2. Agenda
9.00am
Welcome
Ian Taylor, Commercial Director, Marketing Birmingham
9.05am
The NEC Group developments
Paul Thandi, Chief Executive, The NEC Group
9.25am
Marketing Birmingham Operational Briefing
Ian Taylor, Commercial Director, Marketing Birmingham
9.50am
Questions
10.00am
Meeting concludes
4. Economic outlook
UK economic output
-
rose by 0.8% in July - Sept
rose by 0.7% in April - June
UK Hotel sector
-
av hotel at occupancy up 1% on 2012
-
av RevPAR up 6.25%
Birmingham & Solihull Hotel sector
-
av hotel occupancy up 4% on 2012
-
av RevPAR up 5.7%
5. Attracting overnight visitors
Hotel RevPAR* comparison 2012 v 2013
80 potential projects in completion
pipeline for 2013/14
* Revenue per available room
9. Trade engagement
Scale of opportunity: China,
USA, India, Europe
Developing relationships with
global travel trade
Trade access: understanding
market requirements
Connectivity: supporting route
development Birmingham
Airport
10. Business development
Meet Birmingham Showcase 2013
-
Best of Britain & Ireland 2014
-
30 qualified buyers
engage travel trade buyers
BCB: nine bids for national conferences in 2013
-
7,500 room nights
5,000 attendees
Meet Birmingham Guide 2014
11.
12.
13. The Birmingham Chef’s Table
3rd February 2014
visitbirmingham.com/thechefstable
#birmingyum
14. Tourism strategy 2014-2020
Commissioning a tourism strategy for the
Greater Birmingham region
Will consider market positioning, target
markets, spend priorities, product development
and investment requirements
Consultative process, reporting in March 2014
15. CONSULTATION
This is a draft proposal. It is part of an iterative process and will
evolve during the consultation process.
Creating a TBID for Birmingham & Solihull
16. Birmingham & Solihull
We’re making progress...
Visitor numbers at an all time high - 39 million in 2012
Average hotel occupancy 2013 at 70% - 4% higher than 2012
Perceptions as a visitor destination up by 22% since 2005
Tourism now accounts for 10% of the region’s GVA
Making a £5.9 billion contribution to the local economy
The fourth most visited city region in the UK by overseas visitors
17. Bright future...
£600m re-development of New Street Station – John Lewis, Grand Central
Birmingham Airport runway extension increases global connectivity
Creating more private sector jobs than any other UK region
More FDI investment than any other city outside the capital
Economic Zones, City Centre Enterprise zone
Resorts World, Paradise Circus, Library of Birmingham, Eastside Development
HS2 increases national connectivity
£10 billion of investment in infrastructure over next 15 years
There’s going to be a lot to talk about!
18.
19.
20.
21. Challenges
Increased competition locally, regionally and nationally
- 10 UK destinations have created new or significantly added to their existing
conference and exhibition facilities since 2005
- net gain of some 5300 hotel bedrooms since 2005 in Birmingham & Solihull
- further 33 hotel projects in development pipeline
Economic climate and continued pressure on consumer/business spending
Increasing pressure on public sources of funding for tourism promotion
Whilst our city region is set to benefit from the greatest levels
of investment in a generation...
...its marketing and promotion as a visitor destination is not.
23. Funding the future
Birmingham & Solihull needs to competitively promote its offer
Requires a new partnership
Needs to leverage new financial resources
Private sector needs a new vehicle to create financial resources
Proposing creation of an industry led, independent body...
