VisitBritain/VisitEngland help centre

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VisitBritain/VisitEngland is the national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain internationally and developing England’s visitor economy. Although we have no statutory powers to resolve complaints, and cannot legally intervene in a dispute to which we are not a party, we take all complaints seriously. You should take up the complaint first with the company concerned. If the matter is not resolved and the company is a member of either ABTA, TTA or The Global Travel Group you should contact them for advice.

The LVEP accreditation scheme launched in early 2023. Applications are received on a rolling basis to support DMOs working towards meeting the criteria. LVEP applicants will receive guidance and be supported through the process by the VisitEngland Regional Development Lead for their area. We therefore hope to make decisions swiftly once applications are received.

DMOs can now register their interest in becoming an LVEP online by answering a short set of questions via an online form. VisitEngland will use this information to target support through their team of Regional Development Leads and to support organisations in the run up to – and during the application process.

To be recognised through the programme, applicants have to fulfil two sets of criteria.

Core Criteria

Will ensure recognised LVEPs are stable and high-performing, with experience of operating at a strategic level. LVEPs will need to demonstrate they meet all of these criteria and provide evidence in support of their application:

• Covers an important geography (such as county or city region) which avoids overlap with other LVEPs and can demonstrate the importance of its visitor economy.

• Has a Destination Management Plan or tourism strategy, developed in consultation with local public and private partners.

• Is engaged in destination ‘management’, as well as marketing.

• Is well integrated with important local and regional actors.

• Can demonstrate commitment from local government.

• Has the ability to raise funding from the private sector.

• Is stable and resilient and can administer public funding with probity.

• Works in partnership with other DMOs in its own geography - and beyond with other LVEPs.

• Its capacity reflects the size and importance of the destination.

Growth Criteria

Will strengthen organisational performance and resilience going forward and enable local visitor economy growth. They align with national strategy and priorities to build collaboration and achieve greater impact. When becoming part of the programme, LVEPs commit to:

• Expanding income and diversifying funding streams.

• Developing the skills of their team.

• Ensuring governance reflects the visitor economy and shows diversity.

• Developing a comprehensive business support offer (directly or through partners).

• Supporting national and government initiatives and priorities, such as Levelling Up, accessibility and sustainability.

• Developing the ability to track the local visitor economy through research and data, gathering and sharing insights and working with VisitEngland on new data models and approaches.

The main objective is to reduce fragmentation and create a clearer more effective tourism structure in England. The de Bois review refers to around 40 Tier 2 accredited Tourist Boards, however, it will depend on what comes forward from the landscape. There will be DMOs that are ready now to become accredited as LVEPs as they can meet all of the criteria and those that need to work towards it over an agreed time period.

VisitEngland will work with the landscape where there are important geographical gaps to encourage LVEPs to come forward. However, full geographical coverage at LVEP level could be difficult to achieve and it is likely that the best way will be through the roll out of Destination Development Partnerships (DDPs) should the pilot be a success. DDPs would be able to support both LVEPs and Tier 3 destination organisations that are important locally.

The LVEP will commit to working on a core set of criteria which includes areas that will support visitor economy growth nationally and locally. These will be set out in a Memorandum of Understanding between the LVEP and VisitEngland/VisitBritain which also sets out what national support and activities will be available. VisitEngland recognises that LVEPs will be at different stages and will not be able to deliver across all areas immediately. A prioritised plan will need to be put in place. LVEPs will also need to be willing and able to share good practice with other LVEPs and be a valued member of their regional and national network.

KPIs are important in demonstrating progress within individual LVEPs but can also support advocacy across key local and national stakeholders such as Government. They can also help to evidence challenges and enable solutions to be sought.

VisitEngland understands that, given the absence of additional funding, KPIs must not be too onerous. The light-touch KPI framework will be worked up in collaboration with LVEPs in 2023. Where possible, it will be based on what DMOs currently measure across these areas and what is reasonable and achievable aligned with the criteria. For example, it could include increased commercial income, more diverse funding streams, number of businesses receiving support, number of LVEP staff trained and an increase in bookable product.

VisitEngland recognises LVEPs will all be in different places and with differing levels of capacity and resource, there will be a need to be pragmatic and to prioritise. LVEPs will not be expected to work across all areas immediately and this will be discussed individually with each LVEP on award of accredited status. This will also then feed into the KPI framework and each LVEP’s input, monitoring and reporting.

The BID will need to meet the core criteria set out in the accreditation programme (no geographical overlap in LVEP area, geographical scale and size and importance of the local visitor economy will be critical) and must be able to commit and align with the growth areas. It is recognised that BIDs have a longer-term plan agreed by levy payers with ringfenced funding, therefore flexibility will be required and opportunities identified to influence priorities in the future.

