Destination Planning for Morpeth Report To Northumberland Tourism & Greater Morpeth Development Trust July 2009 Morpeth Destination Planning Report From Miller Research Pen-y-Wyrlod Llanvetherine Abergavenny NP7 8RG 01873 851 880 www.miller-research.co.uk In Partnership With Report written by: Sam White & Nick Miller July 2009 2 Morpeth Destination Planning Contents 1. Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................... 4 2. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1. Background and Rationale ...................................................................................................... 9 2.2. Strategic Context ................................................................................................................... 11 2.3. Process and Partnership ....................................................................................................... 14 3. Vision and Objectives .................................................................................................................... 17 3.1. Vision ..................................................................................................................................... 17 3.2. Vision Statement ................................................................................................................... 18 4. The Morpeth Context .................................................................................................................... 18 4.1. Visitors to Morpeth ............................................................................................................... 20 4.2. Regional Data ........................................................................................................................ 21 4.3. Segmentation – Visitor Profiles............................................................................................. 22 4.4. Business Survey ..................................................................................................................... 22 5. The Tourism Offer ......................................................................................................................... 23 5.1. Product Audit ........................................................................................................................ 23 5.2. Key Findings .......................................................................................................................... 24 5.3 SWOT..................................................................................................................................... 27 5.4 Unique Selling Points ............................................................................................................ 29 6 Destination Management Plan ..................................................................................................... 29 6.1 The Strategy .......................................................................................................................... 29 6.2 Meeting Future Visitor Expectations .................................................................................... 30 7 Programme of actions ................................................................................................................... 33 7.1 List of Actions ........................................................................................................................ 34 7.2 Management Plan ................................................................................................................. 47 7.3 Funding ................................................................................................................................. 50 7.4 Evaluation ............................................................................................................................. 50 8 Appendices .................................................................................................................................... 51 8.1 Appendix 1 - Persons who have contributed to the destination planning process .............. 51 8.2 Appendix 2 – Product Audit .................................................................................................. 52 8.3 Appendix 3 – Business Survey ............................................................................................... 61 8.4 Appendix 4 – Segmentation .................................................................................................. 86 8.5 Appendix 5 - Funding Sources ............................................................................................... 90 8.6 Appendix 6 – List of abbreviations ........................................................................................ 94 3 Morpeth Destination Planning 1. Executive Summary This Destination Plan for Morpeth is an action plan for the whole partnership of organisations that are involved in delivering the visitor experience within the town and its hinterland. It covers the period from April 2009 to 2019, and is designed to be a working document that can be added to as the town and its partners identify new opportunities for development. The plan provides a framework and rationale for investment into the visitor economy and helps to clarify how the key partners and agencies can work to help develop the tourism potential of Morpeth. The objectives of this plan are important to Morpeth because tourism not only supports businesses, jobs and suppliers, but it is particularly significant in rural areas and market towns where there are fewer alternatives. In addition: Visitors help support local heritage, culture and community services Tourism is a reason to conserve special buildings, historic sites, beautiful landscapes and important wildlife sites Tourism is a vital element in regenerating an area Visitors can also create a critical mass of trade for the local economy, by bringing in new people and repeat visitors who spend on local goods and services. This can bring about growth, especially in the retail and hospitality sectors, and can contribute to an increase in quality as more discerning consumers are brought into the town. Market towns are a vital element in the visitor economy across the North East and it will be important to make the most of their natural and cultural heritage and distinctiveness, to achieve these objectives and develop an excellent visitor welcome. Morpeth has a key role to play in this respect, as a local service centre to the North of Newcastle, but also due to its excellent location, close to the coast, the city and Northumberland National Park as well as other regional market towns. Much of the current visitor traffic to the town consists of local day trips and families and these should be further encouraged. However, at the same time, there is potential to expand on the number of short breaks and activity-based holidays in and around the town. Vision & Strategy This action plan is guided by the aspirations of the following vision statement, which has been developed by the partnership of people engaged throughout the process. 4 Morpeth Destination Planning The objectives for the Market Town Welcome destination plan: To strengthen Morpeth’s identity and profile as an attractive visitor destination. To broaden Morpeth’s visitor segments and to attract higher spending visitors, complementing the current visitor market which will continue to be an important part of the visitor economy. To establish Morpeth as a year round destination, encouraging short breaks throughout the year. To better promote the attractions and activities available in and around Morpeth. To increase visitor satisfaction levels which will in turn encourage repeat visits and increase the level of personal recommendations. To encourage more visitors to walk, cycle and use public transport. To develop a sustainable visitor economy offering excellent service, customer care and value for money. To widen the range and improve the quality of the retail and food and drink offers in the town. To encourage new business investment. To encourage and support collaboration between local organisations and businesses to enable joint delivery of the actions. 5 Morpeth Destination Planning To achieve the above, the following strategy for Morpeth has been developed: 1. Consolidating the Morpeth Visitor Offer Encouraging co-ordination of tourism businesses Branding and marketing Developing an enhanced events strategy for the town 2. Developing Morpeth as a Hub Shopping, eating and drinking Nature and heritage tourism The priorities for Morpeth are specified as follows: Priority Details 1 Consolidating This study has revealed that Morpeth is not only ideally located for regional tourism the Morpeth but also has the potential to establish itself as a major destination within Visitor Offer Northumberland. At present, there are many attractors for visitors to choose Morpeth as a destination but there appears to be a lack of centralised or coordinated control of individual organisations’ efforts. The Market Town Welcome (MTW) programme has identified this shortfall and as a result, places the highest priority on achieving a consolidation of the current Morpeth visitor offer. It is suggested that in order to achieve this, the following areas of action are focussed upon: Encouraging co-ordination of tourism businesses