Bath and North East Somerset Council commissioned Go To Places in 2019 to carry out a review of its destination management and delivery framework and services.
Bath and North East Somerset Council commissioned Go To Places in 2019 to carry out a review of its destination management and delivery framework and services. The main objective of the review was to identify the most effective (and financially sustainable) operating model and governance structure going forward for Visit Bath and other local and regional tourism organisations.
Our process
The first phase of the review involved working closely with the local authority to identify current operational challenges such as transport links, engagement with the travel trade and over tourism.
Current and future opportunities were also identified that could help attract more visitors throughout the year e.g. extending the destination’s seasonality and offering more sustainable tourism products and experiences.
We also talked to a cross section of key internal and external stakeholders to understand needs, identify any current duplication in delivery and to gather feedback on the current governance structure.
A variety of different destination management models throughout the UK were then reviewed and the team identified those that had similar profiles and challenges and would be a good model for the client to follow going forward.
Recommendations
After analysing the secondary research, stakeholder consultations and best practice examples of other destination management structures throughout the UK, a series of recommendations were developed.
These recommendations included detail on roles, responsibilities, resources, funding partnerships and governance and we are delighted that one of our core recommendations (to merge with another destination) is currently being implemented. You can read more about this here.
Bath and North East Somerset Council says…………..
“Go To Places helped us consider the options we had available to us to support our DMO to become more sustainable and strategic. In a rapidly changing environment for tourism, this has enabled us to get ahead of the game and we are now implementing a new strategic organisation with a bigger reach. This would not have been possible without the initial options appraisal that Go To Places undertook for us.” John Wilkinson, Director Economy and Growth
Talk to us about a review of your visitor economy framework.
