£20m funding package for Northwest tourism industry

14th January 2009

The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA) today announced a £20.6 million funding package for the region’s tourism industry, which will ensure that the region’s five sub-regional tourist boards are in a strong position to support tourism businesses during the current economic climate.  

The funding has been allocated to Cumbria Tourism, the Lancashire and Blackpool Tourist Board, Marketing Manchester, the Mersey Partnership and Visit Chester and Cheshire and will enable each tourist board to maintain the lead in developing and promoting the visitor economy in their area.

Each tourist board will work to support opportunities for growth in the visitor economy and to create high-quality, high-value visitor experiences. Investment in training programmes, visitor information, product development and marketing activity will help ensure that the region’s tourism industry is well placed to face ongoing economic challenges.

The NWDA is committed to supporting and developing the tourism sector in the Northwest and the five tourist boards are primary delivery partners for the Agency, helping to deliver the Regional Tourism Strategy.

James Berresford, director of tourism at the NWDA, said: “The current economic climate will inevitably have an impact on the tourism industry, which is why it is now more important than ever for us to continue to invest in the region’s tourism offer.  The NWDA is committed to supporting the region’s visitor economy and this investment will ensure a strong climate of support for tourism during these challenging times.

“If we continue to invest in infrastructure, training, marketing our unique offer and, above all, maintain a quality, value-for-money visitor experience, the Northwest can continue to develop its competitive advantage and capitalise on the increasing trend to holiday at home.”

Paul Simpson, managing director of Visit Manchester, the tourism division of Marketing Manchester, said: “We are delighted with the continued core funding from the NWDA which will allow us to continue our tourism development and domestic marketing activity.

“Marketing Manchester has achieved an incredible amount in recent years. International visitor numbers have risen steadily to 971,000 and the tourism industry now supports over 79,000 jobs. The economic impact of the sector has also risen from £4.2bn to £5.6bn in the last seven years.

"The ‘credit crunch’ is without doubt a difficult time the industry, however, it does also present new opportunities. More people are set to holiday ‘at home’ this year and the current exchange rate on the US dollar and Euro has made the UK a cheaper destination than it has ever been for these country markets."