Agenda item

Tourism Marketing Activity Undertaken by Visit County Durham (VCD) Scrutiny Review Report - Update on Progress of Recommendations

Joint Report of the Director of Transformation and Partnerships and the Corporate Director of Regeneration and Local Services – Presented by the Marketing Manager, VCD, Regeneration and Local Services.

Minutes:

The Chairman introduced the Managing Director, Visit County Durham (VCD), Michelle Gorman and the Marketing and Information Manager, VCD, Sarah Johnson who were in attendance to give an update as regards the progress of recommendations from the Tourism Marketing Activity Undertaken by Visit County Durham Scrutiny Review Report (for copy see file of minutes).

 

The Marketing and Information Manager referred Members to the report set out in the agenda pack and noted she would explain the key elements.

 

The Committee noted that recommendation 1 made reference to partnership marketing and it was explained that VCD worked with England’s Heritage Cities in terms of an augmented reality “app”, which includes Durham, launching today to showcase our heritage offer, targeting those aged under 35 in the United States.  Members noted other activities including the UK Countryside Tour and a Christian Heritage Tour and an episode of “Ben Fogle’s Great British Adventures”, an online series, with that particular episode  commissioned by VCD in conjunction with the support of strategic partners, Hamsterley Forrest and Durham Heritage Coast Partnership.  It was noted the episode had over 280,000 views to date.

 

Members were informed that the spring 2017 national marketing campaign was “heritage” and launched in 2 weeks, in partnership with Beamish Museum, Durham Cathedral and Durham University, with contributions towards online content with the Guardian newspaper.

 

Councillors learned that VCD continued to work with travel organisations who represent key points of entry to the County, including the Port of Tyne, Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley Airports, Virgin East Coast and TransPennine Express to identify opportunities to promote Durham through their activities.

 

The Marketing and Information Manager added that key events had included the first season of Kynren, and the Open Treasure development and that plans were in place for 2017 in terms of Kynren, Lumiere, and a new partnership had been secured in terms of the Bishop Auckland Food Festival. 

 

Members noted a redesign to the “this is Durham” place branding to provide not only a platform to promote the county as a place to visit, but also as a place to invest, live, work and study.

 

The Committee noted that in relation to recommendation 2, in terms of the “this is Durham” website, it had been relaunched in August 2016, following a full redesign.  It was noted that the number of people accessing the site via mobile technology had increased, with those accessing via mobile now accounting for 63% of the traffic. 

It was noted that new areas of the site developed included Kynren and Open Treasure with further areas to include: family fun; golf; and weddings.   

 

Councillors noted that website performance was good, with the number of unique visits exceeding 100,000 on 3 occasions during 2016 and being on track to achieve 1,000,000 for the year.

 

The Marketing and Information Manager explained that the national landscape had changed and Visit England no longer ran domestic marketing campaigns that individual destinations could participate in.  However, VCD had continued to identify national marketing opportunities which would be beneficial for VCD and partners including the previously mentioned Ben Fogle’s Great British Adventures and a national initiative with TripAdvisor for an enhanced presence for Durham on their site.

 

Members noted in respect of recommendation 6 that VCD had been heavily involved in shaping the Northern Tourism Growth Fund programme and in helping Durham become a lead destination delivering a key project for the programme.  It was explained that the new place brand for County Durham was “this is Durham, place of light”, and was not just in terms of visitors but also in promoting Durham as a place to live, work, and study.  The Committee noted that the brand was developed in conjunction with Business Durham and the national launch had been at the House of Commons with MPs and business leaders.

 

Councillor D Freeman entered the meeting at 9.41am

 

Councillors watched a promotional video, “this is Durham, place of light”, highlighting County Durham as a great place to live, work, invest, study and visit.

 

The Chairman thanked the Officers for their update and congratulated VCD on the excellent video.  The Chairman noted that she felt that people travelling via the Port of Tyne would seem to prefer Northumberland or Alnwick and asked how we could encourage more people to visit County Durham.

 

The Managing Director explained that some Councillors had previously asked for information in this regard and figures had been provided to those Members, however it was added that data available from 2013-14 showed that from those entering via the Port of Tyne, the most visited attraction was Durham Cathedral, followed by Alnwick.  It was added that there was the Durham Pocket Guide that was produced, with this being available at the Port of Tyne, directing visitors to Durham City and the wider County and its attractions.  The Marketing and Information Manager added that an itinerary was being developed for the Port of Tyne and that she was confident that Durham was a main draw in terms of visitors coming to see the Castle and Cathedral, and also our other attractions such as Beamish and the Durham Dales.

 

In terms of information and data, the Managing Director noted that there was approximately 60 cruise ships that would arrive at the Port of Tyne during 2017, with approximately 3,000-5,000 passengers per ship.  It was noted this gave an idea in terms of the potential number of visitors, however, the only data obtained was from the ship operators in terms of planned excursions, with any ad-hoc trips not being included. 

 

It was added that it would be the additional spend in terms of refreshments and also in terms of paid attractions that would be of benefit to our local economy. 

Members were reminded that VCD and the North East Tourism Alliance worked with gateway partners in terms of highlighting visitor attractions.

 

The Chairman asked if it would be possible to work with the Port of Tyne and operators in terms of a questionnaire to ascertain the destinations passengers intended to visit.  The Managing Director noted that it had been looked at in terms of the operators, however, it was felt the best route was via the Port of Tyne themselves, and would continue to chase more up-to-date data from them.

 

Mr T Batson noted that as a businessman, and in dealing with people from the south of the country, people in general had not been to the North East for a visit.  Councillor J Clare added that he felt the work of VCD in promoting the County was fantastic, especially the use of social media which he felt was spectacular.  Mr T Batson agreed and reminded Members how far we had come in terms of promoting the county since Local Government Reorganisation in 2009, and that VCD staff should take great pride in their achievements.

 

Resolved:    

 

(i)        That the update report be noted.

(ii)       That the Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive a further           report detailing progress made against the recommendations contained within the scrutiny review report at a future meeting of the Committee.

 

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