Industry Update: 9 December

Greater Manchester in tier three restrictions

As you will know, last week Greater Manchester returned to tier three restrictions. Whilst this is very disappointing news for our tourism, hospitality and leisure sector, it is also important to note that tier three is now somewhat tougher than it was previously, and we have outlined the guidance here that you should now familiarise yourself with.

Here at Marketing Manchester and across our parent organisation, the Growth Company, we understand that it is more important than ever that businesses within the tourism, hospitality and leisure sector have access to support services and practical advice.

Therefore if you, or a business that you work with, need such support we encourage you to visit and make use of our Tourism and Hospitality Support Hub that outlines all the support available. From the hub you can also access Business Growth Hub’s Business Support Service which offers a full suite of advice and signposting for things like access to grants, as well as the Tourism and Hospitality Talent Hub which can help you or your employees with skills, training and recruitment.

If you have specific questions that cannot be answered via our Tourism Hospitality Support Hub you can email supporthub@marketingmanchester.com and someone in the team will come back to you.

Tier positions will be reviewed every 14 days based on five criteria: case numbers across all age groups, cases in those aged over 60, the rate of rise or fall in infections, the percentage of those tested who have the virus, and current and projected pressures on the NHS locally. This means that the next opportunity to shift into tier three will be next Wednesday, 16 December and we must now all do as much as we can collectively, to help Greater Manchester improve across those five criteria.

Opportunity: ‘This One is on Us’ campaign

We want to help Greater Manchester’s tourism, hospitality, leisure and cultural sectors bounce back stronger this January by asking partners to join our This One is on Us campaign by offering ‘Buy one get one free’ or another great deal on products and services.

If you represent a restaurant, café or bar; an attraction or activity; a tour or day trip; a paid-for experience; or a transport or parking provider, all you need to do is think of a great New Year This One is on Us deal, fill in this form, and join the campaign.

Your offer will be hosted on visitmanchester.com – the best performing website for city information – and will be backed by a significant marketing campaign that will reach over 3 million potential customers. Together we’ll get Greater Manchester buzzing again!

To submit details of your offer, please click here.

To find out more, please contact Richard.Fowler@marketingmanchester.com.

Upcoming thematic campaigns

In recent months we have developed three integrated multi-channel campaigns to enhance our content curation activity, which will run in 2021 focused on Digital, Green and Innovation. These themes align and deliver against Greater Manchester’s Local Industrial Strategy, Greater Manchester’s Economic Vision and International Strategy and will also include inward investment and business conference delivery strands.

The three campaigns are:

  • Powering Innovation – a campaign that aims to strengthen GM’s position as a leading region for innovation.
  • Digital in the DNA – a campaign that showcases GM’s digital strengths and positions the city-region as a digital exemplar on a global scale.
  • Greener Manchester – a campaign in development for 2021 in conjunction with key partners and organisations including the Growth Company, MIDAS, Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership, Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the private sector.  Work is underway to explore a unified GM presence at COP26, the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in Glasgow next year.

We’ll be in touch in the New Year with opportunities for partners to get involved with these campaigns.

Sport Bidding Manager appointment

Chris FitzGerald has recently joined Marketing Manchester as Sport Bidding Manager.  In his past roles at Manchester City Council and MCRactive, Chris has worked on numerous sports events within the city and is now tasked with identifying and bidding for national and international sporting events and conferences, working closely with partner organisations, hotels and venue operators across the city.

Manchester is a globally recognised sporting capital that has secured its place as an international destination for sport, tourism and business. The city is a leading light in the successful hosting of international sport during the coronavirus pandemic, having successfully staged the Manchester Open international squash tournament and the Muller British Athletics Championships in September.

World Para Powerlifting World Cup 2021 bid win

Marketing Manchester are delighted to announce that Manchester will host a World Para Powerlifting World Cup in the city in March 2021. The event is to be hosted in partnership with British Weightlifting, UK Sport and Manchester City Council and will see the world’s top para powerlifters return to compete in the city.

Taking place at Wythenshawe Forum, the National Lottery funded Manchester 2021 Para Powerlifting World Cup and Tokyo Paralympic Qualifier will be held between 25-28 March 2021.

The announcement to host a major Paralympic qualifier in the UK comes on the back of hosting a very successful World Para Powerlifting World Cup in Manchester in February 2020, where British lifters claimed 12 medals.  The competition will be one of the final qualification events for athletes aspiring to compete at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, following an extension to the qualification period due to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Partner and industry news

Tourism and Hospitality Support Hub

Throughout the Covid-19 crisis the Tourism and Hospitality Support Hub has been available to ensure that tourism and hospitality businesses are given the most up to date information including reopening standards and guidance.

In addition, our colleagues in the Business Growth Hub have launched a new suite of support services specifically aimed at tourism and hospitality businesses who need practical advice at this current time. Anyone who needs specific and detailed support should  contact: supporthub@marketingmanchester.com

If you apply for a Local Restriction Support Grant and are in the tourism, hospitality or leisure sector, you may be eligible for an additional grant for the period when Manchester was under extra restrictions. You can find out more via the Business Growth Hub, or from your local authority.

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