T o u r i s m n e w s & v i e w s f o r b u s i n e s s e s a c r o s s T h e c i T y r e g i o n
Taste of Victorycity region businesses triumph in national awards 08
Fab Christmas national marketing campaign launched 05
Transmitting Andy Warhol Tate hosts major exhibition 10
Record Visitor Numbers economic boost for the city 12
autumn 2014
The Biz2
© McCoy Wynne 2014
‘success must drive further growth’Recent figures have shown
that growth right across our visitor economy continues. Our City Region now attracts 53 million day visitors annually and the number of staying visitors has risen to 4.7 million. Almost 49,000 jobs are now supported through the Visitor Economy which generates income in excess of £3.64 billion. Looking ahead to 2015 we hope these figures will rise further through more hotel openings, the new Exhibition Centre at ACC Liverpool and Cunard’s 175th anniversary celebrations.
An interesting report on the future of hotels in Liverpool predicts further growth in this market over the next ten years to keep up with demand. The report said that “Liverpool has had by far the greatest and most sustained growth in hotel supply of any of its comparator cities.”
Since the last study in 2011, 17 new hotels and serviced apartments have opened adding 1,529 rooms/ apartments, with another new hotel opening by the end of 2014. Between 2011 and 2014, this was primarily budget hotels and apartments, but the
report says that “The latest wave of new hotels is upscale with 2014 seeing the opening of the first new 4 star hotel in 5 years and two new boutique hotels.”
In a first for Great Britain, Liverpool City Region has received WorldHost City Region status (see page 13). This is in recognition of the 4000 employees across the visitor economy, retail and transport services who went through their destination welcome and customer service training. This programme has been used to train over one million people worldwide, including tens of thousands of volunteers and staff at the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Finally, it was sad to say goodbye to Pam Wilsher who retired in August from her role as Head of Visitor Economy Development. Pam has worked in the tourism industry for 36 years and been involved in almost every single development affecting the tourism industry during this time, including leading the way in the recruitment and training of the Blue Badge Guides. Trying to find her replacement was a difficult task but we are looking forward to welcoming Peter Sandman into the role, Peter comes from Merseytravel where he headed up their Customer and Business Development Team and prior to that was deputy to the Head of Tourism at Sefton Council. Sara Wilde McKeownChair,Liverpool City Region Visitor Economy Board
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it has been just over a year since the new visitor economy board was established. we wanted it to have a strong private sector base, with a wide diversity and depth of experience – this dynamic has worked well, enabling us to work collectively and reach across all parts of our varied sector.
Chris Brown, Director of marketing Liverpool
“It’s much easier to reflect and handle challenges
when you are in a strong position, which the visitor economy undoubtedly is”
The Biz 3
‘success must drive further growth’
twitter: @VLBiz
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The last few months have been very strong for tourism across the City Region. Once again, we’ve had major events to bring increased numbers of visitors in; whether it’s The Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, the Biennial or the giants which brought the city centre to a standstill for three magnificent days.
And of course there was the International Festival for Business, a huge undertaking which saw thousands of
business tourists flock to the city over the course of its 50 days. The government judged IFB 2014 to be such a success that it has committed support for a second instalment here in 2016, details of which will be announced in due course. But there is only so much time for patting ourselves on the back. It’s no secret that our visitor economy has experienced extraordinary growth over the last few years, which is the result of a lot of hard work right across the sector.
However, we cannot fall into the trap of assuming that this growth will continue unabated. The City Region needs to continue looking forward and being honest enough to assess what we could and should be doing better, to stand out in a very competitive market.It’s much easier to reflect and handle challenges when you are in a strong position, which the visitor economy undoubtedly is. However at this time thanks should go to all partners within the visitor
economy for their hard work throughout 2014, ensuring that the many visitors we have received have gone away raving about the City Region. With events such as the Cunard 175th celebrations next summer, major exhibitions from the likes of Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock and many exciting projects on the horizon, we are in a good place to build on this success.
As we come to the end of the summer, there is no better time to reflect on where the visitor economy stands.
liverpoolvision.co.uk
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VisitLiverpool.biz
The latest VisitLiverpool national advertising campaign has been live this autumn and has targeted the domestic short break and day visit markets.
With campaign partners the Liverpool Attractions Group and VisitEngland, activity has included advertising in national print titles (The Guardian and Observer), radio advertising (Classic FM), several digital
channels including Guardian online plus VisitLiverpool e-comms and social media. The overall objective of the campaign has been to help drive overnight stays and increase footfall and spend at visitor attractions and venues.
