Tourism Strategy for , Lancaster and the Lune Valley

2005 - 2010

Promoting City, Coast and Countryside

June 2005

1. INTRODUCTION

This five-year tourism strategy sets out the priorities for action by Lancaster City Council and partner organisations in the development of Tourism in the district. The strategy was written in consultation with local industry stakeholders.

This strategy supersedes the ‘Strategy for Tourism in Lancaster District 2001-2006’, published in February 2001. Since that document was produced there have been major changes in the way that tourism is delivered at national and regional level. The national structure has seen the establishment of VisitBritain as the national tourism body since 2003. Regional Tourist Boards have been replaced by County level organisations, which are now funded through the Regional Development Agencies. For our area, the relevant body is the & Blackpool Tourist Board, which came into existence in April 2004.

Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board are currently preparing their own tourism strategy for the county, which is expected to be completed in Autumn 2005. Once this work is completed, this local strategy for Lancaster District will need to be reviewed and updated to ensure that the correct linkages are formed with the Tourist Board strategy.

The National, Regional and Local Tourism context is summarised below.

Government and National Context At the central government level the Department for Culture, Media and Sport’s (DCMS) “Tomorrows Tourism Today” prospectus, launched in 2004, set an ambitious target of achieving a £100 billion industry by 2010. It identifies four key drivers to achieve this:

• Marketing and e-tourism. • The quality of the product. • The skills of the workforce. • The data on which decisions are based.

Furthermore, the National Strategy highlights:

• Domestic and international visitors now expect high quality accommodation, good food and quality attractions. • Visitors want clean and safe streets, convenient and reliable transport links and good access to information. • Growth areas for the domestic market include day trips, short breaks and visiting friends and relatives with potential growth in business tourism, higher education establishments and outdoor activities and rural tourism.

VisitBritain, the organisation that promotes Britain Overseas and England within Britain, has strategies on Customer Contact and The Quality Strategy which promotes the vision of world beating quality that anticipates the customer needs.

Regional Context In turn, the strategy for Tourism in England’s Northwest focuses on five principal objectives: -

• Enhancing the way we communicate with consumers • Improving the primary product • Improving the secondary product and the ways in which we organise our region to make visitors welcome • Boosting the performance of tourism businesses • Maximising the potential of the people who work in the tourism sector

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) has set up five sub-regional tourist boards with the Lancaster District falling under the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board. Lancashire

County Council also retains a role in tourism provision and is expected to channel this through the new LBTB.

The NWDA and English Heritage have identified five towns in the North West (one in each County sub-region) as strategic priorities for long-term heritage related tourism infrastructure and product development. Lancaster is one of the towns selected. The main aim is to create a destination of the highest quality and provide a vision as to how its heritage assets could be developed. This initiative is still at an early stage but offers a significant opportunity for the district to enhance its heritage tourism offer.

Sub-regional context The newly formed Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board has produced a marketing branding strategy called “Five Winning Ways to Promote Lancashire and Blackpool”. These include:

• Family fun – from city nightlife to old fashioned family fun. • Country escapes – aimed at the high spending visitor to experience and explore the unspoilt countryside. • Night-time Buzz – the theatres, live entertainment, comedy and fine dining for adults and families. • Coastal Contrasts – the contrasts along the coast line from our major resorts to golf courses, to abundant wildlife and sealife. • Living Legends – the people of Lancashire and the legends and myths that are part of the heritage.

The lead product groups correlate with the Regional Tourism Strategy brands and themes. The delivery of action against these product themes aims to reflect the particular strengths and opportunities of the Lancashire and Blackpool sub-region and to ensure that development and marketing activity plays to the specific strengths of the sub-region.

Much joint marketing has taken place between the City and County Councils in recent years and can continue with LBTB, as some of these new themes are relevant to this district, e.g. Country Escapes, Coastal Contrasts, and Living Legends. Joint working can also continue on customer care and training issues.

The LBTB marketing strategy recognises that the majority of domestic visitors to Lancashire, as well as this district, come from Yorkshire, the North Midlands, the North East and central Scotland. A tourism strategy for the whole of Lancashire is being written by the LBTB and will be launched in the autumn of 2005. The annual Destination Plans produced by the LBTB will be based on this new strategy.

