Tourism Excellence Awards winners announced 2008/2009

The best of the South West were celebrating on Monday night (24 November) at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards, in association with Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, First Great Western and South West Water.

View the results here

Win a free £500 Multilingual Website Design Package

South West Tourism has teamed up with Kwintessential, a leading regional provider of cross cultural solutions, to launch an innovative competition giving three businesses the chance to win a multilingual website design package worth £500 for the New Year.

In these uncertain times businesses can seek to improve their marketing advantage and global reach by allowing prospective overseas customers to research in their own language every aspect of a holiday or business visit to the South West

All types of private sector tourism businesses; accommodation, attractions, cafes, restaurants & inns, tourism retail and transport operators are eligible for entry and there will be one winner from each of the three eligible areas:

1) Gloucestershire, Bristol, Bath and Somerset
2) Dorset and Wiltshire
3) Devon and Cornwall

The online entry form is available at: http://www.kwintessential.co.uk/competition/

Entrants simply describe what they are doing already to attract foreign visitors and/or why they feel they would benefit most from a website translation. The three winners will receive 1,000 words professionally translated into two languages of choice, advice on key messages across five web pages and micro website pages integrated and linked to their own website home page.

Deadline for entries is 3rd December.

Tourism related aspects of the pre-budget report

We have received information from Tourism Alliance regarding the main tourism-related aspects of the pre-budget report.

£3bn of capital spending will be brought forward from 2010/11. This will include road projects.

VAT will be cut from 17.5 to 15% until the end of next year, coming into effect next Monday.

Alcohol, tobacco and petrol duty will be raised to offset the VAT cut.

From April 2011, a new 45% income tax rate will be charged to those earning above £150,000 a year.

Small businesses will have a temporary increase in tax relief thresholds for empty properties (threshold to be £15,000 rateable value)

HMRC will work with SMEs to spread tax payments (VAT, corporation and NI) to fit business cashflows

£1bn will be provided for a temporary Small Business Finance Scheme.

Air passenger duty will be reformed into a four tier system so that those who travel furthest pay most.

National Insurance will increase by 0.5% from 2011

We will release more information as it is announced.

Research and 2012 games

In 2012 the eyes of the world will be on the UK and of course the South West, therefore The South West RDA are trying to build up a picture of what the current offer is to disabled visitors and their families when visiting the region.


Please could you spare 5 minutes to complete the following survey:
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=ASMTBNPP61Ie24c3ZGNCVA_3d_3d
Your input will be invaluable now, in the lead up to 2012 and beyond.

The Paralympics will increase the focus on disability issues and participation in disability sport across the board. It will highlight our attitudes to disabilities and the service we provide to people with special requirements in the South West.


The South West RDA are already focused on this area of work, and the opportunity it provides for destinations and businesses to build the markets of the future by welcoming the wider audience of those people considered to have a disability, as well as athletes with disabilities, their families, friends and supporters.

South West Tourism AGM and Question Time

2nd December 2008, 1pm - 4pm
The Tiverton Hotel, Blundells Road, Tiverton, Devon EX16 4DB

Do you have a question or suggestion to put to any, or all three of the Chief Executives of the agencies that have a direct influence on the future of national and regional tourism?

Tom Wright Visitbritain
Jane Henderson South West Regional Development Agency
Malcolm Bell South West Tourism

Tom Wright, Chief Exec of the national tourist board, VisitBritain and Board Director of South West Tourism will be just one of the key industry representatives available to answer your questions at our December Members Meeting and AGM.

This is your chance to raise the issues that are important to you as a tourism business operating in the region and to influence the future of the region’s tourism industry and how it’s supported.

We’re eager to hear your views on hot topics including, marketing, nationally recognised quality schemes and how we should rise to the challenges of the recession. Plus, put forward your ideas on what you think public bodies should be doing to support the region’s industry in 2009 and beyond, as well as any other issues such as red tape and regulations that affect your business.
Join us – free of charge to members2 December – The Tiverton Hotel, Devon1pm – 4.30pm

Led by South West Tourism Chairman, Francis Cornish, the afternoon will kick off with an informal sandwich lunch and the rare chance for you to discuss your issues, one-to-one with senior representatives of the official national, regional and local tourism organisations (see below).

