Industry Update: 9 September 2020

Lobbying on your behalf and making plans: a note about DMOs

We’d like to open this week’s update with some thoughts about Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) like Marketing Manchester; the role that we play in local economies, how we have adapted in light of Covid-19 and what we need to better support the tourism, hospitality and leisure sector going forward.

Tomorrow there is an open debate session in the main chamber of UK Parliament led by the MP for North Devon, Selaine Saxby: ‘General Debate on support for the Tourism Industry after the Covid-19 Lockdown’. We are going to be watching carefully as we’ve taken deliberate steps to engage Greater Manchester’s MPs ahead of this debate to ask them to stand and highlight the main points of an important proposal that Marketing Manchester and 16 DMOs across England have developed in partnership.

The proposal – National Government and Local Destination Management Organisations: Working Together for Economic Recovery – is an incredibly important piece of work that not only highlights the value of tourism, but spells out in great detail what we as DMOs contribute to our local economies by leading, planning, coordinating and facilitating the growth and development of tourism and hospitality sectors, including the attractions of business visits and events.

The proposal concludes with an urgent recommendation for continued support for the sector, including extension of furlough for visitor economy-related industries, extension of the reduced VAT period, and extension of initiatives like Eat Out to Help Out; as well as an ask for support to strengthen the capacity of DMOs so that together we can recover the deep economic scar suffered by the sector.

The proposal also asks the Government to support the review of tourism delivery in England by establishing a national portfolio of DMOs. The aim of this is to deliver a better strategic, coordinated and more sustainable local approach to building back the tourism sector post Covid, creating a more competitive sector needed for Britain’s global ambitions.

While the proposal moves through UK Parliament, here at Marketing Manchester we’re also nearing completion of our One Year Recovery Plan which has emerged from discussions within Greater Manchester’s Tourism Industry Emergency Response (TIER) group, which Marketing Manchester set up to collaborate with senior leaders from the public and private sector across our tourism, leisure and hospitality.

Coloured by the devastating impact of Covid-19, the plan sets out a series of ambitions and goals that will enable the sector across Greater Manchester to both recover to previous levels and be best placed to rebuild sustainable growth. We hope to share the finalised One Year Recover Plan over the coming weeks.

For now, we would ask all of you to help champion the work and value of DMOs like Marketing Manchester wherever possible as we lobby for additional support for the industry that will benefit all of us.

Latest guidance on local restrictions

It’s been another turbulent week in terms of Greater Manchester’s local restriction situation.

There are now four different levels of restrictions in place across Greater Manchester and whilst the situation can change at any point, we ask that you familiarise yourself with the latest information so that you can relay this to contacts or customers if asked:

  • Local restrictions as per 31 July. This currently applies to Bury, Manchester, Rochdale, Salford, Tameside and Trafford and requires that different households in these boroughs should not mix indoors, including at venues such as museums and galleries, hotels, pubs, bars and restaurants.
  • Released from local restrictions. This currently applies to Stockport and Wigan only, bringing them in line with rules that apply across the rest of England. It is worth noting, however, that as per the UK Government announcement today, from Monday 14 September gatherings of more than six are to be banned across England – full guidance on this here.
  • Stricter local restrictions: Oldham. This only applies to Oldham which had stricter rules imposed several weeks ago which require residents not to meet anyone outside of their own household in any place, including parks, outdoor bars or restaurants and to avoid using public transport unless for school or work. Furthermore, visitors are actively discouraged from travelling to the area.
  • Stricter local restrictions: Bolton. This only applies to Bolton and includes all of the above restrictions for Oldham; however additional restrictions are now in place that mean that all hospitality for food and drink (restaurants, cafes, bars and pubs) have been restricted to takeaway only, there are tighter restrictions on operating hours and there is now a ban on mixing outside in public outdoor settings which is now enforceable by law.

It is worth noting that in all boroughs, with the exception of Bolton, several business types were permitted to reopen from Tuesday 8 September for the first time including casinos, skating rinks, bowling alleys, exhibition halls, conference centres and indoor play areas.

It is important to remember that face coverings should now be used at a range of tourism, hospitality and leisure businesses and attractions – a full list can be found on the UK Government website – and that we all continue to practice social distancing and frequent handwashing to reduce the rate of infection increasing further in Greater Manchester, and to avoid further stringent measures.

Manchester wins bid to host UKinbound’s 2021 Annual Convention

Leading travel trade association UKinbound has announced that Manchester has been awarded the bid to host its 2021 Annual Convention.

Manchester 2021 will take place in early February at The Midland Hotel over two days with a large proportion of the association’s 400 strong member base expected to converge on the city. This will include tour operators and trade buyers from across Manchester’s key international visitor markets.

The event schedule will feature topical industry debates, a keynote speaker address, b2b workshops and an evening networking dinner as well as a range of familiarisation trips for delegates, allowing them to experience the city’s perse tourism offering, while aiding the development of key relationships between buyers and local industry.

To find out more, please click here.

Find Your Space campaign update

We’re delighted to let you know that since launching our Find Your Space campaign the website has so far received 93,000 page views and our #FindYourSpaceMCR social media content has generated 867,000 impressions on Twitter and 2.19 million impressions on Facebook.

The Find Your Space campaign was due to work in coordination with the government’s Enjoy Summer Safely Campaign. This however is temporarily being paused in Greater Manchester and will restart as soon as the local restrictions are lifted. .

We are continuously updating the content on these pages as well as our Manchester pages as usual, so if you have useful content or contributions please continue to send them to Ryan.Maley@marketingmanchester.com.

New funding to help SMEs recover from Covid-19

Following the recent announcement that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government will be issuing ERDF grants through the Growth Hub network, Business Growth Hub is currently applying for Greater Manchester’s allocation which we believe will be agreed late August to early September.

There have already been a high number of applications; however, there is a requirement for 25% of the grants to be awarded to the Visitor Economy sector in Greater Manchester, so we would like you to take a look at the grant and consider if you or an SME that you know might qualify for a grant.

To find out more please click here.

Partner news you should know about

Some welcome news from our partners that we think you should know about:

Please email your news to press@marketingmanchester.com FAO of Andy Parkinson and also add this email address to your media/press distribution lists.

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. We have streamlined the Hub to give the most useful information; however, we will continue to deliver the service throughout the reopening of the visitor economy and anyone who needs specific and detailed support should contact supporthub@marketingmanchester.com for bespoke help and advice.

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