Better partnerships in support of the growth and development of the visitor economy should always be supported, however it cannot be guaranteed that they would achieve LVEP status as they will need to be assessed against the wider criteria. VisitEngland will be working closely with the DMO landscape where there are key gaps to ensure LVEPs come forward. Not all areas will achieve LVEP status and will therefore form part of Tier 3 as per the review recommendations and response. The approach is now being considered in response to roundtable feedback on the important role that Tier 3 organisations play locally and how LVEPs can be encouraged to engage with them and provide support as appropriate.

• A governance structure has been put in place to review applications and make recommendations. This includes DCMS, VisitEngland Advisory Board (VEAB) members and the senior team at VisitEngland.

• DMOs seeking accredited status will be provided with advice throughout the process by VisitEngland.

• Accredited LVEPs will be supported by a VE Regional Development Lead and there will be reviews built in (frequency to be determined but streamlined and not onerous) to capture progress. VisitEngland will also publish achievements against outcomes across all LVEPs and share with Government and the wider industry.

• LVEP status can also be removed by the Minister as outlined in the Government response. The instances where this would happen would be minimal (e.g. if there was a major change to the structure or remit of the accredited LVEP) as this is a supportive scheme aimed at progress, growth and visitor economy development.

VisitEngland’s priority will be supporting LVEPs and the DDP Pilot area. Consideration is being given to the types of one to many support VisitEngland could continue to provide to Tier 3 organisations and also how to integrate them into the new LVEP structure and DDP pilot as they continue to be important locally. It is therefore anticipated that accredited LVEPs will continue to support and work with Tier 3 organisations locally.

An LVEP is the status that will be awarded to Destination Management Organisations that fulfil the accreditation criteria set out by VisitEngland. They will need to demonstrate and evidence their responsibility for, and ongoing commitment to, the development and management of their local visitor economy working in partnership across the public and private sectors. They will form a national portfolio of high performing organisations that will commit to working with VisitEngland and Government on a set of growth ambitions over an agreed time period.

A Destination Development Partnership (DDP) will develop and drive forward a strategic programme of activity to achieve visitor economy growth. This activity will focus on areas where greater impact can be achieved through a joined-up approach. Examples include business and major events, product development, international promotion, infrastructure and transport and skills development. There will be one funded DDP Pilot during this CSR period taking place in the North East and this will inform future development of the model and build the case for national roll-out and possible funding. A DDP could be a partnership of LVEPs coming together with one taking the lead as the accountable body (i.e. the North East pilot model) or, in special, limited cases, the LVEP and the DDP could potentially be one and the same. We will further consider this as thinking on the DDP structure evolves through work on the pilot.

The DDP is effectively a partnership of LVEPs (with a lead LVEP stepping up to be the accountable body and to drive it forward). Therefore, joint working and collaboration is at the heart of the model. It is anticipated that some activities, such as training and skills development and data, could be delivered at DDP level on behalf of all LVEPs (by the DDP lead) but that also where specific expertise sits within another LVEP, they could be commissioned to deliver this activity. Joint working between the DDP and LVEPs will be a focus of the DDP Pilot and learnings will be shared and reflected in any future roll-out.

The DDP could potentially be one and the same as set out in the review and the response. This will be considered fully as thinking on the DDP structure evolves alongside the work on the North East pilot.

The North East has been selected by the DCMS Tourism Minister as the DDP pilot area and this was announced at the end of November 2022.

Headline criteria for the selection of the DDP pilot was published in the Government’s response in July 2022 and it also set out that this would be decided by the DCMS Tourism Minister. The selection of the DDP pilot area was not an open call out to the England landscape due to the very tight timescales and clear parameters for the pilot that were set out by the Government.

VisitEngland is working with NewcastleGateshead Initiative (the lead DMO for the DDP Pilot) on pilot set up. This includes agreeing the programme of activity and establishing the supporting governance structures to ensure it can commence delivery quickly and drive impact over the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) period working across its key partners Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham.

The important role of the pilot is to build an evidence base for the DDP model and its associated multi-year funding and it is therefore critical that DMOs across the country get behind and support the North East DDP Pilot. VisitEngland will ensure progress updates and learnings are shared as the pilot develops.

VisitEngland understand that LVEPs may already be considering how they may formulate DDPs. If this is a possibility then this should be discussed with VisitEngland in the first instance.

£1.8m of funding will support the development of the accreditation scheme by VisitEngland and will also ensure a direct award of £2.2m can be granted to the DDP pilot to deliver its agreed activities and programmes over the Comprehensive Spending Review period (2022-2025). VisitEngland’s element of the funding will support the development of tools, resources and training to support and benefit all LVEPs and the DDP, as well as regional capacity to support DMOs through accreditation and beyond into delivery.

VisitEngland will work with DCMS at national strategic level to embed and build understanding of the DMO Review outcomes and the benefits of the new visitor economy landscape. This will be through existing relationships with Government Departments/Arm’s Length Bodies (e.g. Arts Council England, Historic England, Sport England) and politically through Ministerial groups and MPs. VisitEngland will also work with the Local Government Association (LGA) to share messaging across local government. The team of VisitEngland Regional Development Leads will also support at local level, working with LVEPs where needed.