A campaign page was developed on VisitLiverpool to encourage sign ups to the database and help to profile all campaign partners.
Further activity will take place in the new year.
Discover Liverpool…..Discover your perfect short break
Liverpool Wins Top Award
The City of Liverpool has been voted Best UK Destination for Groups by the readers of Group Travel Organiser magazine. Nominations were made for
towns, cities and resorts across the UK. Liverpool came out top with readers stating Liverpool had “worked hard to attract and support group visitors”.
New Seasonal Guide LaunchedThe brand new Liverpool Seasonal Guide will be hitting the streets this November.It covers the period up to April 2015 and is packed with ideas on things to do, places to see, where to eat and stay. This season’s lead sponsor is Titanic Hotel.
30,000 guides will be printed backed by a distribution plan covering local and national outlets plus key overseas exhibitions and events.
A downloadable version will be available on VisitLiverpool. The current Seasonal Guide has been downloaded over 20,000 times from VisitLiverpool.com
James Wood of Marketing Liverpool collecting the award
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twitter: @VLBiz
The campaign has been developed by key retail and transport partners and this year will be managed by Marketing Liverpool.
Partners involved include: Liverpool ONE, City Central BID, Albert Dock, Merseyrail and Geraud.
The campaign will run from late October to December and is designed to attract Christmas shoppers and city breakers while they experience the city’s strong cultural offer at the same time.
The national campaign will include traditional advertising and digital advertising with its own bespoke microsite being developed to help keep shoppers fully up-to-date with the destination’s festive activity.
The collateral will also include details of all the festive attractions and events taking place across the city.
It’s going to be a Fab Christmas
visitliverpool.biz/promotionalopportunities
To vote, please visit www.meetpie.com/modules/eventmodule/mit/mitvote.aspx
Voting closes 10 December 2014
PromotionalopportunitiesLatest statistics show, from April to September 2014, the new VisitLiverpool.com website received 1,484,522 visitors to the site – a 44% increase from the same period the previous year!
Take advantage of the range of digital opportunities with VisitLiverpool in order to promote your business across all sectors of the Visitor Economy including Business Tourism and Travel Trade.
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MIMA is the prestigious award designed to acknowledge the best work done by destinations across the country in marketing their business tourism offer. The Venue Directory, which LCB produces annually, was voted the most effective brochure for 2014 and the team are confident of retaining the title next year, with work on the 2015 edition well under way.
It’s not the only award LCB are up for – in the Meetings & Incentive Travel (M&IT) Awards, they are shortlisted for the prize of ‘Best Convention Bureau’ and hope to improve on last year’s bronze finish.
Best BrochureA new trophy has pride of place at the Liverpool Convention Bureau, after the team scooped ‘Best Brochure’ at the Meetings Industry Marketing Awards (MIMA) in October.
Liverpool’s Christmas campaign is running for the fourth time this year. The aim of the campaign is to deliver a joint retail marketing campaign that promotes shopping in the city as Christmas approaches, encourages overnight stays in Liverpool, highlights events taking place in the city centre and promotes travel by rail.
Emma Bellis and Stacey Koks of Liverpool Convention Bureau collecting the award
The arrival of the Exhibition Centre Liverpool will increase the existing exhibition capacity at ACC Liverpool to more than 15,000 sqm of integrated and flexible event space. In its first year of operation, it is expected to host around 50 events and attract more than 250,000 visitors.
The £66m centre will include a £26m integrated four-star 216 room Pullman hotel. Both will be interconnected to ACC Liverpool, which currently comprises the BT Convention Centre and Echo Arena, via a pedestrian link bridge. The new complex will be the only purpose-built integrated arena,
convention and exhibition centre in Europe when it opens next year. Bob Prattey, chief executive of ACC Liverpool, said: “With Exhibition Centre Liverpool we will be capable of hosting large-scale consumer and trade exhibitions.
The additional facilities will also enable us to welcome more national and international conferences with substantial accompanying exhibitions, such as RenewableUK. “We are pleased with the progress made on site – the development is on track and on budget.”
A new report, prepared by hotel development consultancy Hotel Solutions, predicts further growth in this market over the next ten years to keep up with demand.
