To consider a proposal to establish a Destination Management Partnership (DMP) for Herefordshire in line with the West Midlands Visitor Economy Strategy 2004.  This is the first stage in the process with the private sector currently being consulted on the proposal to set up one autonomous body to deliver tourism in the county by April 2006.  Cabinet’s approval is sought to work towards the establishment of one body for Herefordshire by April 2006.  There is still work to be undertaken on the financial cost of operating the DMP and this work will be done during the preparation of the Action Plan.  In particular, commitment and involvement of other directorates will need to be secured and any additional resourcing implications quantified.

THAT  (a)        the establishment of a Destination Management Partnership for Herefordshire by April 2006, be supported in principle;

(b)       the shadow partnership (currently named the Tourism Co-ordination group) be requested to develop an operational Action Plan for the DMP by September 2005.  This plan will include the requirements for funding; staffing; the delivery mechanism; the membership and timetable for delivery.  The funding for the DMP will be raised from existing Herefordshire Council (Tourism budget); membership from the private sector; sponsorship from companies and funding from Public Sector bodies;

(c)        the service areas responsible for planning; environment; trading standards; street cleansing, transport and licensing be invited to participate in the development of a DMP and be involved in the partnership thereafter.

The West Midlands Visitor Economy Strategy (April 2004) recommended that each destination in the West Midlands should be represented by a Destination Management Partnership, a private/public sector organisation to be a single body delivering tourism in the destination.  The rationale for developing a DMP is as a means to develop a high quality, thriving Herefordshire Visitor economy.  The public sector intervention is necessary in the tourism sector because of the high number of Small and Medium Size Enterprises (SME’s) which form the industry in the county and because a number of the influencing factors in the destination falls within the public realm and infrastructure e.g. transport, street cleansing, planning control. All these services need to be incorporated within the structure of the DMP.

The vision is to develop a high quality, thriving Herefordshire visitor economy, based on the premise that a good place to live and work is a good place to visit.  A DMP is a specific tourism visitor economy organisation approach that will allow Herefordshire to compete more effectively in an increasingly cluttered marketplace and to use limited resources more effectively.

The alternative options would be to operate the tourism service for Herefordshire under the present arrangements.  This would not enable us to attract any external funding or to improve the county in line with the requirements of the principles of a DMP.