Tourism Strategy Update Report
North Lanarkshire Council · 12 May 2023
Back to Enterprise and Fair Work Committee — 12 May 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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North Lanarkshire Council Report Enterprise and Fair Work Committee Does this report require to be approved? ☒ Yes ☐ No Ref PH/YW Date 12/05/23 Tourism Strategy Update Report (POW 23.1 Marketing and Tourism) From Pamela Humphries, Chief Officer (Place) E-mail weiry@northlan.gov.uk Telephone Yvonne Weir, Enterprise Manager: 07508001238 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to inform the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee of activity and progress relating to the actions identified in the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022 – 2026, to provide an update tourism marketing activity and to seek approval for projects proposed to be taken forward through interventions identified within the UK Shared Prosperity Fund which align to the action plan, tourism marketing and the growth and development of the sector. The Action Plan has been updated with activity which has taken place during the first year of the Strategy with input from the Tourism Strategy Steering Group. Actions delivered continue to work toward achieving the shared vision outlined in the Tourism Strategy which is for North Lanarkshire to be a sustainable, resilient tourist destination by 2026 offering a range of authentic and memorable experiences which provide value for money and are accessible to all. Recommendations It is recommended that the Enterprise and Fair Work Committee: (1) Acknowledges progress with delivery of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022 – 2026; (2) Approves the proposed use of UK Shared Prosperity Funding to help support tourism marketing and deliver a Tourism Challenge Fund. The Plan for North Lanarkshire Priority Improve economic opportunities and outcomes Ambition statement (4) Market and promote North Lanarkshire as the place to live, learn, work, invest, and visit
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1. Background 1.1 The North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022-2026 was approved on 3rd February 2022 by the Enterprise and Growth Committee and is the first North Lanarkshire focussed tourism strategy. Previous strategies and action plans were delivered on a pan-Lanarkshire basis. The Strategy is fully aligned with Scotland’s national tourism strategy: Scotland Outlook 2030 and was developed with the support of VisitScotland. Tourism and attracting visitors to North Lanarkshire remains a key part of Plan for North Lanarkshire and the ‘visit here’ pillar states that North Lanarkshire offers distinctive, authentic experiences which provide value for money and are accessible to all. 1.2 The shared vision of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan is: “By 2026 North Lanarkshire will be a sustainable, resilient tourist destination offering a range of authentic and memorable experiences which provide value for money and are accessible to all.” The purpose of the Strategy is to ensure collaboration between relevant council services and local, regional and national agencies in supporting the recovery of the tourism sector. 1.3 The Strategy identifies 3 priority themes to support the vision, and the recovery and growth of the sector. They capture the main opportunities and challenges facing the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire, and are as follows: • Priority 1 – Business - We will build business resilience, sustainability, and profitability. • Priority 2 – People and Skills - We will attract, develop, and retain a flexible, resilient, and skilled workforce. • Priority 3 – Place - We will create and develop an attractive, competitive, and sustainable destination that offers authentic and memorable experiences. 1.4 The strategy sets the strategic direction, nature and scale of the opportunities and challenges involved in realising the overall strategic vision and against the 3 priority themes. A detailed Action Plan has also been developed which sets out how outcomes against each of these priority themes will be achieved and which partners will be involved in delivering against each action. 1.5 A North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy Steering Group is in place chaired by the council’s Enterprise Manager. The Group meets quarterly with a remit to act as custodians of the Strategy and to oversee the development and implementation of the Action Plan. The Group includes representatives from across key services in the council including: Enterprise (lead service), Roads, Country Parks, Active and Creative Communities, Employability, Education and Families, Development Planning, Growth Team, Corporate Communications and Marketing, and the Communities Team. The steering group also includes representatives from Visit Scotland and the Lanarkshire Business Gateway Service. Members of the Steering Group collaborate with South Lanarkshire Council, New College Lanarkshire, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland in the ongoing delivery of the activities which support the sector. 1.6 The marketing and communication elements of the Strategy and for tourism growth in Lanarkshire are led by the council’s Corporate Communications team supported by the Enterprise teams in both North and South Lanarkshire Councils. VisitLanarkshire is the established brand for this pan-Lanarkshire activity and continues to deliver seasonal marketing campaigns including the development of the new www.visitlanarkshire.com website and associated social media activity.