Tourism Business Improvement District
for Birmingham & Solihull
24. What is a TBID?
Group of businesses who, through a ballot process, agree to pay a levy
Levy determined by an agreed formula and paid to an agreed delivery
body in order to sell, promote and develop local tourism sector
Governed by an elected and independent board of representatives
made up of levy payers
Board appoints a delivery body to implement an agreed programme of
activities, funded by the levy
All funds are 100% invested in the programme
The board is responsible for evaluating the impact and success of the
programme
25. Steering group
The Steering Group currently consists of:
Chair: Paul Thandi, Chief Executive, The NEC Group
Deputy Chair: Michael Mason, General Manager, Crowne Plaza Hotel
Ronan McGovern, Area Manager, Accor Hotels
David Lane, General Manager, Millennium Copthorne Hotel
Derek McDonagh, General Manager, Burlington Hotel
Andrew Cole, General Manager, Touchwood Shopping Centre
Stephen Maddock, Chief Executive, CBSO
Anne Brererton, Director for Places, Solihull MBC
26. A new approach, not a new idea
TBIDs first piloted in the US over 30 years ago
100 geographic BID’s have been formed in the UK focussed on
retail, industrial, business partners, town and city centres
15 UK cities/towns/destinations currently considering development
of TBID’s in their areas but only Birmingham & Solihull has the
scale to make a real difference
Currently over 1,000 TBIDs in the US alone
27. A new model for a new future
FOCUS
INVEST
GROW
Industry led
Common goals
Intelligent customers
Sales & marketing
Secure further funding
New visitor product
Overnight visitors
International visitors
Events
18% RevPAR
increase by
2019
28. How is it funded?
The principal source of TBID funding will be an annual levy which will be applied to all
hotels and serviced accommodation providers with 30 or more bedrooms in Birmingham
and Solihull. A REVPAR based formula is proposed; based on the formula below:
Total number of bedrooms for a particular hotel x 365 x average annual RevPAR
per day per bedroom = Y
(n.b., ‘RevPAR’ is calculated by multiplying ‘Bedroom Occupancy’ by ‘Average
Achieved Room Rate’).
The levy is then calculated by multiplying Y by the relevant geographic % levy
29. Proposed levy %
Location
% Levy
Birmingham Inner Ring Road
1%
Birmingham Outer
0.5%
Solihull (NEC/Airport)
1%
Solihull
0.5%
30. What happens next?
Industry consultation
Oct 13 – March 14
Dedicated consultation process to gain views and develop proposals
Ballot process
April 2014
Requires majority yes vote based on voting businesses and rateable value
Operational set up
October 2014
31. Consultation schedule
October 13
Outer Birmingham Hotels, 16th October, 3.00pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
Solihull & NEC Hotels, 23rd October, 3.00pm, Touchwood Centre, Solihull
Drop in Session, 25th October, 1.30pm - 4.30pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
November 13
Inner Birmingham Hotels, 6th November, 3.00pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
Outer Birmingham Hotels, 20th November, 3.00pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
Solihull & NEC Hotels, 27th November, 3.00pm, Touchwood Centre, Solihull
December 13
Drop in Session, 3rd December, 1.30pm - 4.30pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
Drop in Session,12th December, 1.30pm - 4.30pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
January 14
Inner Birmingham Hotels, 9th January, 3.00pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
Outer Birmingham Hotels, 15th January, 3.00pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
Solihull & NEC Hotels, 29th January, 3.00pm, Touchwood Centre, Solihull
Drop in Session, 31st January, 1.30pm - 4.30pm, Baskerville House, Birmingham
33. Summary
To continue current growth trajectory and maximise impact of huge
investment in infrastructure will require a new approach to promoting
the visitor economy
Public sector funding will likely diminish in next 5 years
It’s an increasingly competitive market nationally & internationally
We can’t keep doing what we’ve always done...
We need to FOCUS and work together. We need to INVEST in our
future, so we can GROW our markets.
The creation of a TBID for Birmingham & Solihull is an opportunity for
you to shape the development and promotion of Birmingham and
Solihull as a visitor destination. It is your chance to work with partners
to bring more custom to the region, build your business and boost the
area’s reputation.
We’re reflecting on a strong performance across our business areas. In the first full year of operation, Business Birmingham has not only refined its strategy into one of the keenest inward investment strategies of any UK city, it has also delivered where it matters: in the securing of projects that create jobs.
We’ve continued our positive trajectory in attracting more visitors to the city, not only has the number of people coming here increased, the value of their spend to the economy also grew.
In an exceptionally competitive market, we’ve worked in partnership with The NEC Group, our Universities and a host of other venues to develop a strong pipeline of national and international event bids.