Local context Major changes have also taken place within Lancaster City Council and as a result of the Best Value Review of the Council’s Cultural Services, the Tourism Service merged with the Economic Development Service in 2002. The same review saw the management of Lancaster City Council’s Museums (inc. Lancaster Castle, Maritime Museum, Cottage Museum and the Judges Lodgings) transferred to Lancashire County Museums.

This Tourism Strategy takes into account of a number of strategies, including:

• Lancaster City Council’s Corporate Plan • Community Strategy “Lancaster District - A Vision for 2020” • Local Agenda 21 strategy “Agenda for Action – A Strategy for Sustainable Development in Lancaster District” • Morecambe Action Plan • Strategy • Arnside / Silverdale and Bowland AONB Management Plans

• Arnside / Silverdale AONB Sustainable Tourism and Recreation Strategy. • Forest of Bowland AONB Sustainable Tourism Strategy • Various Transport Strategic Documents including the Community Rail Strategy.

The tourism strategy provides direct support to priority number 1 in the Corporate Plan which relates to economic regeneration.

Product Profile The district, which encompasses the seaside resort of Morecambe, the historic , and rural areas including the Lune Valley, has over 3,500 serviced bed spaces and a wealth of major tourism attractions and events.

Economic Benefits Until recently, accurate information on the economic value of tourism has been difficult to obtain. This is now changing because the Council has recently adopted an industry-recognised methodology known as ‘STEAM’. This approaches the measurement of tourism at the local level from the supply side with data collected by Economic Development & Tourism Services annually.

The STEAM Report for Lancaster District for 2003 (inc. staying visitors, day visits, and those visiting friends and relatives) indicates:

• £130 million annual visitor spend. • 1.8 million visitor nights. • 4 Million day visits. • 3,000 Jobs supported by tourism of which 2,400 are supported directly.

Total visitor spend increased by 8% over 2002, with a 15% increase in spend by visitors staying in serviced accommodation (i.e. hotels and guesthouses). There was also an increase of 11% in the number of tourists staying in non serviced accommodation (i.e. self-catering). Day visitor numbers increased by 3%. (See appendix A – Full STEAM Report 2002-2003)

The City Council also measures the quality of the local tourism product through a process called “Destination Benchmarking”. This is based on interview surveys carried out locally and allows comparisons of customer satisfaction to be made with other coastal and historic towns.

ƒ Accommodation in Lancaster scored well above average for both ‘quality of service’ and ‘value for money’. This is higher than the average scores for other historic destinations. ƒ Accommodation in Morecambe scored well above average for both ‘quality of service’ and ‘value for money’, and higher than the comparable results for other coastal resorts. ƒ Attractions in Lancaster scored above average for all categories: ‘value for money’, ‘quality of service’ and ‘range’. Nonetheless, the range of attractions was thought slightly less satisfying than the average for other historic destinations, although the value for money was thought to be around the same. ƒ Attractions in Morecambe scored above average by respondents for ‘value for money’and ‘quality of service’ but ‘range’ scored only average. All of these ratings were significantly lower than the coastal resorts average. ƒ The vast majority of visitors to Morecambe are on a leisure trip or holiday (90%). ƒ Lancaster has a more mixed blend of visitors. Nearly three quarters of visitors are on a leisure trip or holiday (74%), whilst there were people on VFR trips (11%), special shopping trips (6%) and business/conference trips (3%). ƒ There is a distinct difference between the social grades of visitors to Lancaster and Morecambe on the basis of the respondents to the questionnaire. Whilst Lancaster attracts almost a quarter of its visitors from the AB social group, just over a tenth of respondents to Morecambe are from this social group. Instead, well over a fifth of visitors to Morecambe are in the lowest social group (22%).

• Morecambe receives a relatively high proportion of visitors on organised trips compared to Lancaster (18% and 9% respectively). This compares with an average of 13% for other coastal resorts, and 9% for other historic destinations. ƒ Two fifths of visitors to Lancaster were there for the first time (40%), compared to under a third of Morecambe’s visitors (28%), emphasising the importance of repeat visits for Morecambe. ƒ Just under two thirds of visitors to Morecambe stayed overnight (61%), compared with 44% in other coastal resorts. ƒ Just under a third of visitors to Lancaster stayed overnight (30%), compared with a quarter of visitors to other historic destinations (23%). ƒ Overall enjoyment and likelihood of recommending Lancaster as a tourism destination both scored above average by respondents. The score for ‘likelihood of recommending‘ Lancaster was particularly good, but slightly lower than the historic destinations average. ƒ Overall enjoyment and likelihood of recommending Morecambe as a tourism destination both scored above average, although respondents were less likely to recommend Morecambe than respondents in other coastal resorts.