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1.7 The approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for North Lanarkshire has identified funding through two Interventions to support the marketing, promotion and development of the sector in North Lanarkshire with a total of £270,000 allocated to these activities up to 31st March 2025: • S7: Funding for the development and promotion of wider campaigns which encourage people to visit and explore the local area - £120,000 has been allocated to this intervention to provide support for local tourism marketing to increase visitors and support employment in the sector. • S14: Funding for the development and promotion (both trade and consumer) of the visitor economy, such as local attractions, trails, tours and tourism products more generally - £150,000 has been allocated to this intervention to deliver a challenge fund in 2024/25 to support the development of tourism facilities in North Lanarkshire. 1.8 The report highlights activities being developed in relation to these two interventions and seeks approval to take these activities forward. 2. Report Tourism Sector Performance Data 2.1 Tourism remains a key sector in North Lanarkshire. Whilst the sector is recovering from the massive impact of Covid, it remains affected by the current cost of living crisis, rising energy costs and the ability to attract and retain staff to work within the sector. 2.2 Global Tourism Solutions (UK) Ltd provide data on the performance of the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire. At the time of writing, the figures for 2022 have not yet been published but there was a strong recovery in the 2021 statistics compared to the 2020 statistics: o Visitor numbers increased by 75.2% from 505,150 in 2020 to 885,040 in 2021. o Visitor Spend increased by 101.7% from £48.61 million to £98.07 million However, the 2021 statistics also showed that the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire is still in a period of recovery with visitor numbers down 51.4% and spend down 42.7% on 2019 pre pandemic levels. 2.3 Through the Regional Skills Assessment information gathered and published by Skills Development Scotland the future employment requirements for the tourism sector in North Lanarkshire remain positive. It should be noted that this forecast data should be viewed as a direction of travel. For the period 2022-2025, there is forecast to be a total requirement of 900 job openings of which 200 is expansion demand and 700 is replacement demand. Looking forward to the period 2025-2032, there is forecast to be a total requirement of 1,900 of which 100 is expansion demand and 1,800 is replacement demand. The total requirement figure is made up of expansion demand and replacement demand to show the total number of job openings. Expansion demand is the measure of an increase/decrease in people require to fill jobs, as a result of economic growth or contraction. Replacement demand is the number of job opening generation by people leaving the labour market (i.e. those who retire, move away or change jobs).
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Action Plan Progress to April 2023 2.4 As outlined above, the Strategy and Action Plan are split across the 3 priority themes which are in place to support the vision, and the recovery and growth of the sector. 2.5 The Tourism Strategy Steering Group has met quarterly since the Strategy and Action Plan was approved and oversees the implementation of the Action Plan. Key achievements of the first year of the action plan under the three priorities are as follows: Priority 1 - Business 2.6 During 2022, work was undertaken to research and identify a baseline of businesses within the sector. The baseline has identified that in North Lanarkshire there are a minimum of: • 31 Hotels • 21 Bed and Breakfast/Self-catering establishments • 3 campsites • 46 visitor attractions (including 6 parks and gardens) Work will continue to add to the database and baseline of new known establishments. This has not included wider hospitality sector businesses such as restaurants and cafes at the current time. 2.7 During the development of the Strategy and as part of wider 2021/22 activities, Business Gateway Lanarkshire supported by the council’s Enterprise Team held a Tourism focussed month in September 2021 during which four workshops were held focussing on customer care, performance online booking and digital marketing. 2.8 Outwith the focus month, eleven tourism / hospitality businesses have been supported by Business Gateway Lanarkshire. The support includes Digital Boost to improve digital capabilities, start-up support, and growth support. Ongoing support through the free services offered by Business Gateway continues to be actively promoted to the sector. 2.9 VisitLanarkshire marketing activity through new updated website, social media and campaigns promotes individual tourism businesses as well as the area overall. To date, half of accommodation providers and more than half of attractions in North Lanarkshire have taken the free opportunity to list their business on VisitLanarkshire.com. The improved design and content of the website and continued activity to drive visitors will increase awareness of the tourism offering by businesses in North Lanarkshire. 2.10 VisitScotland in partnership with Digital Boost held a programme of ten Tourism Digital boost webinars which took place March/April 2023. These can be accessed on visitscotland.org and this information is promoted as a resource to tourism businesses. 2.11 Quality Assurance is Scotland’s official grading system which aims to drive up standards and encourage businesses to invest in quality and improve the visitor experience. VisitScotland has confirmed that 24 North Lanarkshire businesses are participating in the scheme with no reduction in numbers since 2022.
