St Albans and District Tourism Profile and Strategic Action Plan Prepared by Planning Solutions Consulting Ltd March 2021 www.pslplan.co.uk 1 Contents 1. Introduction 2. Setting the Scene 3. Support infrastructure and marketing 4. Business survey 5. Benchmarking: comparator review 6. Tourism profile: challenges and priorities 7. Strategic priorities and actions Key contact David Howells Planning Solutions Consulting Limited 9 Leigh Road, Havant, Hampshire PO9 2ES 07969 788 835 [email protected] www.pslplan.co.uk 2 1. Introduction 1.1 Background This report sets out a Tourism Profile for St Albans and District and outlines strategic priorities and actions to develop the visitor economy in the city and the wider district. The aim is to deliver a comprehensive Tourism Strategic Action Plan for St Albans to provide a roadmap for the district to move forward as a visitor destination with the engagement and support of key stakeholders. Delivery of the plan will be a collaborative process involving key stakeholders representing the private and public sectors leading to deliverable actions to guide management and investment in St Albans and key performance indicators to help leverage the uniqueness of St Albans to create a credible and distinct visitor offering. Destination management and planning is a process of coordinating the management of all aspects of a destination that contribute to a visitor’s experience, taking account of the needs of the visitors themselves, local residents, businesses and the environment. It is a systematic and holistic approach to making a visitor destination work efficiently and effectively so the benefits of tourism can be maximised and any negative impacts minimised. It embraces the idea of sustainability i.e., tourism which brings economic benefit, is sensitive to the environment, is welcomed by the community and results in satisfied visitors. Delivering a quality experience to the visitor, across all ‘touch points’, before during and after a visit, is a priority. In St Albans, the visitor economy needs to focus on the broad objective of ‘smart’ development, focusing on adding value where it is needed. In this definition, the term ‘management’ is taken in its widest sense. Crucially, destination management includes the planning, development and marketing of a destination as well as how it is organised and maintained physically, financially, and operationally. Destination management is all about communication, involving all stakeholders in planning and decision-making through partnership working as well as communicating with visitors to monitor success and consulting residents to evaluate impacts. In Hertfordshire, the two tiers of local government and the activities of Visit Herts (the county-wide DMP) means that communication and co-ordination are even more critical. The visitor economy is a complicated industry involving the public, private and third sectors – and the local community. The private sector is fragmented, comprising many businesses, most of them small. Working alone, enterprises cannot manage and sustain tourism across a destination. For example, they cannot provide or maintain the necessary infrastructure, market the whole area or train and develop a skilled workforce without some assistance. Similarly, there are many public agencies that contribute in different ways to tourism www.pslplan.co.uk 3 development and management along with a plethora of third sector parties and economic development projects. For tourism to be successful and make a constructive contribution to the city, district and local community, all parties need to co-ordinate activity and work to common, agreed goals. The intention will be to develop a plan for all those with an interest in the future of tourism in St Albans. This includes: • The private sector, responsible for running their tourism related businesses and meeting the day-to-day needs of visitors, including the St Albans BID. • Visit Herts, the destination marketing organisation for the county. • Local government departments in the County Council, District, Town and Parish Councils, responsible for a wide range of services that impact on destination management. • The various economic and community development projects that impact on tourism and the destination, including the Local Enterprise Partnership. • The local community with an interest in tourism related opportunities and possible impacts upon their way of life. • Any other stakeholders who need a robust, evidence-based plan to strengthen the case for funding and assist in identifying projects to support. • Politicians, who have to agree policy and allocate public sector resources. 1.2 Tourism Profile and Strategic Priorities and Actions This report provides an independent analysis and critical assessment of the current tourism assets and opportunities in St Albans and the district, specifically in terms of: • Tourism context • Review of the local tourism product including gaps • Analysis of the business community • Comparator review and • Opportunities and challenges for moving forward including strategic actions to improve the volume and value of the visitor economy. 1.3 COVID-19 The visitor economy in England (and indeed throughout the world) has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite extensive UK Government financial interventions, the recovery of the sector is not going to be easy. Visit England estimates that there will be a 48% drop in domestic tourism this year and that international visits are www.pslplan.co.uk 4 unlikely to return to pre-pandemic levels before 2023 at the earliest. Undoubtedly it will change the emphasis of initiatives arising from the Tourism Sector Deal e.g., proposed Tourism Zones, Discover England Fund initiatives etc from added value and growth to survival and recovery. There is likely to be considerable political pressure to move available resources away from London and the south-east, as part of the ‘levelling up’ agenda. The latest wave of sentiment analysis from Visit England had suggested that consumer confidence was slowly returning (accelerated by positive vaccine news) with an increasing number of survey respondents thinking that the crisis will be over by spring 2021. However more people still think they will take less trips in future rather than more. The crisis and virus-induced reality of a continued economic downturn is leading destination organisations and the hospitality industry to apply a new perspective on destination development and community involvement. One of the key features that most industry professionals agree on is the need (and opportunity) to build recovery through the domestic tourist and visitor market with a further boost for the staycation market in the UK. The role of strong destination management organisations will be critical in shaping the response and providing a coordinated programme of actions with support for appropriate development and infrastructure, where applicable. In its summary paper to Government in May 2020 relating to COVID Response and Recovery, the Tourism Society emphasised the importance of strengthening the capacity of DMOs and highlighted the need “to develop and promote differentiated experiences.” In the post COVID recovery period and ‘era’, the key growth areas are likely to be: • Domestic tourism overall • Strong VFR market with likely growth as people stay where they feel secure and safe • High demand for self-catering (offers greater flexibility and individual ‘control’ of the • visitor environment) • Greater demand and appreciation of outdoor based experiences in terms of • activities and the natural environment • Stays in a pub (authentic experiences) • Dog friendly travel • More coastal and rural breaks (compared to city breaks at least in the short term) The immediate priority will be to ensure that businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors continue to adapt and be resilient and take full advantage of the financial support www.pslplan.co.uk 5 from Government. The short-term priority will be for stakeholders, including the BID and the Council, to rebuild an engaged, sustainable and vibrant sector which is able to reopen safely and take advantage of the likely surge in domestic tourism as restrictions are eased. www.pslplan.co.uk 6 2. Setting the Scene 2.1 Hertfordshire Destination Plan The previous destination plan for the overall County was developed by the Tourism Company in 2013. It was this plan which set the framework for the creation of Visit Herts, while giving roles and responsibilities to each of the districts in respect of product development, marketing and coordination. The vision statement for the destination plan took the form of a notional extract from a generic 2020(!) guidebook…… Taken from the ‘Coarse Guide’ 2020 Hertfordshire has always been damned as a visitor destination by familiarity with a general image of the ‘home counties’, suburbia and as a place to drive through on the way to somewhere more interesting – helped along by the signs to ‘Hatfield and the North’. Many people are now looking no further than the County. Visitors appreciate the easy access to and from London, by road and rail. St Albans has always been on the radar as a wonderful, historic small City. It is now partnered by a range of other beautifully presented towns and villages of historic interest with great shopping, places to eat, museums and entertainment. These towns and villages have invested and discovered a new purpose, blending various activities with their