The Visit Hull and East Yorkshire (VHEY) Advisory Board gathered at Bridlington Spa on February 4 to discuss the latest updates on the region’s visitor economy.
The meeting was also a chance to hear from VisitEngland, review priorities for the year ahead and congratulate Chris Blacksell on being reappointed as Chair of the Board for a further term.
Chair’s reappointment
Members welcomed the reappointment of Chris as Chair of the VHEY Board.
October’s meeting saw the Board agree to re-advertise the position to ensure strong governance, transparency and good use of public money.
The role was widely advertised and several applications were received, followed by a shortlisting exercise and interviews.
Councillor Nick Coultish, VHEY Vice Chair, confirmed Chris was the preferred candidate following the process and will continue his tenure from May 1 for two years, with an option to extend for a further two years.
Chris thanked the Board, reinforced how much he enjoys the role and said he is looking forward to continuing as Chair.
Update from VisitEngland
Paul Szomoru, VisitEngland Regional Development Lead for North East and Yorkshire, told the Board a new national visitor economy growth strategy is planned.
A roundtable event was held with senior figures including representatives from the four Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) to benefit from their tourism expertise.
VisitEngland has launched a new report on the economic value of tourism, which showed the sector is annually worth £147 billion to the UK.
This is the first time a report of this nature has been done since 2011 and it revealed tourism is linked to one in every 15 jobs in the UK. It also showed the visitor economy generates more than the insurance and pension sectors combined, demonstrating the huge value of the industry.
Paul also reported on the annual LVEP Conference, which was held in Leeds, where attendees could share the positive work they’re doing and take part in workshops around regenerative tourism, skills and more.
He highlighted that English Tourism Week will take place from March 13-22 too, and the VisitEngland Tourism Superstar award is now open for the public to vote.
Hull & East Yorkshire Volunteers (HEY! Volunteers), the welcoming face of the region’s tourism industry, are shortlisted.
VHEY Tourism Conference
The VHEY Tourism Conference will take place on March 26 and members were encouraged to share the date with their networks.
This year’s event will have a technology and AI focus and the programme, venue and timings will be confirmed in the coming weeks. It will include workshops and speakers from VisitEngland.
Board members were asked for their input on key topics for the event.
26/27 priorities
The Chair stressed the Board always has a clear action plan but that it’s important to continuously review what the priorities are.
Chris suggested a focus on accessibility, data and how it is understood, skills and how the region is marketed collectively.
He asked for suggestions from Board members to help shape plans for the future.
The next Board meeting is due to take place in May.
