Agenda item

The MCL Marketing and Sales Manager presented the progress report on the Destination Management Plan – Action Plan.

The committee was informed that there had been a meeting of tourism businesses and stakeholders the day before, which was one year on from the launch of the Tourism Destination Management Plan (TDMP).  The event included a presentation by Kent County Council on the new cycle path and an update from Visit Kent.

It was noted that figures released from Visit Kent on the economic impact of tourism (based on 2015 data) had revealed the following:-

·  60 million visitors had visited Kent

·  There had been 373,000 staying trips in the borough, which equated to 1.241m staying nights

·  £67m was spent by staying visitors (with an average spend of £179 per visitor)

·  3.8m day trips were made with a spend of £122m, with an average spend of £32 per day visitor

·  The total spend by visitors in the borough was estimated at £189m.

The committee was reminded that the Destination Management Plan (DMP) was adopted by the Committee in July 2015 and the accompanying three year action plan was also endorsed.

The key successes to date were:-

·  The Shared Story toolkit (available online)

·  The creation of an Online Image Library (available online for tourism businesses to download images and for the media as well)

·  Online Events Planning Calendar

·  Design and Installation of the new Historic Interpretation Panels in the town

It was noted that more key activities had been added to support the Tourism Destination Management Plan, these included:-

·  New iconic photography to support the Shared Story (many more would be added in the future).  There were around 150 images still to go on the site which are specifically designed for tourism and marketing purposes.

·  Promotional videos showing the attraction of visiting the borough

·  Development of a new website, Conference Maidstone to support Business Tourism and the wedding venues

·  Development of a new Museum website

·  Development of accommodation, events and attractions widgets

·  An application has been made to Highways England to change the signage on the M20 from Park and Ride at Junction 6 to tourism signage

The MCL Marketing and Sales Manager also updated Members on the key actions of the four groups that had been established.

During the discussion, the following points were noted:-

·  That the committee were pleased with the progress made. 

·  That a succinct list would be produced by officers to show what activities had been completed/achieved during year one in a future report in order that Members could see the overall position.

·  There was a need for Parishes to get more involved in the  countryside group. This could be undertaken through Kent Association of Local Councils.

·  There were 4 rural information points identified (Staplehurst, Yalding, Lenham and Headcorn).  However, there had been difficulties in finding suitable sites as the model used by Tourism South East stated that these should be local businesses/cafés that are open 6/7 days a week which could support tourism and has parking nearby.

·  A mobile phone app that tracks visitor movement was being investigated. 

·  That investigations were ongoing with a view to bringing the Saturday Market up to Jubilee Square and encouraging the stall holders from the Market to come along to the Farmers Market on a Friday as well where appropriate.

RESOLVED:  That the update on the progress of the Destination Management Plan three year action plan be noted.