Commissioning Board 23 rd September 2010 Annex A Structure of the Tourism Industry.

Government Department – Department for Culture, Media and Sport, funds:

Visit Britain is a non departmental public body, responsible for marketing Britain internationally.

VisitBritain is Britain's national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain overseas. We work with thousands of organisations in the UK and overseas to market Britain successfully to visitors from around the world. We also work to promote the tourism industry within the UK itself.

VisitEngland is the strategic leadership body representing the public and private sector stakeholders of English Tourism. It works in partnership with VisitBritain, the Regional Development Agencies and local authorities, and the private sector, creating a national tourism strategy, optimising marketing investment, and developing the visitor experience across England. Enjoy England operate the national quality assurance scheme.

What is a quality assurance?

Quality Assurance seeks to inform consumers before they book accommodation, to recognise quality and to differentiate levels of facilities and services, which as potential guests they can expect.

The standards Quality in Tourism assess to have been created as a result of harmonising standards from the National Tourist Boards for England, Scotland and Wales, but also with the cooperation of the AA and formerly the RAC.

Most of the schemes recognise increasing levels of quality using 1 – 5 stars. Some schemes further recognise excellence with the use of Silver and Gold awards.

This is subscription service and provides a listing on the visit Britain and enjoy England web sites.

There is no funding relationship between Enjoyengland and the Regional Tourism Organisations such as Welcome to .

Welcome to Yorkshire’s mission statement underpins our number one priority – to make Yorkshire the most popular tourist destination in the UK.

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We work closely with our six partners across the region and together we form the Yorkshire Tourism Network:

• Visit York Tourism Partnership • Yorkshire Moors & Coast Tourism Partnership • Tourism Partnership • Yorkshire Dales & Harrogate Tourism Partnership • Visit Hull & East Yorkshire Tourism Partnership • Yorkshire South Tourism

Tourism is of huge importance to Yorkshire and is one of our largest industries. It makes a £6.3 billion annual contribution to the region’s economy and creates 243,300 jobs.

Welcome to Yorkshire is charged with the vital task of ensuring the region’s tourism industry is both sustainable and built on a solid foundation for future growth. Our work encompasses major marketing initiatives, high profile PR campaigns, business support and the protection and promotion of the official Yorkshire brand.

Marketing We devise and deliver multi-million pound marketing campaigns which have proven outstandingly successful over the years, attracting leisure visitors, travel trade and business tourism to the region.

PR activity Our highly experienced PR practitioners gain consistent high-value coverage for our region’s tourism industry through skilfully targeted campaigns and events.

Business support Ensuring the success of tourism businesses throughout our region is one of our major priorities. We provide a wide range of business information, practical support and back-up, plus additional business benefits and cost savings to our Welcome to Yorkshire members.

Branding & image We are the official keeper of the Yorkshire brand. We ensure it is used effectively and consistently across the region to raise awareness of the brand values of Yorkshire to the consumer.

Market intelligence and research Professional market intelligence and research activity underpins our own work, and helps us to provide vital information, support and guidance to those working in the tourist industry as well as potential investors.

Strategic planning Our strategic planning work ensures we can deliver coherent and effective national and regional strategies to maximise opportunities and partnerships.

Policy Welcome to Yorkshire is the industry voice and representative on all relevant policy issues for the region.

Funding opportunities We work to ensure that the region can take full advantage of all available funding opportunities to ensure a premium quality tourism experience in Yorkshire.

Tourist Information Centres We oversee the region's Tourist Information Centres to make sure that standards are maintained. Formerly Yorkshire Tourist Board. RDC are members (subscription £xxxp.a and Cllr Val Arnold is the Council’s representative invited to attend the AGM)

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Majority funded by subsidy which is partly ‘passed down’ to the Area Tourism Partnerships for operational delivery.

The Yorkshire Moors and Coast Tourism Partnership was established on 1 April 2006 to provide services to the local tourism industry and to visitors to the area.

The partners, Hambleton District Council, Ryedale District Council, Scarborough Borough Council, the North York Moors National Park Authority and North Yorkshire County Council, are working together to strengthen the services offered to visitors to the region, raise awareness of the region's cultural and environmental assets, and ensure that the Moors and Coast plays its part in increasing the level of tourism in this area of the region. The region has set itself an aspirational target to increase the value of the visitor economy to the region by 5% per year over the next five years.

The partnership is managed by a Board comprising both local authority councillors and local tourism business people, and this means that representatives for the tourism businesses now have an equal say in how services are provided. All the local tourism associations in the area are listed in the Moors and Coast Tourism Partnership constitution.

The MCTP will provide tourism services that will progressively replace services provided by Local Authorities. A Tourism Strategy has been produced which outlines the strengths and issues affecting tourism at both the local level and the wider area, and identifies the role of the Moors and Coast Tourism Partnership and the key issues it faces. Priority action plans are also given.

MCTP and W2Y currently have a joint subscription scheme called the ‘partner scheme’. £150p.a for business advice, events, etc and a basic entry on yorkshiremoorsandcoast.com and welcometoyorkshire.com.

Future funding and activity.

MCTP was funded in part by YF. This funding transferred to W2Y and has now been withdrawn from MCTP totally from October 2010. The MCTP is therefore winding up its activities and due to cease its operational activity by March 2011. It may continue to exist is an advisory capacity, advising W2Y North Yorkshire activity.

W2Y is funded by Yorkshire Forward and therefore its future is funded only until 2012. However, the Local Enterprise Partnerships may prioritise regional tourism marketing at a pan Yorkshire level.

VisitYorkshire.com

TANY promotes and develops tourism within the North Yorkshire area. (Formerly the Ryedale Tourism Association, this is an independent tourism association.)

We work closely with our local and regional partners, The Moors and Coast Area Tourism Partnership (ATP), Ryedale District Council and the Yorkshire tourism authority, Welcome to Yorkshire, as well as nationally with

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VisitBritain, to ensure our member's benefit from the opportunities and resources available to local tourism businesses and continue to have a voice in future developments.

We work hard to promote cooperation between our members and other local tourism associations, coordinating marketing campaigns and ensuring the widest possible distribution of leaflets and other publicity and advertising material.

Most importantly of all, we work to establish contact between members of the association to promote the exchange of information and ideas and provide mutual support. We aim to improve standards of provision for tourists in the area and help our members' businesses flourish.

Subscription £40p.a

TANY are producing the 2011 holiday guide for the Ryedale area, their first holiday guide production.

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