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Home , Geopark Way, Three Counties, Worcestershire

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

Strengths

 Accessibility / Central location  Variety of visitor attractions / places to stay  Strong mix of towns and countryside / rural landscape  Quintessential  Strong range of events & festivals – some internationally known (e.g. Three Choirs Festival)  Strong identifiable brands (e.g. West Safari & Leisure Park, Malvern Theatres, , Elgar, Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce, Morgan Motors)  Waterways (both Rivers & Canals)  Variety of conference & events venues (business tourism & weddings, etc)  Shopping across the (specialist shops such as arts & crafts, antiques, jewellery, etc.)  Local food & drink  TIC’s at key locations  & The Hive  Three Showground  Significant investment in developing venues (e.g. , Wood Norton, West Midland Safari & Leisure Park, Showground, sporting venues)  Proud Heritage  Sporting offer for both participants & spectators (e.g. rugby, cricket, basketball, rowing, fishing & watersports)  Local tourism networks (e.g. North Worcestershire Tourism, FarmStay, Malvern Hills B&B Consortium, etc.)  Tourism alliances between interested parties  Walking routes  Strong links between tourism & the arts through Worcestershire Arts Partnership  Peace & tranquillity

Weaknesses

 Lack of 4/5 star quality of accommodation in Worcester City  TIC’s across the county are not connected / varying quality of service / opening hours  Dispersal of visitors from key attractions around the destination  Inadequate public transport particularly on Sunday’s to/from airports/London & need to extend winter park & ride hours. Journey times are too long (also a lack of busses from Worcester to Lower Broadheath - )  Reliability of public transport (e.g. buses keeping to timetables)  Too dependent of cars  No free parking in Broadway to help traders  Poor signage (motorway, trunk roads, on entry to Worcestershire, visitor attractions, town centres) – too much focus on road safety & not the economy  Traffic congestion in Worcester City & southern link bypass (particularly during large scale events at Three Counties Showground  Retention of skills in the county (students trained in Worcestershire but then work elsewhere)  Too many different organisations responsible for tourism in Worcestershire - businesses find it confusing as to who does what and want less people to deal with.  Lack of celebrities from/based in Worcestershire (e.g. Duke of Devonshire at Chatsworth House)  No coach parking in  Understanding visitor needs (e.g. shops not open on Sunday’s in towns)  Lack of literature promoting walking and cycling routes  Lack of pavements on main roads in rural areas making it unsafe for pedestrians (e.g. A44 to Broadway at )  Lack of billboards / sites in Worcester City to put up posters to promote events  Need to increase visitor numbers, particularly in town centres  No business plan / strategy for developing a strong tourist trade in Droitwich Spa  Droitwich Spa Railway Station is not welcoming to visitors  No one leaflet distribution company that covers Worcestershire and surrounding areas - also guide books & leaflets needed in shops  Lack of up-to-date visitor statistics and trends data  Limited / patchy mobile phone coverage & lack of high speed internet

Opportunities

 LEP’s (Local Enterprise Partnerships) in both Worcestershire & Greater – opportunity to encourage large businesses to support SME’s to realise their strategic position e.g. large businesses benefit from SME’s  Funding through the LEP’s  Increase cross-border working e.g. with Visit , Malvern Hills AONB, Cotswold AONB, , in , etc.  Development of town centre  Malvern Route to the Hills connecting the hills to the town  Opening of Carpet Museum - also develop a heritage trail linking carpets to needles (Forge Mill Needle Museum)  Technology (internet, social media, mobile, etc.)  Range of street markets  Expanding events through partnership working and using them to increase footfall / additional spend in the towns  Make more of recreational parks and spaces in towns (e.g. Children's park in Upton upon Severn is central but very run down)  Promoting Worcestershire more through Stratford/Shakespeare, Elgar, Malvern Hills, local food/drink (Vale of Evesham), waterways, Cathedral/Sporting City, , Wyre Forest, etc  More promotion needed for northern Worcestershire beauty  Encouraging further links between towns & twinning connections  Strengthen connections with the  Mid Worcestershire Ring Arts Trail  Strengthen links to key Worcestershire area brands (Malvern Hills, Cotswolds, etc.)  More offers to encourage further/repeat visits and increased length of stays (e.g. reduced parking fees for special events, promotions via special interest/themed packages such as educational breaks, offer a restaurants reservation service, etc.)  More marketing to target group visits (e.g. possibly exhibit at Group Travel & Leisure Show, offer more incentives to Group Travel Organisers).  Develop & market provision for disabilities  Increase awareness of the county attractions to Worcestershire businesses (more familiarisation visits) & residents (Visiting Friends & Relatives market)  Encourage churches to be more involved in the bigger picture to encourage more visitors e.g. through Heritage Open Days  Campaign to promote open gardens and churches to add value  Improve quality of customer service & positivity of Worcestershire (specifically retail outlets, taxi’s) via additional training  Further development and marketing of the green (sustainable) tourism offer  Commercialisation of selling the county and also up-selling (e.g. businesses directing their visitors the other venues)  West Midland Safari & Leisure Park developments  Improvements to Worcester Foregate Street Railway Station  Increase links with transport operators such as rail, bus and coach to offer incentives to increase visitor use.  More promotions at and Service Stations on the M5 to encourage more passers by to stop and enjoy Worcestershire  More marketing campaigns within 2.5 hours travel time to include Wales, East ,  Encourage further working together between local councils and businesses in towns so everyone can play a part in developing and promoting the towns  More promotion of the arts/cultural offer  More business support needed to further develop the conference market  More joined up walking routes  Help accommodation providers strengthen links to local events and attractions  Develop and promote short, medium and long term plans for tourism at all levels (town councils/trade associations, districts and county)  Specific marketing to promote fishing and walking  Run a Secrets of Worcestershire marketing campaign  Provide promotional options for small businesses that can't afford leaflet distribution  Joint target marketing with the University of Worcester  Agree destination wide USP's that everyone promotes to increase perceptions of the area  Set up a passport for individuals to buy giving reduced entry to attractions

Threats

 Reduced public sector funding and general lack of finance  Climate change and adverse/extreme weather (flooding is a particular negative public perception)  Increasing competition from other UK & overseas destinations with greater resources  Private landlords being inflexible in the rates they charge resulting in too many empty shops in towns  No joined up approach to managing town centres  Economic downturn