Commissioned by Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership and Liverpool Vision, the ‘Liverpool Hotel Futures 2014’ report says that “Liverpool’s continuing vision to establish itself as a world class international maritime city is likely to deliver substantial
levels of growth through to 2025...The visitor economy will remain one of the key priority sectors underpinning Liverpool’s growth....attracting more conferences and exhibitions and international visitors, driving growth in domestic leisure visitors 7 days a week, developing a major events programme and expanding the cruise market.”
The Biz6
Countdown to Exhibition Centre Liverpool
Further growth for Liverpool Hotel Market
VisitLiverpool.bizVisitLiverpool.biz
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For further information Download on VisitLiverpool.biz
exhibitioncentreliverpool.com
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Liverpool City Region has seen a boost in green space following massive investment in the creation and improvement of parks.
A former Wirral landfill site has been transformed after a £2.3m re-development by the Land Trust. 28 hectare Port Sunlight River Park now features wildflower meadows, grasslands and offers stunning views of the
Liverpool waterfront and the UNESCO World Heritage Site.
A total £9.5million of Heritage Lottery Funding has seen the refurbishment of two other City Region parks – Kings Gardens in Southport and Victoria Park in St Helens. Both projects have seen original features restored as well as landscaping and improvements to footpaths and paving.
Going Green
Liverpool’s newly rebuilt Everyman Theatre has won the RIBA Stirling prize for best new building of the year. The venue beat five other buildings to win the honour - the Royal Institute of British Architects’ highest accolade. The shortlisted buildings included London’s Shard, the Library of Birmingham, Manchester School of Art, the London Aquatics Centre and the LSE Student Centre. The theatre said it was “thrilled” to win
the award. Artistic director Gemma Bodinetz said. “The Everyman was built with humanity at its heart. Since we reopened, the warmth of feeling from the public to their much-loved Everyman - given a daring and brilliant rebirth - has been almost overwhelming”.
RIBA president Stephen Hodder called the Everyman an “exceptional new building”.
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twitter: @VLBiz
everymanplayhouse.com
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Aloft Hotels arrived in Liverpool last month, transforming the iconic Royal Insurance Building into the stylish and contemporary Aloft Liverpool.
Having lain derelict for the past 20 years, Aloft has breathed new life into one of Liverpool’s most beloved Grade II listed buildings, creating a modern,
fresh and fun destination. The 110-year-old building has retained much of the original Neo-Baroque architecture, with the interior transformed to offer cutting-edge design.
Aloft Liverpool features 116 loft-like guest rooms and Aloft Hotel’s signature W XYZ bar.
New Arrival... Aloft Hotel
Stage Set for Reopening of The Phil
aloftliverpool.com
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Everyman Wins RIBA Stirling Prize
In November 2014, Liverpool Philharmonic will complete phase 1 of their £13.8 million refurbishment of the beautiful Grade II* listed Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, home to the world-class Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Phase 2 is due for completion in summer 2015, to coincide with the 175th anniversary of Royal Liverpool Philharmonic.The second phase includes the building of an exciting
new, smaller-scale venue that will be used for performances and Liverpool Philharmonic’s award-winning learning programme, in addition to new backstage production facilities, warm-up rooms and office accommodation.
This investment will enhance the experience for artists and audiences and secure a sustainable future for the organisation.
liverpoolphil.com
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Delifonseca was named the ‘Best Independent Retailer’ at the 2014 Observer Food Monthly Awards in October 2014 .
The multi-award winning restaurant and deli, located in both Stanley Street and Brunswick Dock, received the prestigious accolade during an awards ceremony co-hosted by Sue Perkins and Jay Rayner at the Freemasons’ Hall in
Covent Garden, London.Following weeks of public voting, Delifonseca was presented with the award due to its ‘acclaimed locally-sourced produce and holistic approach’.
Proprietor Candice Fonseca said: “Since we opened, the team and I have continued to have the same aim and that’s to provide everyday groceries to specialist artisan produce from all of the North West, UK and
Europe – and to match that with the same level of knowledge that the staff here are very proud to have.”
The Observer Food Monthly Awards celebrate and reward the very best in British food and produce. In addition to showcasing nine reader-voted categories, there were also seven categories that were decided by a varied panel of Michelin-starred judges.
Winners, celebrated chefs, food critics, writers and press from all over the country attended this year’s ceremony.
Candice added: “Liverpool has both a fantastic retail and food & drink offer and to have won this award, has helped to put both us and the city on the map.”
The Pimbleys are farmers, who have grown and sold their own fruit and vegetables since 1906. Now they are championing local produce with the opening of their new build, farm shop, butchers and cafe.
