What Can Local Distinctiveness Offer You? Michele Grant L&R Consulting

WHAT WE ARE GOING TO DO TODAY PART ONE  How do we define local distinctiveness?  Where does it fit in today’s agenda? PART TWO  What does it mean for tourism?  What are the market opportunities? PART THREE  Can you create it? What is the scope of its potential?  What is its relevance in today’s marketplace?

PHRASES USED TO DESCRIBE IT Standing out from the crowd The distinctive character of a particular locality Unique area with particular qualities Being mindful of local character and the vernacular when designing new buildings and structures We can keep a close eye on changes to make sure that the area evolves and adapts to change in a way that conserves ‘local distinctiveness’.

WORDS ASSOCIATED WITH LOCAL DISTINCTIVENESS Sense of PlacePlace Identity Community Localism Conservation Special Genius Loci Identity Quality of Life

DEFINITIONS THAT REQUIRE ACTION  Authenticity and integrity – keep places lived in, worked in and real  Character – let the people and place express itself  Detail - respond to the local and the vernacular  Ghosts – get to know them; the hidden and unseen stories and legends  History – don’t fossilize places, history is a continuing process, not just the past, think legacy  Festivals - celebrate time, place and the seasons  Names - carry resonances and secrets. Respect local names and add new ones with care

THE CURRENT AGENDA Place making – driven by urban planning and community agenda – and increasingly culture too see: Living Places The increasing focus on the local community needs as driver for policy in local authorities Effective partnership working – across disciplines – to align policy and use resources better Local distinctiveness may offer opportunity for tourism to work with partners in new ways

QUICK WIN Vs. SLOW BURN  When local distinctive = landmark - use as a way of communicating the destination identity  Sell the quirky – PR opportunity – light touch  Use to define and position the destination and as a way to think about its future

LOCAL DISTINCTIVENESS THAT DELIVERS STRONG IDENTITY Stratford-on-Avon Improve Market Positioning  Help put a destination on the map  Why choose this place?

LOCAL DISTINCTIVENESS THAT IS ABOUT QUARTERS IN A DESTINATION Ropewalks, Liverpool Differentiate quarters in a destination  Capacity – physical, visitor offer, visitor markets  Create critical mass of varied experience in defined quarters – link tourism to urban planning, heritage/natural landscapes

MARKET OPPORTUNITIES

So playing to local distinctive qualities could work well for the independent minded visitors and the early adopters It could work for specialist, niche markets – need to consider size of the opportunity and breadth of appeal Over time as the reputation of a destination is consolidated then it can draw on those markets that are more comfortable with the well-known

Heritage feature or association Landscape feature Culture Festival or event Local food and drink

So is local distinctiveness beginning to all look the same? Does it matter? Local Distinctiveness isn’t the same as unique This is more about HOW you use the raw material you have rather than WHAT you have

We tend to assume local distinctiveness is about inherent qualities of a place but can we create it?

WIGTOWN NATIONAL BOOK TOWN  What was needed?  Revitalize the local economy  Create a unique selling point for Wigtown  Make it a visitor destination

WHY DID IT WIN? Recognised as a long term investment Set up a community led development and delivery model WHAT DID IT GET FOR WINNING? Attracted European Funding Attracted and accommodated book businesses Won a Townscape Heritage Initiative Enhanced profile

WHAT WAS ACHIEVED? Over 20 book shops + book related businesses (had 1 to start) – demand outstrips supply Estimated 280k visitors in Literary Festival ticket sales of £27.8k up 32% on the previous year Economic impact of £216k Almost one for one return on public investment

LEGACY Well established and successful literary festivals Proactive community – street market – events - music festivals Landmark community facilities – the County Buildings A Chamber of Commerce and a Literary Festivals Company formed as successors to the Book Town Co

COULD ANYWHERE ACHIEVE THIS? Probably not..... Ingredients for success are about The quality of the raw material – the townscape, landscape The location – accessibility Image and reputation – relatively neutral Matching scale to opportunity

So What Does Local Distinctiveness hold for you? How much of an opportunity is it?

SOME TELLING QUESTIONS TO ASK OF LOCAL DISTINCTIVENESS IN YOUR DESTINATION  Transformational scope – what is the raw material you’ve got to work with, how great might be the impact of developing the local distinctiveness? Not all locally distinctive qualities have tourism potential – be objective  Importance of this place to the region – is this place on somebody’s agenda? Helps to determine how much support you might get  Strategic value of your local distinctiveness - market and economic positioning, added value to stakeholders

CAPACITY  Catchment population – viability of commercial activity – market growth potential  Accommodation/tourism infrastructure – does capacity limit opportunities for growth? Are some key components missing?  Potential to attract new business – methods in place to do that – organisational capacity  Physical capacity – for visitors, commerce, facilities

DELIVERY  Organisation – delivery structures and mechanisms in place to make things happen  Existing expertise – are the mix of skills there?  Leadership and finance – to drive the process  Timing – is the time right now? Where does local distinctiveness fit into the life cycle of your destination?

KEY MESSAGES Authenticity – but it doesn’t need to be deeply rooted in the past – you can create a new contemporary distinctiveness Needs to be more than a gimmick to make a real impact - needs to be backed up by a strong product with significant potential visitor appeal but you can start small

Need to take a holistic approach – local distinctiveness must be backed up by quality environment, creative/committed people Need to be purposeful and planned – local distinctiveness is not a quick fix