We’re also using the intelligence capabilities of the Observatory to ensure our strategies and propositions are powered buythe most up to date and insightful data possible – helping us make the business case for Birmingham in all of our programme areas.
Between 2010 and 2012 (latest available data) private sector firms in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area created nearly 40,000 jobs – 10% of the national total and more than any other LEP area outside London.
What impact is this activity having on the performance of our hotels?
RevPAR – widely accepted metric to measure the performance of hotels and whilst there’s been a welcome uplift on the performance of the city’s hotels in 2013 compared to the previous 12 months, the reality is we still lag behind most other UK cities when we compare RevPAR figures.
Number of reasons for this, not least of all the increased supply we’ve seen from new hotels coming into the market in the last few years. Arguably still over reliant on business visitors and conference and event visitors and there’s an increasing recognition that to achieve a step change in RevPAR and hotel performance will take a different way of doing things.
The visitor economy remains a key driver of the city’s wider economy
The Champions Trophy cricket has helped our profile in India for example, putting Birmingham in front of around 1 billion potential visitors
Our profile as a food destination continues to grow, cemented by a raft of events and marketing opportunities over the summer months, not least of all through our Birmingyum campaign
Also seen the Discovery Festival, which is still in full swing and the 4 Squares Festival a few weeks ago, all helping drive visitors into the city, staying in our hotels and spending money in our economy.
Mentioned earlier our success in group travel awards, important section of the market, we’ve been focused on engaging trade effectively and helping them package the Birmingham offer, not just at a national level but also in China, Australia, the US and Japan.
The city is also well placed this week to pick up an international accolade for its floral expertise and use of public spaces from Entente Florale, an international competition - we understand the results of which will be announced in the next couple of days.
Fitting that today we are in this fantastic building, the new Library of Birmingham.
The media coverage from the opening of these magnificent facilities has placed the national and international spotlight firmly on the city and created a debate not just about the role of libraries in the twenty first century, but also a dialogue that is helping once again to position Birmingham as a confident city, that is forging it s own path in economic and cultural regeneration terms.
There’s no doubt this is a facility we can be proud of as Brummies and it also one that will attract people from far afield to experience it for themselves.
You may wish to reference the reaction of the site selectors recently to this building and their impressions of Birmingham. George Pretty said:
“Although I have visited Birmingham several times on business, before taking part in the tour last week, I was surprised to see the scale and pace of change playing out across the city. These are exciting times for Birmingham, driven by the passion, commitment and determination of its civic and business leadership. I have no doubt that Birmingham will continue to thrive as a world-class investment destination, affording expanded economic growth for its people.”
Recent announcement of Air India route, which is already performing strongly, was a very positive step. They to long term economic growth remains in establishing greater connectivity, not just in the UK, where HS2 is so important, but right across the globe.
Opportunity presented by runway extension and longer term development potential is significant but it is not a sliver bullet. In a competitive market place we need to demonstrate that Birmingham is a sound investment.
Supporting the airport team in making business cases to secure new routes, working hard to position our product with business and travel trade and exploring opportunities to utilise Birmingham as a key gateway for the UK and international visitors.
Working in key territories with Visit Britain, Visit England and UKTI to ensure Birmingham is seen as a viable alternative to London.
Sales missions
Asian Pacific region, specifically China, Japan
North America,
India
International exhibitions
Routes development
Group travel
Fam trips
Nordic media and buyers
American group buyers
Chinese delegation
Collaborative campaign = 15 partner
The 'Now Trending in Birmingham' aims to move away from traditional Christmas tourism campaigns that ‘talks at’ visitors, instead it will uses the words of visitors to inspire tourists to Birmingham, the Black Country and Solihull.
Strong digital camapign the actual sentiment of visitors based on social media channels, as we believe that by celebrating the actual views of visitors and using their voice (‘work of mouth’) will provide increased engagement with prospective visitors. Furthermore, we considering that this approach will make the campaign more believable, human and authentic – which is aligned to our destination brand model.
Campaign call to action - ‘See what else is trending and book your stay at visitbirmingham.com’
Evaluation:
Data sign up
Web metrics – unique visitor, engagement, social sentiment
Hotel occupancy and revpar
Footfall