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Priority 2 - People and Skills 2.12 The sector is continuing to face labour and skills shortages. Work is underway aligned to the Develop Young Workforce Delivery Plan and Workforce for the Future Strategy to increase pathways in opportunities in sectors which have demand and labour shortages. 2.13 Education and Families are delivering the Level 4 Foundation Apprenticeship in Hospitality which is designed to provide learners from S3 and senior phase, S4, S5 and S6 skills and knowledge for a career in the sector. The course includes the development of practical and technical skills alongside project based learning. North Lanarkshire pupil numbers on the course were 27 per annum in 2021/22 and 27 in 2022/23. 2.14 Education and Families are also carrying out a review of school facilities to identify areas to develop BGE/Senior/ASN phase curriculum in support of industry awareness and pathways into the sector. 2.15 North Lanarkshire’s Working employability programmes support people with barriers to employment to find work. In 2021 – 12 hospitality roles were filled and in 2022 this increased to 18 hospitality roles filled. 2.16 The North Lanarkshire Supported Enterprise Service provides support to disabled people and those furthest from the labour market to enter employment. Over the last two years the service has supported twenty-nine people into various roles with businesses within the sector including: Hotels; Fast food restaurants; Cafes; Leisure Centres; Pubs/restaurants and a Golf Club 2.17 The Supported Enterprise Service has also developed the Sunnyside Training Café @Volvo, an innovative programme commenced in May 2022 in Volvo Construction’s staff restaurant on Newhouse Industrial Estate. The ethos behind the initiative was to create a training kitchen where ASN young people would be supported by a job coach to gain training, development, and work experience. The service has partnered with New College Lanarkshire to deliver industry recognised training in catering and hospitality. 2.18 Business within the tourism sector will be encouraged to adopt fair work practices including paying the real living wage, joining the Disability Confident Scheme and signing up to the new North Lanarkshire Employer Charter The NL Employer Charter - North Lanarkshire's Working (northlanarkshiresworking.co.uk) which recognises businesses who meet two or more of the 4 pillars: Fair Pay, Employ North Lanarkshire, Buy North Lanarkshire and Be the Best. 2.19 Further work will also take place during 2023/24 to work with businesses in the sector to identify skills shortages, pathways into the sector, and placement and job opportunities for young people and adults so that they can experience work within the sector and understand the types of careers available. Priority 3 – Place 2.20 Through the Place theme, the council is seeking to further develop the potential of council owned venues to provide first class facilities and enhanced customer experience. The following are 3 examples of Place activities and works that have taken place which contribute to this Priority:
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2.21 The Big Family Festival was held in Strathclyde Country Park on 6th and 7th August 22. The event was supported by Big Feed Street Food Social, a travelling street food collective and featured music, 8 activity zones and food and craft market. The event was a success and an estimated 20,000 people attended over the weekend. 2.22 As part of the Strathclyde Country Park Masterplan, a new Velo Park funded by £1.6 million of investment from the Cycling Facilities Fund opened at Bellshill Gateway and is now one of the largest pump tracks in Scotland and the first free to use publicly accessible mountain bike trial area in Scotland. The track was designed to address a lack of local cycling facilities and improve the connection between Strathclyde Country Park and Bellshill. Counters are being installed which will assist in identifying visitor numbers to the facility. 2.23 A new £200,000 play facility opened in Auchenstarry in November 2022 as part of the Rediscovering the Antonine Wall Project, which spans five local authorities and promotes the wall’s fascinating history and status as part of a UNESCO World Heritage site. The play facility includes a Roman Fort with multiple levels and slides and wheelchair accessible items such as a trampoline and roundabout, as well as a rope swing and embankment slide. The play area was delivered by North Lanarkshire Council’s Community Partnership Team with additional funding from the Local Development Programme and Place Based Investment Programme. Marketing and Promotion 2.24 An important element of Priority 3: Place is the marketing and promotion of North Lanarkshire as a place to Visit. 2.25 The marketing and communication elements of the Strategy and for tourism marketing in Lanarkshire are led by North Lanarkshire Council’s Corporate Communications team supported by the Enterprise teams in both North and South Lanarkshire Councils. VisitLanarkshire.com 2.26 Following tendering on Public Procurement Scotland, Internet Creation were appointed on 13th September 2022 to develop and host an updated VisitLanarkshire.com website. The new website has a more modern design, functionality and all out of date content from the old site has been removed with new photography added. 2.27 All local tourism businesses were directly contacted to take up a free listing on the site and half of accommodation providers and more than half of attractions in north Lanarkshire have taken the free opportunity to list on visitlanarkshire.com. 2.28 The website launch was supported by the campaign activity noted below. New products on the website include: • A cycling guide developed with the Herald • Updated events feed from Data Thistle (previously The List) • Articles with suggested day trip itineraries • Local town history • Routes and guides; and • Themed ‘inspire me’ articles featuring local businesses. The new website enables the council to feature relevant new developments in local tourism provision including council run attractions and venues.