2. LANCASTER CITY COUNCIL TOURISM SERVICE - FACTS AND FIGURES

The Tourism Service is funded by Lancaster City Council and operates as part of the Economic Development and Tourism Service. The remit is to promote the district as a tourist destination and provide services to visitors in Morecambe and Lancaster.

In 2004, the total Tourism section’s net budget (revised) was £572,000, made up of £260,000 for all salary-related costs, a marketing and development budget of £86,000 and a balance of £226,000 made up of recharges and operational costs. Expenditure on marketing and publicity totalled £50,000 and this contributed to partnership marketing and publicity campaigns worth at least £486,000. Income from sales and marketing totalled £81,000.

The Tourism Service produces the Morecambe, Lancaster and Lune Valley Holiday Guide which is the only publication with comprehensive (inspected) accommodation, attraction and events listings for the district. 90,000 Holiday Guides, plus other tourism related brochures are produced each year and are distributed through the national network of Tourist Information Centres and other promotional activities. Successful tourism visit websites have also been launched promoting Morecambe, Lancaster and the Lune Valley. Tourism promotion supports the Council’s corporate theme of promoting “City, Coast and Countryside” as an integrated product.

The TIC’s in the district (Morecambe and Lancaster) are run by Lancaster City Council (in Morecambe it is also in partnership with Lancashire County Council.) Total enquiries at the Tourist Information Centres have risen steadily from 187,459 back in 1994 to over 320,000 in 2003. Accommodation bookings alone made through the TICs generated over £80,000 worth of business for district accommodation establishments in 2004. Lancaster TIC received the Silver Award in the TIC of the Year Awards for the whole of the North West and in 2004, Morecambe TIC won TIC of the Year Award from the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board.

Over the next year Lancaster City Council will be reviewing the way it provides tourist information as part of a wider review of front-line services and also as part of the national and regional reviews of tourist information provision. A Customer Contact Centre has been established and will deal with a range of local enquiries from residents. The role of information provision to visitors, local residents and businesses will be carefully assessed as part of the current Access to Services review.

In addition to the work of the Tourism Section, the City Council also supports tourism in the district through the management and maintenance of the beaches, the promenade, parks and gardens, and the local cycleways; the provision of or support for events and festivals; the provision of sports and leisure facilities. The provision of car parks and public toilets also has an impact on tourism along with the cleanliness of the all public facilities.

3. SWOT AND CONSULTATION

The following SWOT table (an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing the district as a tourism destination) was formed as a result of a consultation exercise with the local industry:

3. SWOT ANALYSIS

Strengths Opportunities • The historic City of Lancaster including fine Georgian structures, City life, café • To market the district using LBTB ‘Winning Themes’. culture, attractions. • To work more closely with the Tourist Board to attract external funding in • The regenerating resort of Morecambe, with its fine views across Morecambe partnership with other organisations. Bay to the Lake District, • Regeneration of the Art Deco Midland Hotel in Morecambe. • Attractive rural areas including parts of two Areas of Outstanding Natural • New sources of funding and expertise can be accessed for Activity Breaks, Beauty and within sight of two National Parks. Package Holidays, and Joint Marketing Initiatives. These can be further • Improved image due to award winning public art. developed with transport operators and providers of special interest holidays. • Prestigious higher education establishments. • Groups with disabilities can be attracted to the area to use the flat promenade • Festivals attracting national and even international audiences. in Morecambe and 40km of off-road cycleways. • Award winning Tourist Information Centres. • Re-opening of the Lancaster Canal as far as Kendal, to encourage rural • Critical mass of historic attractions in Lancaster. tourism and regeneration. • Proximity to the M6 motorway, to main line and branch line railway routes. • Accommodation booking hotlines, tourism websites, and “One-Stop” tourism • A population of over 10 million people within two hours driving distance. services can be expanded, based on guidelines set out in VisitBritain’s • ’s cultural heritage and Port access to the Isle of Man. “Customer Contact Services” Framework for Action paper. • Over 50% of visitor accommodation meet national inspection standards. • Closer co-ordination between Lancashire and Cumbria, as indicated in the • A growth in self-catering accommodation and holiday parks. Morecambe Bay Strategy. • Morecambe Bay is nationally and internationally important for its wildlife. • Increased profile of the Forest of Bowland and Arnside/Silverdale AONB’s. • Morecambe can continue to improve through the implementation of new regeneration strategies. • and St Martin’s College student population. Weaknesses • Lancaster has been selected for a North West Heritage Towns initiative which • Both Lancashire and Morecambe suffer from negative images. will look at strengthening its heritage assets. • Morecambe’s seaside attractions and properties in need of complete refurbishment or demolition with pockets of high unemployment and deprivation in some urban wards. The Midland Hotel and other high profile Threats sites in Morecambe and Lancaster remain derelict at present. • Tourism remains a discretionary service of local authorities and with • Morecambe is often seen only as an accommodation base for touring places increasing pressure on budgets, financial constraints remain a real threat to outside the district. maintaining or developing the local tourism product. Adequate resources • There is a shortage of high quality visitor accommodation in both Lancaster needed to be maintained to promote the destinations effectively and to and Morecambe. participate in broader regional publicity • Access to Morecambe by road continues to be poor. Road signs to coach • Continuing reliance on the car could adversely affect Areas of Outstanding parks and signs to attractions require improvement. Natural Beauty (AONB’s) and other rural areas. • Provision and cost of visitor parking in Lancaster. • The British weather remains a threat to day visitor’s in particular, requiring • Rail services to West Yorkshire are inadequate. additional all-weather/all-season attractions to be provided. • There is no Youth Hostel accommodation in the area. • Diminishing toilet provision in the district. • Car parking charges, including overnight in Lancaster, perceived to be high.

Summary of Consultation A consultation document was produced and distributed to key stakeholders to seek views on the development of Tourism in Lancaster District. There was the opportunity to reply with comments and/or attend a consultation meeting, at which attendees formed a discussion group – Views were invited on any of the issues raised within document, but in particular comments were welcomed on the following key questions…

Key Questions

SWOT Do you agree with the SWOT analysis? Is there anything missing? What do you see as the most important opportunities or threats?

There was general agreement regarding the SWOT analysis. It was thought that a key opportunity for Morecambe would be the restoration of the Midland Hotel and that in order to reduce many of the district’s weaknesses, greater product investment was required. The regeneration strategies for Morecambe should be accelerated in order to attract visitors.

The Vision for Tourism Do you agree with the vision for tourism in Lancaster District? Is it realistic? What do we need to give most priority to in order to achieve it?

It was felt to be realistic but it was questioned whether it would be achieved. They also believed it required to be driven efficiently and without procrastination in order for it to be realised.

Regional context and marketing Is it still relevant for this district to continue to be marketed as a destination in its own right? How strongly do visitors identify with constituent elements of City Coast and Countryside (i.e. Morecambe, Lancaster and the Lune Valley)? Does Lancaster District need its own local tourism strategy?

To what extent could or should promotion of the District’s tourism offering be realigned to fit into the thematic approach being promoted by NWDA and Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board? For instance, is the seaside resort of Morecambe best promoted as a destination in its own right, or as part of the City Coast and Countryside concept, or as part of a thematic regional promotion of several coastal resorts including Blackpool?

How relevant to this District are the five winning themes set out by the Lancashire & Blackpool Tourist Board? (These are Family Fun, Country Escapes, Night-time Buzz, Coastal Contrasts, and Living Legends).

What, if anything, is missing from these themes? Are there other thematic approaches that could be adopted, perhaps linking across County boundaries to connect with the wider Morecambe Bay area, southern lakes, and Yorkshire Dales?

It was felt that certain realignment was needed in order to fit the thematic approach adopted by the Tourist Board but we should not lose the identity of City, Coast and Countryside in destination marketing. It was also felt that these themes are relevant to our district and that they should be linked across County boundaries and the wider Morecambe Bay area.

Tourist Information What are the prime locations for Tourist Information Centres in the District? Could some provision be reduced or should it be expanded?

What will be the impact of new technology on the ways in which visitors seek information and make bookings and travel plans? How much will it reduce the demand for face-to-face contact and printed literature?

How important is it for Tourist Information Centres to exist as visitor facilities in their own right? Do they add to the visitor experience, or could they be just as effective co-located in Council customer contact centres?

The stakeholder consensus was that TICs are required and that IT developments are additional rather than a substitute for a fully staffed professional information service. Certain market segments prefer to have access to conventional forms of visitor information.

