14
Big Interview
Levelling up events
Nick de Bois has been appointed chair of VisitEngland, and talks to Martin Fullard
about how he will embrace the Tourism Sector Deal to drive more international visitors
ow do you see the road
map to recovery for our
industry?
We are an amazingly
creative, flexible, and responsive
sector that has been through big
crises before, although perhaps not
on this scale. Generally, we have
responded with immense flexibility,
which reflects the small dynamic
businesses that provide such
excellent service and experiences.
The industry is going to come out
of this, but we will need a
standards-led response. Clear
standards, clear timelines, and not
losing sight of the need to continue
to internationally market the UK as a
key destination choice is going to be
fundamental. We are coming from a
background where business and
leisure tourism are huge influences
on the wider economy, and not just
their own business sector economy.
The Sector Deal awarded a
couple of years ago by the UK
Government is going to make a
huge difference in the long run. It’s
not going to just help drive the
domestic economy, or indeed just
the events sector economy, but is
the platform for driving the general
economy.
The need for a timeline for the
re-opening of the sector however is
critical and eagerly awaited.
What is the role of VisitEngland
and its regard to business tourism,
and tell us about your new role?
I am chair of VisitEngland’s advisory
board, and I sit on the British
Tourism Authority (BTA) board, which
is the all-embracing board for
tourism across Great Britain.
My job is to be the voice of
England on that board, and in turn I
meet with the ministers. Under the
role of VisitEngland, we also have
the executive branch which delivers
programmes that drive growth in our
tourism market, with the emphasis
on international visitors. It has done
that by implementing programmes
which are backed by money.
Take the Discover England Fund:
we are able to develop programmes
that allow the business and leisure
sector to create cross-country
itineraries. We want to encourage
people to take advantage of leisure
days as part of their business
conferences. The Business Events
Growth Programme, formerly the
Events Support Programme has
supported 50 events from the fund
to date, with a total of £987,889
granted between 2016 and 2020. It
is currently open for applications to
support events to drive international
visitors.
What does that mean? It could be
that you have an existing show that
is predominantly domestic, but it
could also focus on one of the
leading technologies, such as
offshore energy, talking to a local
audience. The organiser or DMO can
apply for grant money to grow this
event as long as it includes in the
business plan a means to
internationalise it so we can get
above that threshold of about 30%
of international visitors.
Why would the Government get
behind that? Because when you are
the owner of an international show,
you bring the thought leaders, you
bring the company, the investment,
and you build it around your own
sector. It is a win-win for the wider
UK economy. Those bids are open
now and people are taking
advantage of them: hard cash is
there to help develop them.
Do you have a specific strategy?
As chair of the advisory board, for
me recovery isn’t about just getting
through the Covid-19 crisis. We have
to make sure the Tourism Sector
Deal is fully embraced once again
by government. The tourism
industry is worth £127bn, don’t
forget.
Why is that important? For
business events there is a very
significant commitment by the
government and it touches on
enabling and starting new shows in
key industrial sectors that
complement the government’s
agenda and help level up the
economy.
Now we have been set back, but I
think that strengthens the case for
the Tourism Sector Deal. Make no
mistake the deal has got a huge
commitment to business events in
it; I see us having to roll business
and leisure tourism together. When
we focus on that, we will feel we are
coming out of this.
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