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2.29 The website and campaigns are supported by three social media accounts. The VisitLanarkshire Facebook page has 5,700 followers and the twitter account (@vsitlanarkshire) has 5005 followers. A new Instagram account (@officialvisitlanarkshire) has been set up and has 205 followers with numbers growing. Marketing Activity 2.30 VisitLanarkshire marketing campaign activity takes place in Autumn and Spring to increase visitor numbers and spend outwith the busier summer months. As the new website was in development the Autumn campaign was of a smaller scale in 2022. 2.31 A bigger Spring campaign is being delivered based around the concept of: ‘Need a Break? press pause – take a day’. The campaign was live during March and April 2023 with marketing featured on train and subway passenger panels, radio adverts with Clyde 1, digital and social media, railway billboards in Falkirk and Stirling and a floor panel in Glasgow Central Station. 2.32 VisitLanarkshire has also carried out social media marketing campaign with VisitScotland and distributed promotional flyers via Direct Distribution across central Scotland. VisitScotland Connect 2.33 VisitScotland Connect is the new travel trade event aimed at bringing Scottish suppliers together with international and UK buyers in 2023. The event was held at P and J Live in Aberdeen on 19th and 20th April 2023. A council Enterprise Development Officer attended the event with a South Lanarkshire Council Officer to promote Visit Lanarkshire. Around 80 direct face to face appointments took place with travel trade buyers to create ‘warm leads’ for partner businesses who have a suitable product for this market. Fifteen businesses will feature in the VisitLanarkshire travel trade guide (8 hotels and 7 attractions). VisitScotland has also met with Summerlee to provide advice and support on attracting international visitors and tour groups. UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) 2.34 The approved UK Shared Prosperity Fund Investment Plan for North Lanarkshire has identified funding through two Interventions (S7 and S14) to support the marketing, promotion and development of the sector in North Lanarkshire with a total of £270,000 allocated to these activities up to 31st March 2025. 2.35 Intervention S7: Funding for the development and promotion of wider campaigns which encourage people to visit and explore the local area. A total of £120,000 has been allocated to this intervention (2023/24 - £40,000 and 2024/25 - £80,000) to provide support for local tourism marketing to increase visitors and support employment in the sector. 2.36 Proposed activities under S7 include the continued and enhanced delivery of marketing of North Lanarkshire as a must visit destination to increase visitor numbers and spend. This aligns with the development and promotion of the area to the benefit of local communities and is directly in line with the Tourism Strategy, specifically Priority 3 – Place. As part of this proposal, consideration is being made to developing an App for visitors to the area.
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2.37 The proposed outputs/outcomes for Intervention S7 are: • Number of people reached - 10,000 • Number of organisations receiving non-financial support other than grants – 21 • Increase in visitor numbers – 5% • Increase in number of web searches for a place – 80% 2.38 Intervention S14: Funding for the development and promotion (both trade and consumer) of the visitor economy, such as local attractions, trails, tours and tourism products more generally. A total of £150,000 has been allocated to this intervention to deliver a Tourism Challenge Fund in 2024/25 to support the development of tourism facilities in North Lanarkshire. 2.39 The fund will be designed and promoted in the current financial year, and intends to fund up to 15 projects which will be delivered in 2024/25. It is anticipated that successful bidders will receive up to £10,000 each to improve tourism facilities. A call for applications will be made with a set deadline. Applications will be scored by a panel against set criteria. The set criteria will include requirements to demonstrate deliverability, value for money, realistic and achievable outputs/outcomes, and alignment with both the priorities of the UKSPF and to the vision and priority themes of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy. It will be structured using a Challenge Fund template established to ensure a degree of consistency and transparency across all UKSPF backed Challenge Fund interventions North Lanarkshire Council operates. 2.40 The proposed outputs/outcomes for S14 Tourism Challenge Fund are: • Number of businesses receiving grants – 15 • Number of Tourism, Culture or Heritage assets created or improved – 15 • Jobs created – 10 • Increased footfall – metrics to be agreed • Increased visitor numbers – metrics to be agreed • Increase in visitor spending – metrics to be agreed Future Activity 2.41 The first 12 plus months of the delivery of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan has resulted in good progress towards delivery of the identified priority themes and actions. Focus for the next 12 months will be building on the co-ordinated delivery of business support to the sector, further development of skills and pathways into the sector, building on and further developing communication with the sector, and the continued marketing of the area to the benefit of local tourism businesses. 2.42 Over the next 2-years, the North Lanarkshire Tourism Steering Group will also oversee the delivery of the UKSPF projects around Tourism Marketing and the implementation of the Challenge Fund and the agreed deliverables noted above. 3. Measures of success 3.1 North Lanarkshire tourism businesses benefit from sectoral business support and VisitLanarkshire area marketing activity.