Annette Cole, who heads up South West Tourism’s research team, will present findings from a recent Business Survey based on 900 businesses from across the region. The findings highlight some significant changes in visitor trends that will help inform your product development and marketing in 2009 and beyond.

The final session of the afternoon will be a rare opportunity for members to put their questions and concerns to VisitBritain, South West RDA and South West Tourism in a panel - which is sure to be a lively debate.

For more information please visit our website: www.swtourism.co.uk/agm

Who’ll be available to take your comments and concerns:-
VisitBritain, Chief Exec, Tom WrightS.W. Regional Development Agency, Chief Exec, Jane Henderson.

South West Tourism:
Chairman, Francis CornishChief Exec, Malcolm Bell
Research & Strategy, Annette Cole
Marketing, Kirsty Cumming
Sustainable Tourism Expert, Neil Warren Your Local

Destination Management Organisation:
VisitDevon, Chief Executive, Nicola Poultney (tbc)
Wiltshire Tourism Partnership, Head of Partnership, Alun Williams
Somerset Tourism Partnership, Partnership Co-ordinator, David McCubbin
Destination Dorset , Lead Officer, David Walsh
Visit Cornwall , Lead Officer, Steve Kessell
Cotswold and Forest of Dean DMO, Tourism Manager, Chris Dee (tbc)
Destination Bristol, Commercial Services Manager, Kathryn Davis
Bath Tourism Plus, Chief Executive, Robin Bischert
Bournemouth & Poole, Tourism Manager for Poole, Graham Richardson

Free of charge when registering in advance!

If you would like to join us, free of charge, from 1pm on 2nd December at The Tiverton Hotel then please register via email by sending your name, business name and email address to agm@swtourism.co.uk

Note: Those not registering in advance, will be required to pay a fee of £25 on the day in order to join the networking and presentation sessions.

‘How’s business’ results

Thank you to the 860 tourism businesses who completed the Business Snapshot Survey last month, relating to how the industry has performed during 2008. View the results.

Business Snapshot Survey 2008

Click here for an overview of the county results
Click here for the full report

Regional results summary
Latest research from South West Tourism’s Business Snapshot Survey for January to end of August 2008 indicates business levels are still extremely mixed, as a number of businesses are reporting either increases or decreases for both visitor numbers and turnover.

This is especially true for the data showing the year to the end of August. The summary figures for ‘all businesses’ and ‘all accommodation’, which provide a robust sample in each instance, shows that only an approximate 1 in 5 businesses are operating at the same levels as they were in 2007, both in terms of visitor numbers and turnover.

School Holiday Period Performance (July / Aug) (compared to 2007)
Whilst accommodation providers reported similar levels of business in July & August this year as compared to last year, the contrast among visitor attractions was quite marked, with 41% of attractions reporting increases in visitor numbers and 42% reporting decreases. Just 17% of visitor attractions reported similar business levels to 2007.

As a result, the average actual change figures for all businesses show similar levels of visitors in 2008 to 2007 during the school holiday period.

School Holiday Period Turnover (July / Aug) (compared to 2007)
The research showed an average actual change in turnover of + 1.4% for the school holiday period across the sector. Accommodation providers turnover was +2% for the period and attractions turnover was +4%. However, both food & drink and other businesses reported average actual decreases in turnover of – 4% and – 5% respectively.

Whilst visitor numbers appear to have held up reasonably well during the peak period, there are indications that there has been a reduction in secondary spend (non-accommodation related spend), with food & drink businesses having the largest proportion of businesses reporting decreases in turnover for the period.

Year (to end of August) Performance (compared to 2007)
When looking at visitor numbers for the year so far (to the end of August) it is apparent that business levels are very mixed. 37% of both accommodation providers and attractions reported increases for the year, whilst 40% of each sector also reported decreases in visitor numbers for the year.

Visitor levels by accommodation type are also very mixed, however, holiday parks stand out of the accommodation types with just 16% reporting increases in visitor numbers and 76% reporting decreases for the year to the end of August.

Generally speaking, when comparing visitor numbers for the year to the end of August, to the same period in 2007, there is little change in the actual average change across most sectors and counties.