Andrew Pimbley of Claremont Farm comments, “The Claremont experience has taken a giant leap forward, right at the heart of the farm where customers
can taste it for themselves.
This has been in the planning for 10 years now. We want to become an alternative shopping and eating destination, a melting pot for local produce and seasonal foods. Our culture and our community used to centre around the eating of food and the market place, this is what we want this to feel like.”
Following years of success at The London Carriage Works and Hope Street Hotel, Paul is now focusing on bringing the highest possible dining standards to the city through his newly opened restaurant. Drawing on his passion and commitment to the use of local produce, The Art School will host seasonal and innovative menus.
Claremont Farm just got bigger
VisitLiverpool.biz
Delifonseca scoops ‘Best Independent Retailer’
delifonseca.co.uk
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The Art School Restaurant is a true labour of love for acclaimed chef Paul Askew. His new restaurant, which opened early September 2014, is a 50 cover fine dining restaurant and bar located in Liverpool’s dining and culture quarter.
Best Independent Retailer
Paul Askew breaks new ground with his latest venture…
Lucy Antal, Sustainable Food Cities Coordinator for Liverpool, tells The Biz all about the Sustainable Food City quest and how you can get involved. What is a Sustainable Food City?
Liverpool is one of 6 cities (the others are Belfast, Bournemouth & Poole, Cardiff, Newcastle and Stockport) being supported by the Sustainable Food Cities Network to deliver improvements in their city’s food sustainability. How can people get involved?
Follow us on twitter @lplfoodppl or facebook facebook.com/LiverpoolFoodPeople to find out more. Our website is being developed by Nonconform and will be at liverpoolfoodpeople.com when it launches. We want people
to share their best practice experiences of community growing, recommendations for great local food, help us campaign, and tell us about any events or activities to do with sustainable food.
What is Liverpool Food People?
Liverpool Food People, (previously known as the Liverpool Food Alliance) has a steering group including senior health officers, food growers, buyers, community organisations, waste campaigners and cooks.
We’re working together on ways to make Liverpool a more sustainable food city: including improved access to fresh food for all; supporting communities; improving procurement and the use of local producers and growers; more use of better welfare products; improving skills such as cookery and
gardening; and championing the local economy.
What can we expect for 2015 from The Liverpool Food People?
We’d LOVE to see Liverpool get 5 stars from the Sustainable Fish City campaign. If you are a food-serving business in Liverpool, please sign the pledge and help Liverpool to become a Sustainable Fish City at sustainweb.org/sustainablefishcity.
real ale is making a comeback, with a number of local breweries in the city region
Brimstage Brewing Company www.brimstagebrewery.com
George Wright Brewing Company www.georgewrightbrewing.co.uk
Liverpool Craft Beer Co. www.liverpoolcraftbeer.com
Liverpool One Brewery www.liverpoolonebrewery.co.uk
Liverpool Organic Brewery www.liverpoolorganicbrewery.com
Mad Hatter Brewing Company www.madhatterbrewing.co.uk
Melwood Beer Company www.melwoodbeer.co.uk
Peerless Brewing Company www.peerlessbrewing.co.uk
Southport Brewery www.southportbrewery.co.uk
Stamps Brewery www.stampsbrewery.co.uk
Wapping Brewery www.balticfleetpub.com
For details on upcoming beer festivals and events visit liverpoolcamra.org
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Sustainable Food Cities
twitter: @VLBiz
restaurantfraiche.com
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lucyliverpoolfoodalliance @gmail.com
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1Restaurant in the UK
No TOP OF THE HOPS
Fraiche restaurant in Oxton, owned and run by Huyton-born chef Marc Wilkinson has been named the number one restaurant in the UK by the Sunday Times.
The guide said: “Marc Wilkinson has done for Merseyside’s cuisine what the Beatles did for its music, with talent, flair and originality, he has taken his restaurant Fraiche to the top of the charts.”
Last year Fraiche was positioned at number six in the list – a huge achievement in itself considering it was one of the only one-chef restaurants on the list.
The restaurant employs just two waiters and a pot-wash.
Marc added: “Hard work and single minded perseverance has made this possible and a dream becoming a reality.”
Fraiche
‘Number One Restaurant in the UK’
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Transmitting Andy Warhol is the first exhibition to explore Warhol’s role in establishing new platforms to disseminate art, and his experimentation with new approaches to art reception that redefined artistic practice and distribution.