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3.2 The funding from UK Shared Prosperity Fund creates new opportunities to market North Lanarkshire as a must visit destination. 3.3 Increasing visitor numbers, visitor spend and employment in the sector. 4. Supporting documentation • Copies of the North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy Action Plan Update – April 2023, and the Marketing Overview of VisitLanarkshire can be provided to members on request. Pamela Humphries Chief Officer (Place)
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5. Impacts ( http://connect/report-template-guidance ) 5.1 Public Sector Equality Duty and Fairer Scotland Duty Does the report contain information that has an impact as a result of the Public Sector Equality Duty and/or Fairer Scotland Duty? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? There is no identified detrimental socio-economic impact resulting from the proposals contained within this report. The North Lanarkshire Tourism Strategy and Action Plan 2022 2026 includes commitment to supporting accessible tourism, supported employment and promotion of fair work practices. Proposed UK Shared Prosperity Fund Projects, Marketing and Challenge fund will not impact adversely on minority groups. An EQIA was carried out during the strategy development and is published on the council’s website. If Yes, has an assessment been carried out and published on the council’s website? https://www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk/your-community/equalities/equality-and-fairer- scotland-duty-impact-assessments Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.2 Financial impact Does the report contain any financial impacts? Yes ☒ No ☐ Tourism Development and Marketing activity is funded by North Lanarkshire Council with budgets agreed on an annual basis. The current North Lanarkshire Council budget for tourism £37,000 marketing from Corporate Communications. Funding has also been secured from UK Shared Prosperity Fund, £120,00 Tourism Marketing (2023/24 - £40,000 and 2024/25 - £80,000) and £150,000 for the establishment of Tourism Challenge Fund in 2024/25. If Yes, have all relevant financial impacts have been discussed and agreed with Financial Solutions? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.3 HR policy impact Does the report contain any HR policy or procedure impacts? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant HR impacts have been discussed and agreed with People and Organisational Development? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.4 Legal impact Does the report contain any legal impacts (such as general legal matters, statutory considerations (including employment law considerations), or new legislation)? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, have all relevant legal impacts have been discussed and agreed with Legal and Democratic Solutions?
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Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.5 Data protection impact Does the report / project / practice contain or involve the processing of personal data? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, is the processing of this personal data likely to result in a high risk to the data subject? Yes ☐ No ☐ If Yes, has a Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) been carried out and e- mailed to dataprotection@northlan.gov.uk Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.6 Technology / Digital impact Does the report contain information that has an impact on either technology, digital transformation, service redesign / business change processes, data management, or connectivity / broadband / Wi-Fi? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? There is no direct impact on technology, or the digital transformation programme. Tourism businesses through the Strategy and Action Plan will be supported to adopt digital technologies and digital marketing. Where the impact identifies a requirement for technology, has an assessment been carried out (or scheduled) by the Enterprise Architecture Governance Group (EAGG)? Yes ☐ No ☐ 5.7 Environmental / Carbon impact Does the report / project / practice contain information that has an impact on any environmental or carbon matters? Yes ☐ No ☒ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? 5.8 Communications impact Does the report contain any information that has an impact on the council’s communications activities? Yes ☒ No ☐ If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the impact? Ongoing marketing and communications is essential for the delivery of this Strategy. The Corporate Communications and Marketing Team is actively involved and engaged in the delivery of the Strategy and the provision of marketing and communication support for VisitLanarkshire. 5.9 Risk impact Is there a risk impact? Yes ☒ No ☒ Risks are managed in accordance with the council’s agreed Risk Management Strategy to ensure that risks are managed at the appropriate level. There are no significant organisational risks associated with this strategy.
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If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the key risks and potential impacts, highlighting where the risk(s) are assessed and recorded (e.g. Corporate or Service or Project Risk Registers), and how they are managed? A project risk register for the UKSPF projects will be developed. 5.10 Armed Forces Covenant Duty Does the report require to take due regard of the Armed Forces Covenant Duty (i.e. does it relate to healthcare, housing, or education services for in-Service or ex- Service personnel, or their families, or widow(er)s)? Yes ☐ No x If Yes, please provide a brief summary of the provision which has been made to ensure there has been appropriate consideration of the particular needs of the Armed Forces community to make sure that they do not face disadvantage compared to other citizens in the provision of public services