THE ROLE OF LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN TOURISM A position statement from the Local Government Association 1.

What is modern 21st century tourism?

1.1 By international agreement, including formal endorsement by the European Community, tourism means people travelling to a destination from their homes for a variety of temporary purposes. This encompasses much more than a holiday including: Business, conferences, exhibitions, meetings etc; Socialising, from visiting friends and family to clubbing; Culture and entertainment, watching and participating in sports, concerts etc; Shopping, including out-of-town malls; Health, treatments and indulgence; Education, courses and self-improvement.

Tourism includes both overnight stays and day-trips. 2. Why should local authorities invest in tourism?

2.1 Tourism is worth almost 64bn p.a. to the national economy. It contributes 2.83.9% of total GDP and earns almost 16bn in foreign exchange each year. Tourism employs almost 1.8m people, which is 7% of the employed workforce. One in five of all new jobs are created in the tourism industry. Therefore, the support and development of tourism is an integral part of many local authorities economic development aspirations. Wider than that, tourism contributes to the social, economic and environmental well-being of an area. 2.2 Tourism offers the following benefits: A significant catalyst for economic growth and employment. Brings expenditure from external sources into the local market. Supports and helps to maintain local services, such as shops and pubs. Helps to diversify over-specialised economies. Provides re-skilling, training and employment opportunities at a variety of levels. Provides supplementary incomes to those seeking second jobs, part-time hours, unsocial hours. Leads to the creation and maintenance of local amenities. Supports a programme of events, arts, sports and other culture. Encourages residents to stay and spend leisure time. Helps to build distinctive communities, thus increasing local pride and selfconfidence. Provides opportunities for social inclusion. Encourages cultural diversity. Encourages upgrading and re-use of derelict land and buildings. Protects and provides a source of income for natural and built heritage. Enhances the image of an area, turning a location into a commodity, attracting commercial investment outside the tourism industry as well, by demonstrating to potential investors that the place is good to locate to.

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However, tourism can bring the following difficulties: A fragmented sector so co-ordination is complex and ongoing. Tourism spending is dependent on economic, social and other factors. High levels of sterling can reduce the numbers of and spending power of foreign visitors and encourages Britons to travel overseas. Requires all weather facilities and activities. Is very competitive and increasingly sophisticated. Demand can be seasonal and variable over a weekly cycle, which impacts particularly on employment. Places strain on transport infrastructure, particularly roads. Can be an unattractive sector for people entering the labour market. Requires ongoing investment from the local authority. Can place additional pressure on sensitive local environments and therefore needs effective visitor management.

2.4 Essentially it is the job of a local authority to strategically manage tourism to ensure that its net local benefits outweigh its disadvantages this is the key to long-term sustainability. 2.5 The significance of tourism to the economy of an area, depends on factors such as history and geography, and determines the scale upon which a local authority needs to invest in and support local tourism. 3. What is the principle role of a local authority in tourism?

3.1 Competing budgetary pressures are placing considerable strain on the ability of local authorities to participate in non-statutory services such as tourism. Therefore, it is essential that local authorities tackle priority tourism issues and functions that can be fulfilled by no other agency. 3.2 Only a local authority can: Provide a strategic and operational role in maintaining a high quality physical environment; Provide links and continuity of policy between the services, such as planning, environmental health and highways, that are essential to a sustainable tourism destination; Ensure that the needs of the whole destination, including residents, businesses, and the environment, are represented and considered in the management of tourism.

3.3 Providing a high quality physical infrastructure 3.3.1 A high quality environment is important for both residents and visitors. The services listed below are essential and must be a priority for a visitor destination: Street cleansing Street lighting Accessibility Parks and gardens Leisure and arts facilities Coastal protection and beach cleanliness Water safety Conservation of the natural environment Preservation of historic buildings Building and planning control Environmental health Public conveniences Footpath maintenance and development Car parks and park and ride schemes Security Signage

3.4 Ensuring tourism is a corporate consideration 3.4.1 Sustainable tourism relies upon the successful delivery of a wide range of council services, across the full range of council departments. Only a local authority can combine the delivery, coordination and promotion of tourism in one body and in order to make the most of this, a council needs to ensure tourism is a corporate consideration and responsibility.

Chesters Tourism Strategy is overseen by a Tourism Forum of public, private and not for profit organisations committed to its aims. The Forums Annual Action Plan identifies the work required of each organisation and of each City Council department in order to achieve 6 key objectives.

3.4.2 Continuity of tourism policy across an authority can be achieved by addressing tourism in the following local authority plans: Local Plan Unitary Development Plan Community Plan Local Transport Plan Local Cultural Strategy Local Agenda 21 Plan.

3.5 Representing the needs of the destination 3.5.1 Local authorities, with their democratic basis, offer impartial decision-making that places the wider good of an area above commercial considerations, in a way that membership organisations, like Regional Tourist Boards, cannot. In representing the destination in its totality, councils are the guardians of local distinctiveness, championing local culture, people, products and environment. 3.5.2 With this remit, it is the role of the local authority to develop a long-term, strategic direction for the destination, bringing together and balancing the needs of different

interests. This is best achieved through a clear understanding of the volume, value and impact of tourism upon the locality. 3.5.3 A tourism strategy should be achieved through cooperation between key players in order to establish shared goals, local ownership, individual responsibilities, the basis for pooling resources and a platform for further partnership initiatives.

