Measuring Progress and Keeping it Going

The DMP should be the responsibility of the Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), usually supported by a steering group or another working group which could be maintained to oversee implementation and should be connected into the governance arrangements for the LVEP.

Actions to support the implementation of the DMP include:

• Allocation of actions to lead bodies, as indicated in the previous section;
• Work on securing funding and resources for the plan and individual actions, as required;
• Development of governance arrangements to oversee the delivery of the DMP, this could be a steering group or form part of the LVEP governance responsibilities.

A dynamic reporting process is required, which should entail:

• The provision of information on progress on individual actions, through regular reporting by the responsible stakeholders to the steering group and LVEP, or as part of the governance arrangements for the LVEP;
• Regular reporting on the DMP, summarising progress on all actions and taking any necessary management decisions;
• Preparation of an annual report, to be received by the full DMO and stakeholder partners and widely communicated;
• An annual meeting and process to determine and agree the forthcoming annual priorities and action plan;
• Public communication of the work, including media relations.

Performance indicators should be selected for the whole DMP, linked to its strategic objectives and targets, and to individual actions. Indicators relating to the overall state of tourism in the destination, such as volume and value or seasonality, are important in keeping overall track of the visitor economy. However, they are affected by the limitations of available statistics (see section 2.2).

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) should be identified for the various actions in the DMP. These should include indicators covering:

• Inputs – e.g. level of support for projects;
• Outputs – deliverables completed, actions taken;
• Outcomes – specific results of projects/initiatives.

Monitoring processes may include, among others:

• Recording of actions and responses;
• Observation of changes on the ground;
• Informal feedback from stakeholders;
• Visitor surveys, repeated (see section 2.3);
• Business surveys, repeated (see section 2.4).

As well as tracking changes over time, opportunities for benchmarking performance between destinations using comparable indicators and monitoring processes should be pursued.

Through annual reporting and renewal of the action plans, the DMP will be kept up to date. The overall strategic direction of the DMP should be considered annually through this process in case there may be an early need for change and amendment. The whole DMP should be reviewed and then renewed within a regular cycle (e.g. every five years). This should be led by the LVEP and the  governance arrangements for the LVEP and the DMP itself.