Alun Williams from Visit Wiltshire will give a presentation on what the organisation does to develop tourism in Salisbury. Councillor Richard Beattie, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Tourism will also be in attendance.
To be followed by a round table discussion on other ideas to promote Salisbury as a tourist destination, and how to maximise the benefits of tourism.
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed to the meeting Councillor Richard Beattie, Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Tourism and Alun Williams, Head of the VisitWiltshire partnership.
Councillor Beattie explained that the VisitWiltshire partnership was core funded by Wiltshire Council and sought to promote and develop tourism within the county. The partnership was currently finalising the first draft of its business plan, which would be ready by the end of April. Once this had been approved by the VisitWiltshire Board, and by Wiltshire Council’s Cabinet, it would be used to develop a Service Level Agreement.
Alun Williams reported that the partnership was one of nine destination management partnerships in the South West of England and that it covered the whole geographic county, including Swindon. The aim of the organisation was to “grow the value of the visitor economy in Wiltshire through raising the profile, sustainability, quality and profitability of the sector”.
The promotion of Salisbury was a key element to VisitWiltshire’s marketing activity. For example, the partnership’s website (www.visitwiltshire.co.uk) contained a dedicated Salisbury area, and attractions in the area (Stonehenge, Salisbury Cathedral and Wilton House) featured heavily in the marketing literature. In relation to the images used on the front pages of the “What to do” and “Where to stay” leaflets, the tourist destinations featured were rotated, to ensure a fair profile was given to attractions across the county.
As domestic tourism destinations constantly had to compete with overseas tour operators for business, media coverage was a useful source of additional marketing. Since September 2008, media coverage worth an estimated value of £570,000 had been generated by VisitWiltshire and 46% of press cuttings directly mentioned Salisbury and/or Stonehenge. Other marketing work included trade fairs and sponsoring the tourism section of the Small Business of the Year Awards for South Wiltshire 2010.
It was noted that 65% of Wiltshire’s tourism spending came from day visitors and some leaflets were designed specifically for these visitors. The business plan aimed to maintain the level of day visitors but also to increase the duration of people’s visits. It was estimated that a day visitor would spend £23 per day, while someone staying for longer would spend £53 per day.
The Chairman thanked Councillor Beattie and Alun for their presentation and invited those present to discuss how Salisbury could be further promoted as a tourist destination, and how the benefits of tourism could be maximised. Each table fed back ideas and suggestions as follows:
1. How can Salisbury be promoted as a tourist destination?
· Introduce themed tours incorporating attractions across the county
· Make well-known events more local, for example the Salisbury International Arts Festival
· Develop package deals aimed at visitors from London, with travel, restaurant, overnight accommodation and options to include trips to attractions such as Stonehenge
· Target the family market during the peak-season and the retired market out-of-season to ensure year round tourism
· Develop a guide specifically for the Salisbury area
· Focus on the modern history of the area, i.e. the early years of aviation
· Promote Salisbury as an excellent “base” for exploring the South West for overseas visitors.
2. How can we maximise the benefits of tourism?
· Make attractions more family-friendly
· Encourage people to stay longer
· Provide better facilities e.g. public toilets
· Develop improved maps and information, including provision in foreign languages
· Provide deals on tickets for multiple attractions in the area
· Encourage more hotels to open
· Encourage day-trippers to stay longer by offering more family-friendly evening activities, for example bowling or leisure facilities in the city centre
· Improve and develop signage around the city.
The Chairman thanked everyone for their contributions and commented that the feedback would be collated and shared with VisitWiltshire, the City Council and Salisbury City Community Area Partnership (SCCAP). Proposed actions arising out of the suggestions would be reported to the next meeting of the Area Board.