It was felt they should be situated in areas giving best access for use by visitors and with strict monitoring to ensure they are being used and efficiently manned at all times.

Festivals & Events What is the most important role that festivals and events can play in supporting the local tourism product? Is it better to have a small number of large events that attract visitors in their own right, or a much wider spread of smaller scale events that “animate” and contribute to the vitality of the promenade and town centres on a regular basis? Should they aim to enhance the peak season, or to spread it into the “shoulder” months?

For the benefit of businesses and visitors it was felt to be necessary to promote festivals and events and it was suggested they should be spread into the shoulder months. It was generally realised that the larger events create more publicity to profile the district. The point was made that good lead-in times are required for accommodation business to gain maximum benefit from events.

Tourism Business Support Is sufficient business advice provided at present? Is it accessible and relevant to all types of tourism operators? In what ways might it be improved?

How important is it for local tourism businesses to have a local point of contact, rather than staff based at county or sub-regional offices? What benefits does this bring?

It was felt that availability of business advice is already quite extensive but is still important for tourism businesses to have a relevant local point of contact.

4. VISION

The tourism vision is developed from Lancaster City Council’s Corporate Plan vision.

Morecambe Corporate Vision: “Morecambe will be recognised as a vital and vibrant seaside town in an exceptional natural setting with a sustainable economy and a stable resident community”.

Tourism Vision for Morecambe “From a tourism point of view, Morecambe will be a vibrant resort providing facilities needed in the 21st century. Much of the traditional B & B product will have been replaced by quality graded hotels, guest accommodation and self-catering accommodation. With young families, over 50’s and special interest holidays forming the majority of visitors, the attractions and infrastructure will be suited to their tastes and needs, and the resort will not be in competition with other larger resorts which attract different markets. Morecambe will continue to cater to both the day visitor market and to the short break staying market. Morecambe will be focussed on the quality of its environment, on its infrastructure including public art, on its accommodation and its proximity to the historic city of Lancaster, the national parks and AONB’s.”

Lancaster Corporate Vision: “Lancaster will be recognised as a nationally and internationally important learning city with an envied quality of life, rich heritage, strong economic opportunity and social cohesion”.

Tourism Vision for Lancaster For tourists, Lancaster will be recognised as a historic city focussed on its built heritage, attracting higher spend visitors interested in history, culture and education. More accommodation will have been provided to accommodate growing visitor numbers, linked to cultural events, expanding nightlife, business tourism and students/visitors to the higher education establishments. Lancaster will have growing numbers of overseas visitors supplementing the domestic market for heritage and culture.

Rural Areas Corporate Vision: “The rural areas will have a sustainable quality of life that protects communities and precious landscapes while providing the economic opportunity to flourish”.

Tourism Vision for Rural Areas. The rural areas will have the emphasis on sustainable tourism for higher value and special interest tourists based around the countryside, walking, painting, riding, cycling, bird watching, golf, and the canal and railway heritage. Rural centres such as , Glasson Dock, and other rural settlements will be seen as centres for exploring the varied and attractive valleys, moors and undeveloped coast line as well as their own industrial heritage. Close contact with the Arnside-Silverdale and Bowland Areas of outstanding Natural Beauty and with the Morecambe Bay Partnership will ensure that appropriate levels of tourism are maintained for those areas.

5. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

To achieve the tourism vision, we have identified the following four strategic objectives with accompanying actions:

Strategic Objectives: 1. “To market the district in order to attract both staying and day visitors to the district.” 2. “To provide high quality visitor services to those seeking assistance.” 3. “To develop the tourism product through research, developing local strategies, influencing regional and national strategies and working with partners to improve the local product.” 4. “To support the provision of festivals, events and walks in the district in order to enhance the visitor experience and attract visitors to the area with particular emphasis on extending the season.”

