Delivering World Class Product: The Discover England Fund Andrew Stokes, England Director

England Action Plan

England Division Priorities Developing the English tourism product through the delivery of the £40m Discover England Fund Year 1 projects and pilots launched in May Year 2/3 large scale collaborative projects launched in July Support for Business Visits and Events in England - BVE Strategy for England and key associated activities 3. Additional business as usual or cross-cutting supporting activities Brand, marketing and promotion SME engagement and support Quality Assessment and Assurance Schemes Research and insights Delivery Dedicated Director for England VisitEngland Action Plan sets direction and drives implementation of all VisitEngland activities Dedicated staff deliver England activities as well as shared staff in Business Services e.g. Project Management of the Fund, Marketing, Commercial and Strategy & Communications Directorates

The Discover England Fund Objectives To grow tourism in the regions of England To increase the competitiveness of England’s tourism offer, domestically and internationally To develop world-class bookable tourism products in line with market trends and in response to consumer demands

High-level criteria Collaborative – demonstrate that each bid has the support of a group of public/private partners, DMOs and LEPs Integrated transport solutions are key pricing / passes local solutions e.g. linking attractions technology Match-funded Demonstrate how products meet customer needs bookable tangible Demonstrate international and domestic tourism benefits

Funding profile Year 1 £6.5m Year 2 £11.5m Year 3 £22m £40m

Staged approach Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Proposals developed & supported / Research Year 1 Projects & Pilots Product testing / promotion Year 2 Core delivery Year 1 evaluated Year 3 Impact evaluated

Regional Engagement Regional Engagement events held in Feb/Mar 2016 Six locations - London; Birmingham; Newcastle; Bristol; Cambridge; Manchester 10 additional group meetings & a number of one to one engagements Engaged over 400 representatives from Destination Organisations, tourism businesses, trade bodies, national partners and Government departments Presented on headline Government ambition and objectives, criteria and indicative timelines Session to discuss key questions from industry to feed into fund develop and online Q&A Followed up with an online industry-wide survey

Industry Survey Results Summary Most respondents agree that they have a good overall understanding of the main elements of the Fund. Not surprisingly, those who attended an event tend to have a higher level of understanding than those who didn’t. Half the respondents say they are likely to be involved in developing a bid for the Fund. Interest levels are highest particularly among destination organisations. The priorities for further support were advice about bid development and submission, research and insight, and partnership facilitation. Partnership support and bid development were the two areas of support mentioned most frequently. Specifically for research and insight, respondents were keen to understand more about international visitors/markets, best practice case studies, and industry or regional specific insights. A wide range (35) of initial ideas were submitted by respondents.

What We Learnt Further detail and clarity requested on the following: Criteria and success measures Activities the Fund will and won’t support e.g. marketing Scale of projects – funding levels and geographies/regional spread/role of London Match-funding requirements How and when to apply for the two rounds Bid development support and delivery capacity Partnership requirements including role of DMOs Governance/decision-making on successful projects Sustainability and legacy

Timeline: Round One Projects & Pilots 10 May – 30 Sept Open for applications 31 May 2016 Deadline for first tranche of applications (monthly thereafter to the end of Sept) By end of Jun 2016 Confirmation of tranche one successful applications (monthly thereafter for the following tranches) Jul 2016 onwards Delivery of tranche one commences (monthly thereafter for following tranches)  31 Mar 2017** Deadline for completing projects ** option for further funding

Timeline: Round Two Large Scale Years 2/3 Programmes July 2016 Open for expressions of interest October 2016 Deadline for expressions of interest November 2016 We invite some partnerships to complete a full application February 2017 Deadline for submitting a full application March 2017 We confirm and announce awards April 2017 Delivery commences By end of March 2019 Deadline for completing projects

Year One Update Project Categories: 1 Product testing Do you have the right product? Do you know what international customers want and what your competitors offer? Is it being adopted by businesses? 2 Problem solving   Is the product joined up by transport corridor/theme/location/distributor to make it easy for customers to understand, purchase (i.e. bookable) or experience; and trade to access? Does the bid help get product to market? 3 Amplification Is the product scalable e.g. domestic product that has international appeal but is not yet bookable or could be applied across other geographical areas/replicated? Is it reaching the customer in the right way i.e. digitally and through the right distribution channels? 4 New product Does it provide new opportunities for customers to explore England’s regions? Does it address a market gap or respond to market intelligence that identifies consumer demand

Size of bids Up to £250k Different levels of support will be considered if a clear case made Partners must contribute a minimum of 20% of the project’s value in cash Bids which contribute more will be regarded favourably Partners must also demonstrate they are bringing other assets and skills to the project

What the Fund will / won’t support Will support Won’t support Project delivery resource Core funding of partner organisations Developing thematic and/or geographic clusters/groupings of bookable product e.g. heritage, gardens, culture Large scale capital projects like the adaption, building and construction of roads, hotels and attractions, TICs Passes and other pricing products Research and product/market testing Substantially about marketing & promotion or existing enabling activities e.g. welcome or training Itinerary development Integrated transport solutions/options e.g. regional gateway development, work with transport operators, digital travel planning, through-ticketing/local solutions e.g. cycle routes & buses to link up product Business as usual costs Some international marketing/promotion in order to test outcomes, though this should not be the main focus of the bid Product distribution Technology to enable the above

Four Criteria A clear challenge is identified and a high quality, customer-centric solution in one of the four Project Categories is proposed Outcomes and impacts are planned which produce lessons that can be shared across the tourism sector to stimulate and inform future product development A clear case is made for public funding and the project partners can demonstrate their contribution The project can move quickly from development to delivery. Support from key stakeholders should be identified and demonstrated

Initial Response /Level of Interest

Governance Operational Work Package Leads Programme Management Board VisitEngland Advisory Board Advice and monitoring Operational Work Package Leads Programme Management Board British Tourist Authority Board Operational management Progress updates Fund processes & timeline Overall programme management Risk review Monitor spend Ratify Award Panel recommendations Discover England Awards Panel Discuss / agree applications Recommend awards & funding amounts

Awards Panel Make-up The following sectors are represented: Inbound Tour Operators Business Visits and Events Airlines Digital/technology Government Departments VisitEngland/VisitBritain Outcomes and impacts are planned which produce lessons that can be shared across the tourism sector to stimulate and inform future product development A clear case is made for public funding and the project partners can demonstrate their contribution The project can move quickly from development to delivery. Support from key stakeholders should be identified and demonstrated

For further information: www. discoverenglandfund For further information: www.discoverenglandfund.org DiscoverEnglandFund@visitengland.org