VisitEngland has announced 12 destinations to gain Local
Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) status as part of the reshaping of destination management in England.
The new crop of LVEPs is in addition to the three North East
Destination Development Partnership (DDP) pilot LVEPs announced late last year, making a total of 15 across the country.
Marketing Cheshire, Experience Oxfordshire, Cornwall and the Isles
of Scilly, Visit Hull and East Yorkshire, Visit West, Marketing Manchester,
Visit Peak District, Derbyshire and Derby, Visit Hertfordshire, Visit Kent,
Liverpool City Region, Cumbria Tourism, and Birmingham, Solihull and the Black
Country join the programme alongside the North East DDP pilot LVEPs
NewcastleGateshead Initiative, Visit County Durham and Visit Northumberland.
Developed and administered by VisitEngland, the national portfolio
of strategic and high-performing LVEPs support collaborative working locally
and nationally on shared priorities and targets to grow the local visitor economy. The creation of LVEPs was part of
the UK Government’s response to the
recommendations of ‘The de Bois Review: an independent review of DMOs in
England’, to reshape destination management across England, reducing fragmentation and bringing coherence to its
DMO landscape.
VisitEngland director Andrew Stokes said: “VisitEngland is delighted to welcome the new LVEPs onto the
programme, who will play a central role in transforming the visitor economy in
England in an inclusive, accessible and sustainable way. Ensuring we have the
right national and local infrastructure in place to grow our visitor economy
will ensure England continues to be a compelling destination, for both domestic
and international visitors, for years to come.
“We look forward to working in collaboration with the LVEPs,
providing ongoing support including a team of dedicated VisitEngland regional
development leads. LVEPs will also have access to resources and guidance from
VisitBritain/VisitEngland in areas including product distribution, business
support, bidding for funding and marketing.”
VisitEngland will work closely with LVEPs during the set-up
process and beyond, with ongoing support from a team of five new Regional
Development Leads. As well as a nationally recognised official status, LVEPs
will also be able to access expert advice, dedicated toolkits and training
programmes, targeting their needs, from VisitBritain/VisitEngland in areas
ranging from distribution, accessibility and sustainability to business support
and marketing. An important strand of support will be highlighting available
Government funding streams as well as developing and providing a ‘toolkit’ to
help LVEPs with bids to those streams.
VisitEngland welcomed the first three LVEPs, NewcastleGateshead
Initiative, Visit County Durham and Visit Northumberland, onto the programme
earlier this year. They form the pilot Destination Development Partnership
(DDP) in the North East of England, led by NewcastleGateshead Initiative, first announced by the UK Government in November 2022.
The pilot is a valuable opportunity to prove the DDP concept and the impact the
model can have on growing the visitor economy, strengthening the case for
future funding.
VisitEngland has worked in close consultation with DMOs to
develop the LVEP programme, holding a series of roundtables across England in
autumn 2022 with more than 100 participants.
For
more information about applying to the LVEP programme please see: https://www.visitbritain.org/local-visitor-economy-partnerships-lvep-programme