Outcome from this activity will be shown in the following three areas:

• Increase gross added value to the tourism economy • Maintain and create employment in the district • Improve the sustainability of tourism business

Marketing and Promotions STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 “To market the district in order to attract both staying and day visitors to the district”. ACTION • Produce publications: District Accommodation Holiday Guide, Group Travel Organisers Brochure, Events Flyer, District Attractions leaflet plus events, heritage, and walks leaflets and maps. These are distributed nationally to all TICs and in response to publicity. • General Advertising campaign to promote the district. This is designed to advertise the literature, websites and services nationally and to monitor all the marketing data collected. The £17.3k budget contributes to a national campaign through the British Resorts Association and includes 11 major publications. • Partnerships and marketing support including joint publications (Pendle Witches, Bowland by Bike, promotional timetables) and LBTB/ County publications including the Country Escapes brochure, the overseas campaign and group travel exhibitions. This is a contribution of £13k to a total marketing spend of over £205k. • Business Tourism including development of the conference trade with the British Association of Conference Destinations, universities, hotels and venues. Media and PR events are hosted. The cost of £5k contributes to a total spend of £462k. • Group marketing inc. attendance at Travel Trade exhibitions. RATIONALE To raise the profile of the district in the most appropriate market segments.

PARTNERS District tourism operators (accommodation, attractions, tourism associations) and transport providers. Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, Lancashire County Council, RSPB, British Resorts Association (BRA) and the British Association of Conference Destinations (BACD) TARGETS • Increase tourist spend by an average of 5% annually across all categories of visitor. • Increase the number of staying visitors by average 3% annually through increasing length of stay, converting day into staying visitors or attracting visitors from new markets. • Increase enquiries by 5% average annually through new marketing activity. • Increase website hits by an average of 5% annually through further development of website. MONITORING Increased requests and visitor numbers. Advertising monitoring – cost per response. Short break monitoring through LBTB. Local industry questionnaire. Visitor satisfaction surveys.

Information Provision STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 To provide high quality visitor services to those seeking assistance ACTION • Operating information and advice services year round to visitors to the district • Maximise take up of information services. • Ensure that the information and advice systems conform to strengthened National Network Standards being developed by VisitBritain. • Sell transport tickets, making local and national accommodation bookings and developing the booking hot- line, selling tourism related merchandise (income £72k), selling theatre/event tickets, and responding to wide ranging enquiries. • Operation of an information service in Carnforth in partnership with the County Council and local stakeholders. • Support for a network of local tourist information points (TIP's) across the district. • Provision of current information and maps on City Council and County Council Information boards around the district. • Work with the LBTB to establish a Hub TIC in Lancaster to serve the city, rural areas and provide information and services for the LBTB area. • Website and accommodation booking hot-line development for tourism marketing and bookings.

RATIONALE Tourist information and services form an integral part of the strategy to boost tourism in the area, and is currently provided to a high standard as evidenced by recent awards. Provision will continue to aim at conforming to national standards so that full benefit is gained from partnership working at a sub regional, regional and national level

PARTNERS Lancashire County Council (Morecambe TIC). Both TIC’s meet National networking standards. Close liaison with hotels, venues, Arts & Events and Leisure Services and transport operators.

TARGETS • Annual increase of 10% in income through on-line bookings • Annual increase in enquiries of 5% • Target 85% satisfaction level (excellent) in visitor surveys MONITORING Enquiry numbers broken down into the categories of personal callers, telephone enquiries and e-mail/internet enquiries. Sales and commission figures. An annual local industry questionnaire.

Policy and Product Development.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 “To develop the tourism product through research, developing local strategies, influencing regional and national strategies and working with partners to improve the local product”. ACTION • Contribute to national benchmarking and economic impact research (STEAM), to best practice and customer satisfaction surveys. • Partnership working with all relevant private and public sector bodies including the NWDA, LBTB, Tourism Associations, Local Authorities, the Morecambe Bay Partnership, Northern Reaches Restoration Group, transport providers/partnerships, universities, businesses and the AONB's. • Involvement with professional bodies (to influence tourism policy) including the Tourism Society, the Tourism Management Institute, English Historic Towns Forum, British Resorts Association, Local Government Association. • Improve standards of accommodation and attractions through promotion of national grading schemes, offering tourism business advice, and contributing to “People 1st” for professional qualification standards. • Contribute to local and regional strategies affecting tourism infrastructure including the provision of transport, parking, toilets, cleansing, etc, which contribute to the visitor experience and monitoring through regular destination benchmarking. RATIONALE To help business case and influencing regional and national strategies and working with partners to improve the local product.

PARTNERS Lancashire Districts, NWDA, LBTB, Tourism Associations, Morecambe Bay Partnership, Lancashire County Museums, EHTF, BRA, LGA. TARGETS • Aim to encourage an average of 6 new providers into a national quality scheme. • Improve satisfaction levels from average to good across all sectors in the bi-annual destination benchmarking survey. MONITORING STEAM reports, number of partnership arrangements, number of establishments entering inspection schemes, Destination Benchmarking.

