Found: Q139 Clive Efford: Minister Lopez, your predecessor shamefully did not implement the entire Nick

Found: Nick de Bois put together some very interesting recommendations in relation to DMOs, and we will be

Found: leader of a group on the visitor economy, and within that responsibility DCMS commissioned a report by Nick

Found: Patricia Y ates, Chief Executive, VisitBritain, and Nick de Bois CBE, Chair, VisitEngland Advisory Board

Found: Nick de Bois CBE, who received assistance in this way, told us that there was: a huge gap that … the

Found: Nick de Bois, chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board, described it as fian important ingredient in

Found: In 2014, the then Enfield MP, Nick de Bois and myself met with senior DWP leaders in London.

Found: Nick de Bois: It is a pleasure to be here.

Found: Stephen Gethins, Mr Mark Prisk, and Nick de Bois CBE Oral Evidence

Found: If I could move on to destination management, Nick de Bois recently published his report.

Found: If I could move on to destination management, Nick de Bois recently published his report.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what new initiatives her Department plans to make to improve the promotion of tourism in English seaside towns.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The UK Government wants to see a growing, dynamic, and sustainable tourism sector reach its full potential and drive growth in every nation and region of the UK, including our seaside towns. Coastal tourism is an important part of the British tourism sector. 10% of all visits to the UK include going to the coast or beaches.

VisitBritain has led a number of multi-million pound marketing campaigns that promote the British coastline and seaside towns, and the Government is taking forward recommendations from the Nick de Bois Review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) with the aim of supporting regional areas, including seaside towns, to better attract and manage tourists. This includes accrediting the highest-performing DMOs throughout 2023 as Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), and the multi-year government funded tourism pilot in the North East of England.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps she is taking to increase tourism between Wales and the West Midlands.

Answered by John Whittingdale

The Government promotes Great Britain as a holiday destination to tourists through the national tourist board, the British Tourist Authority (operating as VisitBritain/VisitEngland). As tourism is a devolved matter, Visit Wales, which sits within the Welsh Government, is responsible for promoting Wales as a tourist destination.

One of the key objectives of the Government’s Tourism Recovery Plan is to ensure that tourism benefits every nation and region of Great Britain. To drive the dispersal of visitors across every nation and region, the Government is investing in the visitor economy through funding for cultural and heritage organisations, investment in infrastructure, and boosting connectivity to make it easier for visitors to get around.

Schemes such as the £10 million National Lottery ‘Days Out’ campaign, and events such as the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest, UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK, and the Birmingham Commonwealth Games (which included a £24m Business and Tourism programme aimed at boosting tourism numbers and spend in the West Midlands) have helped to boost regional tourism across the UK.

To strengthen the structure and coherence of the regional tourism landscape, the Government is taking forward recommendations from the Nick de Bois Review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) with the aim of supporting regional areas to better attract and manage tourists. This includes accrediting the highest-performing DMOs throughout 2023 as Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs), and the West Midlands have welcomed the news that their region is one of 15 new destinations given accreditation status in April 2023, to help boost tourism.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to the Independent Review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), published in August 2021.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) have the power to drive investment for new visitor attractions, bring in more visitors from around the world, and boost the local visitor economy.

For DMOs to reach their full potential, however, we need to address long-running concerns about the structure, funding and fragmentation of England’s DMO landscape. This is why I asked Nick de Bois (Chair of VisitEngland’s Advisory Board) to conduct a detailed review of England’s DMO landscape last year.

Mr de Bois’ independent review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) review was published in September 2021. We aim to publish the official Government response to the review before the house rises for summer recess.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what assessment she has made of trends in the level of public funding for tourism in (a) Coventry and (b) the West Midlands in each of the last three years.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

VisitBritain and VisitEngland are responsible for promoting the UK as a tourist destination, through a range of different initiatives and campaigns. In each of the last three years, VisitBritain has been receiving grant-in-aid totalling ca £19.9 million and VisitEngland ca £7.1 million from DCMS, as well as additional funds. For example, almost £2 million across 20/22 and 2022/23 to promote the Birmingham Commonwealth Games taking place in Summer 2022.

While the department does not hold information on individual local authorities' public funding for tourism, the government has continued to support the tourism sector in Coventry and the West Midlands throughout the past three years. In addition to the £45 million Discover England Fund England's Waterways project, Coventry City of Culture, and the Commonwealth Games, the government has provided over £37 billion of grants, loans and tax relief to the UK’s leisure, hospitality and tourism sectors since March 2020

Last September we published Nick de Bois' review of Destination Management Organisations in England, which looked specifically at how tourism is structured, organised and funded at a local level in England. We are now carefully considering the recommendations made by Nick de Bois and hope to publish a response in the coming weeks.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the report by Nick de Bois The de Bois Review: an independent review of Destination Management Organisations in England, published on 14 September; and what steps they intend to take to implement its recommendations.

Answered by Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Destination Management Organisations have provided vital business support to local tourism organisations during this crisis, and will play a key role in helping our tourism industry recover.

We have long been aware of the arguments in favour of carrying out an independent review of how tourism is structured, organised and funded at a local level in England.

We welcome the report’s publication, and thank Nick de Bois for his work. We will now take time to consider its recommendations and respond to them.

The Spending Review confirmed the DCMS settlement and the Department is currently deciding how to allocate it. The Government encourages DMOs to share information with VisitEngland and DCMS.

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, when her Department plans to respond to the independent review of Destination Management Organisations in England.

Answered by Nigel Huddleston - Financial Secretary (HM Treasury)

I welcome the publication of the Destination Management Organisations (DMO) review in September 2021. I am grateful to Nick de Bois and stakeholders across the sector for their engagement in this review of how tourism is structured, organised and funded at a local level in England.

We are now carefully considering the recommendations made by Nick de Bois and hope to publish a response in the coming months.

Found: British coastline and seaside towns, and the Government is taking forward recommendations from the Nick

Found: In June 2022, the CEO and the then-VisitEngland Advisory Board Chair Nick de Bois CBE gave oral

Found: After a year as Chair, I would like to thank my fellow Board members and Nick de Bois, the Chair of

Found: But last year’s independent review into DMOs carried out by Nick de Bois, found the landscape is overcrowded

Found: Nick de Bois CBE appointed as British Tourist Authority Chair

Found: Fiona Pollard Nick de Bois CBE has stepped down as Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board to become

Found: However, last year’s independent review into DMOs, carried out by Chair of VisitEngland’s Advisory Board Nick

Found: In June 2022, the CEO and the then-VisitEngland Advisory Board Chair Nick de Bois CBE gave oral

Found: After a year as Chair, I would like to thank my fellow Board members and Nick de Bois, the Chair of

Found: Fiona Pollard Nick de Bois CBE has stepped down as Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board to become

Found: However, last year’s independent review into DMOs, carried out by Chair of VisitEngland’s Advisory Board Nick

Found: The review was led by Nick de Bois, Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board, acting in an independent

Found: enquiries regarding this document should be sent to us at enquires@dcms.gov.uk 3ContentsForeword by Nick