The first solo exhibition of Warhol’s work in the north of England, it brings together over
100 works, across a range of media with major paintings to explore Warhol’s experiments with mass-produced imagery, which he ‘transmitted’ back into the public realm using processes of serial repetition and mass dispersal, establishing new approaches to distribute his work. Warhol’s transmission of ideas and imagery brought to life
his democratic conviction that ‘art should be for everyone.’
Highlights include the Marilyn Diptych, Dance Diagram and Do-it-Yourself paintings, and other loans from international collections and the ARTIST ROOMS collection.
The exhibition will run from 7 November 2014 – 8 February 2015.
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Tate: Transmitting Andy Warhol
VisitLiverpool.biz
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tateliverpool.org.uk/
The exhibition, made up of more than 80 articles, includes unseen images of The Rolling Stones and handwritten lyrics of The Beach Boys ‘God Only Knows’ alongside items belonging to music legends such as The Hollies, The Supremes and Ray Charles. Part of the exhibit is also dedicated to
interviews with GRAMMY award winning artists.
Martin King of the Beatles Story said, “This really is a fantastic exhibition and we are proud to be able to host something so prestigious here in the famous city of Liverpool.”
GRAMMY Museum exhibit arrives at The Beatles Story
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beatlesstory.com
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) remains one of the most important and influential artists of the Post War period and the central figure associated with pop art.
The beatles story Pier head is playing host to The british invasion: how 1960s beat groups conquered america.
The Velvet Underground and Nico 1967 Album cover design by Andy Warhol© 2014 The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Inc. / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York and DACS, London
Queen Mary 2, the 150,000 ton flagship of the fleet, will be joined on 25 May 2015 by her sisters Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth to stage a stunning salute to the City that is Cunard’s spiritual home as part of the line’s 175th anniversary.
Liverpool’s UNESCO World Heritage Site waterfront, which includes the Cunard Building, will provide a unique backdrop for the “Three Queens, One Magnificent City” spectacular which organisers expect up to 1 million spectators to attend.
The complex marine operations plan is being prepared by a team including
Commodore of the Cunard fleet Christopher Rynd; Captain Steve Gallimore, the Port of Liverpool Harbour Master; and Mr Chris Booker, Chairman of Liverpool Pilots Limited and the Events River Pilot.
Commodore Rynd said: “With the unique backdrop of Liverpool’s world-famous waterfront, and the capacity on both sides of the Mersey to accommodate tens of thousands of spectators, I believe this will be a most spectacular gathering of the Three Queens. I am excited by the prospect of bringing the Fleet to its spiritual home.”
To mark the Year of the Sheep, Liverpool City Council, Liverpool Chinese Business Association, Liverpool Chinese Community groups and other organisations have
arranged a series of arts and cultural events as the city centre will come alive with the annual vibrant celebrations.
After the success of the Year of the Horse, Liverpool Chinatown is preparing to celebrate the Year of the Sheep starting on Sunday 22 February 2015.
Theatre on Foot’s latest walking show ‘The Legend of Liverpool’ is a unique time travelling tour through 800 years of Liverpool’s dark “horrible history”.
As your group are led through Liverpool’s original streets and docklands, get up close and personal with a Secretive Smuggler, Wicked Witch Finder General, Grim Grave Digger, Vicious Viking and many more.
This interactive show is based on the real history and legends of Liverpool (without the boring bits), so every story you hear really is a part of the city’s unpleasant past!
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Chinese New Year Theatre on Foot presents
twitter: @VLBiz
Three Queens, One Magnificent City
visitliverpool.com/whats-on
cunard.co.uk/Liverpool
theatreonfoot.co.uk
GRAMMY Museum exhibit arrives at The Beatles Story
Theatre on foot are the latest city region tour company to be awarded visitengland Quality assured Tour status.
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‘The Legend of Liverpool’
Plans to stage the world’s most spectacular gathering of Cunard’s Three Queens ever seen are well under way in Liverpool.
Record high hotel occupancy
Giant Visitor Numbers for Summer Months
Major events over the summer months, including IFB 2014, the Open Golf and the return of the Giants, led to record highs in hotel occupancy across Liverpool City Region. The latest independent research carried out by North West Research shows that more rooms were sold across Liverpool City Region (285,000) than in any other month for the last 10 years, including Capital of Culture year in 2008.
Anna Biagetti, Head of North West Research, comments “Overall hotel occupancy levels are the highest experienced in the months of July and August over the past decade, with midweek levels showing particularly strong growth trends throughout the City Region’s busy summer months.”