Festivals & Events STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4 “To support the provision of festivals, events and walks in the district in order to enhance the visitor experience and attract visitors to the area with particular emphasis on extending the season” REQUIRED ACTION • Strategic marketing of festivals, events and walks through close contact with Arts & Events Service, Leisure Services and the private sector. • Sell tickets for events and festivals and making associated accommodation bookings through the TIC’s. • Assist with the distribution of event information. • Early provision of information to assist forward promotion • Develop opportunities for joint marketing with the Arts and Events Service. • Provision of small scale events to animate the promenade for a longer season. • Encourage links with the tourism business sector and the Festivals Innovation Fund with the aim of producing private sector led festival proposals RATIONALE Festivals and events are important for tourism in the district as they attract visitors and also entertain or inform overnight and day visitors. Guided walks help interpret the historic and cultural aspects of the district. Special interest events, such as the Punk Rock festival are worth an estimated £1 million to the local economy and sporting events, such as the Morecambe Bay Golf Festival, have become established. There is stakeholder support for a range of festivals and events in the district and for them to be spread across the year, avoiding too much taking place on busy Bank Holidays and helping to fill empty bed spaces in shoulder seasons. PARTNERS Arts and Events Service, LCC, Lancashire County Museums, Community Groups and Private Companies.

TARGETS Aim to utilise innovation fund to increase the number of small- scale events.

MONITORING Sales figures for event tickets. Number of participants in events. Satisfaction surveys.

6. MONITORING AND REVIEW

Key components for monitoring this Strategy:

Volume and Value of Tourism: Steam District Reports Sub District Reports Occupancy Survey

Overall Visitor Satisfaction: Morecambe (Resorts) and Lancaster (Historic Towns Destination Benchmarking Survey (BI Annual)

TIC Satisfaction: Morecambe and Lancaster TIC Visit Survey

Industry Satisfaction: Industry questionnaires.

Effectiveness of Marketing: Cost per Response Holiday Guide Slip Responses

Other monitoring activity includes Local Authority Best Value report and internal auditing. A series of best value indicators are being developed nationally for tourism and, when available, these will be linked to the monitoring of the district strategy. This document will be updated annually in-conjunction with the Marketing and Tourist Information Centre Business Plans.

APPENDIX A Summary of STEAM report for DISTRICT 2002/03

Numeric Executive Summary All £’s 2003 indexed (RPI Factor 02/03 + 1.0294)

DISTRICT WIDE REPORT Analysis by Sector of Expenditure (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Accommodation 21.92 19.58 12 Food & Drink 26.36 24.60 7 Recreation 6.05 5.72 6 Shopping 18.02 16.84 7 Transport 11.59 11.12 4 Indirect Expenditure 31.49 29.41 7 VAT 14.69 13.63 8 TOTAL 130.12 120.89 8

Revenue by Category of Visitor (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 40.60 35.33 15 Non-Serviced Accommodation 34.41 31.74 8 SFR 8.68 8.70 -0 Day Visitors 46.43 45.12 3 TOTAL 130.12 120.89 8

Tourist Days (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 576.77 498.76 16 Non-Serviced Accommodation 1,280.52 1,165.04 10 SFR 491.23 492.34 -0 Day Visitors 4,016.19 3,917.13 3 TOTAL 6,364.71 6,073.27 5

Tourist Numbers (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 294.91 303.20 -3 Non-Serviced Accommodation 230.62 208.28 11 SFR 206.34 206.80 -0 Day Visitors 4,016.19 3,917.13 3 TOTAL 4,748.05 4,635.41 2

Sectors in which Employment is supported (FTE's) 2003 2002 % change Direct Employment Accommodation 911 913 -0 Food & Drink 723 675 7 Recreation 202 191 6 Shopping 451 421 7 Transport 142 136 4 Total Direct Employment 2,429 2,336 4 Indirect Employment 570 532 7 TOTAL 2,999 2,868 5

MORECAMBE SUB-DISTRICT REPORT (Postcodes LA3 and LA4) Analysis by Sector of Expenditure (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Accommodation 10.93 9.64 13 Food & Drink 13.79 12.79 8 Recreation 3.17 2.99 6 Shopping 9.24 8.57 8 Transport 6.19 5.93 4 Indirect Expenditure 16.14 14.97 8 VAT 7.58 6.99 9 TOTAL 67.04 61.87 8

