3 days Ago
Last month saw the annual English Tourism Week, an opportunity to for tourism and hospitality businesses to share the state of the industry with media and politicians. Nick Mosley talks with councillor Birgit Miller, cabinet member for culture, heritage and tourism about Brighton and Hove City Council ’ s perspective on key issues including city marketing, Gatwick expansion and why the role of head of tourism has been removed. What specific tourism functions will Brighton and Hove City Council be providing moving forward? Tourism is a vital part of our local economy, and the sector contributes so much of what makes Brighton and Hove such an amazing city.
As a council, we want to provide more tourism focus than we have previously which is why we have launched a number of new initiatives and restructured our approach to tourism and economic development. Brighton and Hove is one of the most amazing cities in the world and it is important we not only keep it that, but also let people know how great it is. I am the first Cabinet member with responsibility for tourism – signalling the importance this administration places on the tourism economy.
VisitBrighton sits within the council and will continue to support the visitor economy, playing a vital role in promoting and shaping the future of our local tourism sector. It has recently been brought to sit with the new Cabinet Office and alongside our Economic Development team – another signal of the importance that our administration places on tourism and its role in contributing to economic growth. As the official tourism organisation for the city, VisitBrighton promotes Brighton and Hove to domestic and international business and leisure visitors.
It also ensures the needs and ambitions of the local visitor economy are effectively represented to regional, national, and international stakeholders. VisitBrighton also serves on the secretariat for the new East Sussex, Brighton and Hove, and West Sussex Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), an initiative which has been spearheaded by Brighton and Hove City Council, with the council acting as the accountable body. This partnership fosters a unified vision for the region’s tourism strategy and helps coordinate efforts across a wide geographical area to attract visitors and has recently launched an ambitious strategy to grow our regional visitor economy by over £3 billion over the next 10 years.
The council has recently decided to nominate me to sit on the LVEP board – another sign of the institutional commitment to tourism. We’re determined to continue promoting Brighton & Hove as a premier destination, while also collaborating with colleagues at other councils and representatives from across the sector on the south coast to increase awareness of what is on offer in the wider Sussex region. We will also continue to run the Brighton Centre, which brings significant visitor numbers to the city.
Explain why there is no longer a need for a Head of Tourism officer role as many businesses are surprised and concerned about this. The changes we have made actually place the visitor economy at the heart of the council. It has never been more closely aligned to areas like economic development or more central to our decision making.
As part of our recent re-organisation, responsibility for VisitBrighton and our visitor economy sector was moved to the council’s Cabinet Office. This means, rather than operate potentially separately from other key areas of the council, it is front and centre. The Cabinet Office – which provides strategic support to the administration – now has direct oversight and responsibility for the visitor economy.
It is a positive move which I believe will be incredibly beneficial to the sector – and the city. We have also created new roles and responsibilities focussed on place-making and bringing a more joined up ‘one council’ approach to decision-making. Under the Labour administration can the tourism industry and the only functioning representative bodies - the Tourism Alliance and Brighton and Hove H otels Association - expect practical as well as political support? We work in partnership with more than 375 businesses in the city, collaborating on initiatives aimed at strengthening our visitor economy.
This will continue. The council also sits on the Brighton and Hove Destination Experience Group, has recently launched a seafront development board, and will always be keen to support our sector where possible. Since taking office, we’ve set about trying to address issues that residents and businesses have raised with us that affect the visitor experience, investing more in real terms in street cleaning, allocating new funds to cleaning up graffiti tags, dealing with uncontrolled weeds and freezing parking charges.
We’re also developing plans for park and ride and have negotiated with the bus company to keep bus fares through the city as low as possible. One thing I can always guarantee is that this council will be a listening council. If people come to us for support, or with concerns or feedback, we will always take that on board.
Stakeholder engagement is vital – who knows the sector better than those fantastic businesses working in it each and every day? – and we will continue to talk to local bodies representing the sector, and business and individuals working it, to highlight what support is available, and decide how resources can be allocated most effectively for the benefit of the city. If the major hotels decide to set up an Accommodation BID, where does this leave the funding of VisitBrighton as they could have differing objectives. VisitBrighton is jointly funded by the council and contributions from partner organisations and businesses.
The work it does promoting our city is helping grow our reputation, expand our reach and, ultimately, bring more and more people to our amazing city. If major hotels explored the option of an Accomodation BID, hoteliers would vote on a specified business plan, with clear priorities outlining how any levy should be spent. This would not impact – or encroach and compete – with the work of VisitBrighton.
You’ve quoted PR from Conde Nast and Time Out and the like about how Brighton is one of the top destinations in the world. We ’ ve obviously all been promoting the city locally, nationally and internationally for years if not decades, and to be frank - as Anne Ackord of Brighton Palace Pier has recently alluded to - tourist visitor numbers and spend are going down not up. How does business and the council have appropriate and honest discussions to identify root issues and resolve them? While we will always welcome open and honest discussions, this is one area we do not agree.
Visitor numbers have been going up since the pandemic – we had 9 million visitors in 2020 and almost 12 million in 2023, an upward trend we fully expect to see continued when we receive the latest data. It has been a difficult few years for tourism, but Brighton & Hove has shown itself to not only be resilient in how the sector reacted to the impact of the pandemic, but determined and creative in our response. As a council we are investing heavily in our seafront, which is and always will be our city’s shop window, and we will continue to do so.
With work beginning on Madeira Terrace, restoration work having taken place at the Reading Room, the Temple and Black Rock, the amazing regeneration at Hove Beach Park, the funding secured for the refurbishment of Royal Pavilion Gardens, ambitious heritage projects like our £4 million lantern restoration, and previous work at Sea Lanes, Shelter Hall and Yellowave, our seafront is almost unrecognisable compared to even a few years ago. Combine that investment with our city’s unrivalled cultural offering, our expanding outdoor events programme, and the commitment, passion, and expertise of our local businesses and stakeholders, and it is no surprised that Brighton & Hove so regularly features in lists of best places to visit in the world. This city, however, is ambitious – and rightly so.
We won’t rest on our laurels. As such, I’m always happy to have discussions with any stakeholders, whether to celebrate successes, or discuss areas for improvement or additional investment. The council is also an active member of the Brighton and Hove Destination Experience Group, which is an invaluable link for us directly into the sector.
Where frank discussions surrounding our visitor economy are needed, we will have them. But let’s also celebrate the fantastic work being done by people throughout this city. What is the council ’ s perspective on the second runway at Gatwick? How can that future opportunity be maximised so visitors head to the Sussex coast.
This council previously opposed the expansion of London Gatwick via a second runway as we had concerns over key climate change tests being met. But now the government has indicated it is mindful to approve permission, we will explore any benefits for our city and the wider Sussex region – both in terms of jobs and a potential increase in tourism. In fact, we’re already working with London Gatwick and other local authorities as part of the Airport Economic Zone Taskforce.
We have strong links with London Gatwick and will be looking at how we can continue to maximise our engagement with inbound travellers. We want the world to know of everything our amazing city has to offer and, clearly, having an international airport a short train journey away puts Brighton and Hove in a fantastic position..