With regards to turnover specifically, it should be noted that this survey does not take into account differentials in both business costs and the cost of living between 2007 and 2008, and it is likely that a small overall increase in turnover does not reflect an overall increase in business profit. Although, this is something that some individual businesses may have been able to address through cost cutting measures.

Predictions and limiting factors for businesses
A large number of respondents cited the credit crunch as a factor affecting their area, regardless of how they were currently performing, both by county and by business type. Large proportions of businesses, the majority in some instances, are now less optimistic for the future of the tourism industry in their area.

With regards to those reporting increases in turnover, across all sectors, a recurring theme is that they have been active with their business plans. This includes things such as offering value for money, adding value to their product, diversifying into other areas and discounting prices to keep their turnover up.

‘Fire safety sense’ campaign launched

A major campaign regarding the damaging effects surrounding the enforcement of the 2006 fire regulation is being launched by nine national organisations representing the vast majority of small tourism businesses in the UK.

The campaign is highlighting the closures of small B&Bs and home-based businesses, and calling for common-sense in determining what fire precautions are required in the home.

A website has been launched at FireSafetySENSE.com, and a 10 Downing Street Petition has been opened.

The campaign calls on the Government to act to halt the damage being caused to very small businesses (including small B&Bs, families offering a self-catering room or flat, and home-based businesses) by the inconsistent and burdensome way the regulations are being enforced by local fire authorities.

In 2006 the Government abolished Fire Certificates and brought in a new self-assessment fire precautions regime under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order (the “RRFSO”). It was intended as a deregulatory measure, virtually all premises used by the public were brought under the regulations, but very small premises (now covered for the first time) were intended to be treated proportionately, bearing in mind their size and the actual fire risk posed.

The RRFSO requires owners to perform a “Fire Risk Assessment” and put in place “appropriate” fire precautions.

However in the two years since the new regulations were introduced, the trade associations behind the campaign have been inundated with calls from members threatened with closure or the enforcement of major works including fire doors, emergency lighting and sophisticated fire alarm systems – often even in family homes offering one or two bedrooms on a “B&B” basis.

David Weston, Chief Executive of the Bed & Breakfast Association, commented:
“Many small B&Bs have already closed rather than substantially alter their homes or spend a five-figure sum in order to offer hospitality to a couple of guests – and the guests themselves are choosing B&Bs for their more home-from-home qualities. All our members are very fire safety conscious, but we don’t see why commercial fire systems and fire doors are necessary, for instance, in a cottage which already has smoke detectors and fire extinguishers, and a careful owner staying on the premises”.

Malcolm Bell, Chief Executive of South West Tourism said:
“We have always supported the abolition of the 6 bed rule and we do support sensible fire regulations. However, at present there needs to be a more common-sense approach that is fit for the purpose and is also affordable. In addition the confusion and lack of consistency in the application of the new rules needs removing so that they are less confusing to the industry.

Otherwise bed & breakfasts’ in the region will be put out of business by having to spend vast amounts on safety measures that are being inconsistently enforced around the region.”

Although the RRFSO specifically excludes “domestic premises”, the Government’s ‘Department for Communities and Local Government’ (DCLG) have declared that if even one room is let to a non-family member even occasionally, the regulations apply. This means that everyone who accommodates a student in their home, for instance, must comply or face a possible £5,000 fine.

This brings hundreds of thousands of households within the fire regulations regime for the first time ever – and hardly any of those affected yet realise what the Government requires of them. By including all these homes, the regulations will only be workable if “common-sense” applies in practice and minimal precautions are enforced on householders – the campaign’s supporters fear that this may not be the case, unless the approach used during the first two years of the regulations is substantially modified.

The “Fire Safety SENSE Campaign” is supported by the Tourism Alliance, the Bed & Breakfast Association, Alastair Sawday Publishing, South West Tourism, Tourism South East, Farm Stay UK, the English Association of Self-Catering Operators, and the British Institute of Innkeeping, amongst others.

The campaign’s launch follows the decision of the Fire Safety Minister, Parmjit Dhanda MP, not to issue guidance to local fire authorities, despite admitting that “an over-zealous and, in some cases, a disproportionate approach by some fire safety officers may be damaging both the [tourism] sector itself and the reputation of the Fire and Rescue Service”.
For further detail, please see http://www.firesafetysense.com/