Investment is the key for tourism to meet targets

Jun 9 2009 by Jez Davison, Evening Gazette

Business ‘suits’ are helping to keep Tees Valley tourism afloat in recession-hit waters. JEZ DAVISON reports...

THE global recession and sterling’s mighty fall against the euro has given Tees Valley tourism bosses a timely boost.

With the weak pound encouraging British holidaymakers to stay at home, more money is being pumped into local shops, attractions, hotels and restaurants. And the high-networthy business traveller - which accounts for a third of all visitor spending in the region - is a key target for tourism bosses.

This figure is set to increase as local venues invest tens of millions of pounds in swanky corporate facilities.

The Alexandra Suite at Yarm’s Tall Trees Hotel can now host events of more than 500 people, while the high-spec Rockliffe Suite at Rockliffe Hall - the luxury hotel, golf and spa development being built by Boro boss Steve Gibson at Hurworth - will cater for up to 250 guests.

Wendy Benson, Rockliffe Hall’s sales and marketing manager, said the hotel would benefit from increasing amounts of trade between local firms and their foreign counterparts.

“We expect to attract international as well as local and national business customers,” she says, as she prepares to welcome a delegation of Arab businessman, due to inspect the hotel’s facilities early next year to make sure they come up to the Middle East’s exacting standards on hospitality.

They are unlikely to be disappointed.

Gibson has lavished multi-millions on the complex which has ambitions to become one of the top-rated executive venues in the country. What is believed to be the longest golf course in Europe will no doubt help in attracting club-swinging bosses to the premier 19th hole.

Other firms have also been splashing the cash to attract the money-spinning suits.

Earlier this year The Thistle Middlesbrough Hotel spent £1m on refurbishing bedrooms and widening its range of conferencing facilities.

Meanwhile Darlington’s Aston Hotel - which has Darlington engineering firm Amec and British Gas on its client list - has invested just under £5m in conference facilities, refurbishments and extensions since opening in the summer of 2002.

Hotel bosses have managed to retain recession-hit customers by reducing rates for regular clients or upgrading them from standard to executive room at no extra cost.

Aston’s operations director John Deighan says: “Since January competition has grown because of the recession and we’ve had to trim rates for some customers. In this climate, you just have to work at it but we’re keeping our heads above water.”

Operating to “a four-star standard at three-star prices,” the hotel is aiming to boost orders from weekend leisure customers in case a protracted recession leads to further cuts in business travel spend.

It looks like a smart move, with cash-strapped companies keeping a hawkish eye on cashflow and business class travel savagely curtailed.

Both Headlam Hall near Darlington and Sedgefield Racecourse, which generates 60% of turnover through business customers, have seen a slight dip in corporate hospitality revenues.

Headlam MD, Thomas Robinson, said he was laying on a “summer conference special” for business customers, dropping the day delegate rate from £36 to £30 per head for July and August.

But the racecourse said it was not having to slash prices to retain custom.

General manager Jill Williamson said: “Our packages include more for the client, such as free entertainment after racing and online booking discounts. Therefore, there is no need to drop our price.”

Tourism chiefs hope to help corporate venues by promoting Tees Valley as a world-class business destination and driving more visitors to the region.

According to the United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS), more than four million people visited the North-east during 2008 - a 10% lift on the previous year. Visitor spend rose by 7.1% to £697m, comfortably outperforming the UK average of -0.6%.

The data also showed that in the final quarter of 2008 the number of visitors coming to the region went up by almost 30% to more than 1m people - outstripping the UK average of 11% - while average spend during the same period also increased 18%.

Upbeat tourism chiefs are confident that 2009 will reap similar results - even though the region is gripped by the worst recession in recent memory.

Stacy Hall, director of communications and tourism at One North East, says: “Results for the first part of 2009 are encouraging and show that, as a region, we are taking full advantage of the trend of more people opting for a holiday in the UK.

“It is essential that we continue to invest in tourism and promote the region as a fantastic destination to visit, whether for a short or long break.”

The marketing drive - which included a London tube, taxi and TV campaign - appears to be working. Higher end hotels and established restaurants in Tees Valley have reported steady trade, while the £7m Saltholme Wildlife Reserve and Discovery Park drew in 35,000 visitors in the first 100 days after opening in January.

But other statistics tell a much bleaker story.

Bed and breakfast occupancy rates in the North-east averaged just 23% in the first quarter, while average spend per trip dropped to £173 in 2008 - a 3.1% decline on the previous year.

The twin challenge for tourism bosses is to get people to stay longer and spend more money in local shops, restaurants and attractions.

Julia Frater, head of area tourism partnership visitTeesvalley, said major events and key attractions were crucial to the area’s future plans.

She says: “We are hoping to host one big event each year, which will attract national and international audiences and then plan others to go around it to encourage people to stay longer.”

But she admits that a different approach needs to be taken for Tees Valley to compete with the more established tourism experience on offer in the Lake District or Cornwall.

“That’s why we’ve had to go with an events-led strategy.”

It’s a smart move, judging by recent evidence. Last year’s Living North crafts fair at Wynyard drew in around 9,000 visitors while Middlesbrough Music Live featured dozens of bands playing to an audience of more than 45,000.