bristol and Weston-super-Mare employs over 40,000 people and generates £1.4 billion for the local economy each year.

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the uk, with 1 in 5 of all new jobs being created within this sector. Local employment in the industry will grow by an estimated 9,000 jobs between 2000 and 2010.

Background of the Tourism Skills Network West of England

Throughout the mid to late nineties, the tourism industry in the West of England was becoming increasingly aware that while it enjoyed economic prosperity, its competitiveness was in danger of being affected as a result of critical skills shortages and recruitment difficulties throughout the area.

There was a real need to develop strategies to respond to these skills issues

In response the Tourism Task Force (now Tourism Skills Network West of England) was set up in 1999, by Bristol Tourism and Conference Bureau (now Destination Bristol) and WESTEC (now West of England Leaning and Skills Council) along with local employers, in order to deliver practical responses to tackle the shortage of skilled personnel in the tourism industry in the West of England area. The Tourism Skills Network West of England is a business unit of Destination Bristol.