The UK government’s recent announcement that they are overhauling Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs) with a “radical restructuring” shows a new emphasis on sustainability and community engagement.
This restructuring will include the launch of an accreditation program for those organisations that align with the government’s strategic focus on making the UK’s tourism industry more sustainable, accessible and competitive, according to Andrew Stokes, director of VisitEngland, which will develop and administer the £4 million program.
Plus, a fund is being set aside for the top performing DMO, or a group of local DMOs, to restructure under a new model.
The revamp is a response to last year’s report on UK DMOs by VisitEngland’s Advisory Board Chair, Nick de Bois. The report emphasised that the DMO space was overcrowded.
What is a DMO?
Destination management is the coordinated and thoughtful planning of all elements that make up a tourism destination. This can involves anything from attracting visitors, to providing amenities for them to enjoy during their stay. Essentially, DMOs represent the voice of its destination to provide travellers with information about the destination whilst serving as an interface between visitors and local businesses.
With every tourism business competing for the same visitors, you could lose out on bookings if your destination isn’t front of mind when someone thinks ‘British Holiday’. Some of these top DMOs include:
- Visit Eastbourne
- Visit Herefordshire
- Visit Cambridge
- Visit Sheffield
- Visit Blackpool
The new accreditation programs aims to simplify the crowded DMO landscape, offering the label of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships.
VisitEngland is still hashing out the details of the accreditation criteria. “Some of the early thoughts on criteria are that they will be membership organisations, interact with their local industry, work with their local government bodies, and have a function around destination development,” says Andrew Stokes.
Destination Lincolnshire CEO, Charlotte Goy, says, “Having an accreditation scheme developed by VisitEngland is really encouraging and will give DMOs the recognition they deserve. It will also elevate the strategic work that many of us are already doing, but often is unrecognised.”
After implementing the accreditation program, the government will select one region for a pilot project. In the region, one DMO or a group of local DMOs will receive funding to operate under a new model over three years. “The idea here is we will be able to really measure an element of funding at a regional level to develop tourism and what impact that will have,” said Stokes. The government hopes to scale the pilot. Since the pandemic, a key priority for DMOs has been to come up with more resilient models.
Impact metrics will be specific to the destination. “Because different destinations will have different aims and objectives, it will depend on the pilot area,” Stokes said. Metrics measuring economic, visitor count, sustainability and accessibility impacts will definitely be included, according to Stokes.
“No doubt there will be a lot of competition around the pilot, but I’m pleased that they are investing the time and energy to find a long-term solution, rather than quick wins which would make an already vulnerable sector even more fragile,” said Goy.
With the government’s new focus on sustainable tourism to boost our travel industry, glamping businesses are an obvious choice for overseas travellers to discover the true beauty of the UK.