New Forest District Council believes that bringing together the whole visitor industry is essential to the delivery of sustainable tourism, and has developed a strategy for tourism in the New Forest called, Our Future Together which balances the needs of the visitor, tourism industry, local community and environment. In order to develop the strategy, New Forest District Council worked with: New Forest Tourism The destination level tourism association with representatives from the accommodation, attractions, retail, catering, transport and service sectors

Several Community Tourism Groups With representatives from parish councils, chambers of trade, residents groups and individuals From this collaborative basis and shared destination strategy, New Forest Tourism has been able to develop a destination research programme, a visitor information network, a visitor stewardship scheme, a hospitality training programme, a marketing programme and transport initiatives.

3.5.4 As the representative of the destination local authorities play an important role in linking into regional and national initiatives, particularly ensuring the needs of the local tourism industry are understood by Regional Tourist Boards, Regional Development Agencies, Small Business Service, Learning and Skills Councils, Government Offices and Regional Assemblies. 3.6 The catalyst for partnerships 3.6.1 Tourism is a fragmented industry, forcing together diverse players, from international corporations to castles to conference centres to canals. Therefore, partnership is both an obvious and necessary way of working; combining expertise, perspectives and priorities across the public, private and voluntary sectors. 3.6.2 Local authorities, with their honest broker role, are crucial to bringing together and directing these partnerships. Partnerships vary in composition, size and targets but should share a common goal - the strategic and wise management of tourism. 3.6.3 Partnerships can be used to tackle a range of different issues from visitor management to regeneration to raising quality standards. With the increasing pressure on local authorities budgets, partnerships should be used by councils to identify and address their own local tourism priorities, as demonstrated by the case studies below.

Bournemouth Borough Council has developed a partnership body, comprising representatives of the Bournemouth International Conference Centre and the leading conference hotels. Under the banner of Conference Bournemouth they collectively produce publicity material to promote the town as a conference and exhibition venue. The success of the conference industry in Bournemouth is without doubt largely helped by this well-established working relationship between the private sector and the local authority In 1994 Durham County Council brought together a partnership in order to repair the environmental devastation caused by a century of colliery spoil tipping on the coastline and to develop new economic activity, including tourism, after the collapse of the coal industry. By 2001 a 5-year 10.5m programme of improvements will have been implemented through 100 different projects. The partnership comprises a wide range of national organisations, industry and community representatives, including the National Trust, Countryside Agency, and Northern Arts.

3.7 Marketing, promotion and information provision 3.7.1 Effective tourism promotion requires high levels of skill to respond to increasingly sophisticated market needs. Not all local authorities can justify the level of investment necessary to acquire such skills. Tourism marketing and promotion is therefore a function worth considering for outsourcing or undertaking via a partnership. Joint working can also help minimise duplication of promotional activity - the ripple effect of promotion at the town, then district and county level. 3.7.2 However, to outsource tourism promotions requires a (financially) strong base of partners, who can influence the direction of joint promotions. Too many micro players can lead to design by committee and unsatisfactory, but time-consuming, results. 3.7.3 Tourists do not recognise local authority boundaries. In many instances, the tourism product exists across several authorities. Therefore, many councils have joined together with other councils and partners from the private sector to pool resources and promote a brand which relates to the needs of customers as opposed to administrative boundaries.

The DACOM partnership Devon and Cornwall Overseas Marketing was established in 1995. It was developed in order to pool the limited budgets of the many resorts in Cornwall and Devon that were wasting valuable resources promoting themselves individually and inefficiently overseas. This partnership brings together Devon County Council, Cornwall Tourist Board and all of the district and unitary authorities. DACOM delivers a generic marketing campaign, principally targeting Northern Europe. Market research has kept DACOMs work up-to-date with consumer trends and recently the emphasis of promotion has moved from Devon & Cornwall to Cornwall & Devon, as Cornwall was identified by visitors as the more recognisable image. Other, more interest specific, guides have also been produced to meet market demand, including guides to walking routes, gardens and literary trails. Evaluation of the project has shown that up to 20m worth of extra business has been generated by the DACOM initiative in just one year. The partnership is now moving into a new phase, with a bid for objective 1 and 2 EC aid.

3.7.4 Good information provision can generate additional income, longer stays, return business and new visitors. Tourists have information needs that should be met prior, during and after their visits. Tourist Information Centres (TICs) and the Internet are both powerful and essential tools for the industry, which local authorities are finding increasingly difficult to fund alone. Their development is a national priority, which needs national, regional and local collaboration. At present, the lack of national TIC network funding means there is a lack of standardisation across TICs. Some are becoming more parochial and are moving away from the original objectives of networked TICs, which was to cross-promote. 4. Conclusion

4.1 With increasing pressure on budgets and non-statutory services, Councils need to ensure that their involvement in tourism is cost-effective and focused upon local priorities. There are many contributors to tourism and therefore much scope for duplication of effort. However, local authorities can play a unique and valuable role in the industry for the benefit of visitors, residents, businesses and the environment alike. Best Value should demonstrate the validity of this role and help local authorities to focus upon its fulfilment.

Contact: Kirstin Liddell LGA Policy Officer, Education, Culture and Tourism 020 7664 3316