Tees Valley Combined Authority has announced that its tourism sector has secured a new status that will help it to secure new funding, as well as further support to bring in visitors and business boosts.
The government established Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) to help transform the nation’s tourist economy, and now Tees Valley has been confirmed as the latest region that has gained LVEP status. There are 26 other LVEPs, with these including County Durham, Northumberland, Liverpool, and Manchester, with the following regions being added to the list this month:
- East Sussex, Brighton and Hove, and West Sussex
- Lincolnshire and Rutland
- Leicester and Leicestershire
- Tees Valley
As they work to develop the visitor economy, LVEPs collaborate with partners across the public and private sectors as they promote what the region has to offer. This will, in turn, help businesses to grow, and offer more jobs to members of the local community, whilst also making the region a better place to live, work and visit.
Commenting on the new development, Ben Houchen, Mayor of the Tees Valley, said:
“This is more than just a box-ticking exercise, thanks to this status we’ll have even more resources at our disposal to be able to shout about our region, compete with big cities and continue to develop our area as a fantastic place to visit.
“Working closely with brilliant local businesses and the likes of VisitEngland and VisitBritain, we’ll be able to go further in creating a joined-up economy which benefits our hospitality, leisure and culture offer across our high streets, towns, and villages.
“In 2022, the visitor economy was worth well over £1billion to the region, and this will help it grow even more.”
Visit Tees Valley, which is overseen by the Mayor and the Combined Authority, led the bid for LVEP status, bringing together Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesborough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees to work with tourism and hospitality businesses to drive economic growth.
Creative Economy Lead for the Tees Valley Business Board, Alison Gwynn, also said:
“We’ve got a fantastic opportunity to expand on the Destination Management Plan already in place for Tees Valley, now we’ve got stronger than ever strategic relationships with Government and other visitor organisations.
“We also have the chance to help our SMEs in the sector, driving a targeted business support offer for their development. They’ll benefit from networking, collaboration and access to exclusive promotion and marketing materials and we’ll work closely with them to see them succeed.”
Image credit: iStock