Revenue by Category of Visitor (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 20.50 17.63 16 Non-Serviced Accommodation 18.16 16.57 10 SFR 3.27 3.28 -0 Day Visitors 25.11 24.40 3 TOTAL 67.04 61.87 8

Tourist Days (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 308.10 263.67 17 Non-Serviced Accommodation 689.87 623.85 11 SFR 185.33 185.74 -0 Day Visitors 2,171.71 2,118.15 3 TOTAL 3,355.01 3,191.41 5

Tourist Numbers (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 160.36 169.36 -5 Non-Serviced Accommodation 124.01 111.28 11 SFR 77.85 78.02 -0 Day Visitors 2,171.71 2,118.15 3 TOTAL 2,533.93 2,476.80 2

Sectors in which Employment is supported (FTE's) 2003 2002 % change Direct Employment Accommodation 457 457 -0 Food & Drink 378 351 8 Recreation 106 99 6 Shopping 231 214 8 Transport 76 73 4 Total Direct Employment 1,247 1,194 4 Indirect Employment 292 271 8 TOTAL 1,540 1,465 5

LANCASTER & LUNE VALLEY SUB-DISTRICT REPORT (Postcodes LA1 and LA2) Analysis by Sector of Expenditure (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Accommodation 8.46 7.71 10 Food & Drink 8.61 8.13 6 Recreation 1.91 1.83 4 Shopping 6.14 5.81 6 Transport 3.52 3.40 4 Indirect Expenditure 10.70 10.11 6 VAT 5.01 4.70 7 TOTAL 44.36 41.69 6

Revenue by Category of Visitor (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 15.83 14.09 12 Non-Serviced Accommodation 10.77 10.23 5 SFR 4.01 4.02 -0 Day Visitors 13.75 13.36 3 TOTAL 44.36 41.69 6

Tourist Days (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 196.08 173.75 13 Non-Serviced Accommodation 383.36 359.40 7 SFR 226.96 227.47 -0 Day Visitors 1,189.14 1,159.81 3 TOTAL 1,995.53 1,920.42 4

Tourist Numbers (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 96.13 94.92 1 Non-Serviced Accommodation 69.30 64.57 7 SFR 95.33 95.55 -0 Day Visitors 1,189.14 1,159.81 3 TOTAL 1,449.90 1,414.84 2

Sectors in which Employment is supported (FTE's) 2003 2002 % change Direct Employment Accommodation 250 251 -0 Food & Drink 236 223 6 Recreation 64 61 4 Shopping 154 145 6 Transport 43 42 4 Total Direct Employment 747 722 3 Indirect Employment 194 183 6 TOTAL 941 905 4

DISTRICT REMAINDER REPORT (Postcodes LA5 and LA6) Analysis by Sector of Expenditure (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Accommodation 2.52 2.23 13 Food & Drink 3.97 3.67 8 Recreation 0.97 0.90 7 Shopping 2.64 2.46 8 Transport 1.87 1.79 5 Indirect Expenditure 4.64 4.33 7 VAT 2.10 1.93 8 TOTAL 18.71 17.31 8

Revenue by Category of Visitor (£'s millions) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 4.26 3.60 18 Non-Serviced Accommodation 5.48 4.95 11 SFR 1.39 1.40 -0 Day Visitors 7.58 7.36 3 TOTAL 18.71 17.31 8

Tourist Days (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 72.43 61.21 18 Non-Serviced Accommodation 207.32 181.82 14 SFR 78.95 79.13 -0 Day Visitors 655.34 639.17 3 TOTAL 1,014.04 961.33 5

Tourist Numbers (Thousands) 2003 2002 % change Serviced Accommodation 38.32 38.77 -1 Non-Serviced Accommodation 37.31 32.44 15 SFR 33.16 33.24 -0 Day Visitors 655.34 639.17 3 TOTAL 764.13 743.62 3

Sectors in which Employment is supported (FTE's) 2003 2002 % change Direct Employment Accommodation 188 204 -8 Food & Drink 109 101 8 Recreation 32 30 7 Shopping 66 61 8 Transport 23 22 5 Total Direct Employment 418 418 0 Indirect Employment 84 78 7 TOTAL 502 496 1