12 April 2023: Visit Herts has been awarded the new, enhanced status of ‘Local Visitor Economy Partnership’ by VisitEngland – the Government’s official tourism agency for England.
A total of 15 destinations across the country have been awarded the new status and the creation of these new partnerships is part of the Government’s strategy to better support and grow the visitor economy in England by reducing fragmentation and improving collaboration particularly at a local level. The new partnerships will also be better placed to help local and national government deliver their priorities and targets on issues such as climate change, accessibility and inclusion.
Deirdre Wells OBE, CEO of Visit Herts said: “We are very pleased to have been awarded this new status particularly as Visit Hertfordshire was only launched in 2015. I believe that this is a testament to the strong support and partnerships we have in place for the visitor economy across the county. It is our hope that this new scheme will make the management of the visitor economy in Hertfordshire and across the rest of England even more efficient, collaborative and cost effective and ultimately deliver a better service across the board for domestic and international visitors and the private sector businesses that work so hard to deliver fantastic and memorable experiences.
“Nick de Bois CBE did an excellent job in conducting a very comprehensive review of tourist boards across the country and we congratulate the team at VisitEngland for taking his recommendations on board and rolling out the new scheme – we are excited to get started.”
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “VisitEngland is delighted to welcome onto the programme these new LVEPs, 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. 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.
A full list of the new LVEPs can be accessed here and more information about the scheme can be accessed here.
For all general enquiries, please contact the team via email at enquiries@visitherts.co.uk