LIVERPOOL has reaped the benefits of what is being hailed as the biggest event in its history.
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VisitLiverpool.biz
An independent report into the impact of the Giants-led Memories of August 1914 has revealed it is one of Liverpool’s most successful events to date.
• Economic impact of £46 million into the local economy
• 41% visiting as groups
• Around 300,000 of the visitors were from outside the city region
• The average spend per person for someone from Liverpool was £19
• The average spend per person for someone outside the city region was £107
• Around 160,000 visitors had never been to Liverpool before
Hotel Performance
Liverpool City Region Hotel Occupancy
Liverpool City Region Weekend Occupancy
Liverpool City Region Midweek Occupancy
Liverpool City Region Room Yield
Liverpool City Region Rooms Sold
July 2013
75.6%
87.2%
75.7%
£40.90
233,165
July 2014
83.6%
91.2%
84.0%
£56.60
285,102
August 2013
76.6%
89.4%
71.4%
£42.70
236,249
August 2014
79.9%
90.8%
77.8%
£46.30
272,484
SOURCE: STR GLOBAL, LTD. REPUBLICATION OR OTHER RE-USE OF THIS DATA WITHOUT THE EXPRESS WRITTEN PERMISSION OF STR GLOBAL IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
The Liverpool City Region has formally received its WorldHost Award – the first
city region in the UK to receive this status, at an awards ceremony held at Liverpool Town Hall on September 16.
Robert Hough, Chair of Liverpool City Region Local Economic Partnership, said: “As a result of this training, visitors will experience even better customer service from our retailers, hospitality and tourism businesses. This in turn encourages more visitors to spread the word and make a return visit, boosting profitability of our sector.”
Tea Parlour
Meet a member
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twitter: @VLBiz
The LEP has appointed Paul Hickey of Tourism Growth Ltd to provide business mentoring, coaching, workshops and best practice visits to a limited number of expanding small tourism businesses throughout Liverpool City Region.
If you are planning to grow your business and take on additional staff in the next 12 months and feel you could benefit from this support please contact Paul at [email protected] Tel: 0870 040 2600 or 01923 465522
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...talk to Paul
Thinking of expanding a business?
Liverpool Welcome Workshops
teaparlour.co.uk [email protected]^ ^
WorldHost City Region
Sharon Plante opened the Tea Parlour in 2014, tucked away on the first floor of a Victorian landmark on Mathew Street the vintage-inspired venue is already being referred to as one of the most nostalgic places to take tea in the North West.
What made you decide to open the Tea Parlour?
We love afternoon tea and had struggled to find one that was just right to host my daughter’s birthday. We ended up having it at home and it was a lot of work. But the response was great and it sparked the idea for starting Tea Parlour.
What is the best thing about your job?
All of it... Baking, sourcing china and vintage furnishings, dressing tables for guests celebrating special occasions, experimenting with menu ideas, tasting gourmet teas, chocolates, cocktails and tons of cakes and moreish
desserts. More than that, our little team is full of foodies. We have a good laugh together and our customers are truly lovely.
What have been your highlights so far?
We have a lot of guests who do afternoon tea all over the country and kindly compare us with the best, which is so kind. But the feedback and reviews on TripAdvisor have been amazing. Somehow all this support put us to number one in Liverpool and I had to pinch myself. This got the attention of MSN and we made it to the top 20 of the best places for afternoon tea in the UK.
What are your plans for the future?
We’re expanding our hours and introducing afternoon tea packages for Christmas, graduation and of course wedding receptions for next year.
A new term of Industry focussed workshops will be running throughout 2014-15. The courses, delivered by Katy Moussaada of Motivation Through Training, are the perfect way for frontline staff to learn how to provide an outstanding Liverpool Welcome to visitors to the region. Katy tells us more,
What workshops do you offer?
The Liverpool Welcome is an informative and motivating industry focussed workshop. Delivering answers to the most commonly asked questions by visitors to Liverpool and the City Region – What’s on, what can we see and do and where can we eat, shop and drink? The Complaint Handling workshop (Loyal or Lost) will give participants a
greater understanding of why customers complain, how we can pre-empt complaints and positively and effectively deal with them.
Who are they for and what do they cost?
For all visitor facing staff. Prices start at £40.00 +VAT per person.
Why attend?
The Liverpool Welcome will enhance your knowledge which our visitors not only value but expect. Loyal or Lost participants will develop the necessary skills, techniques and manner to enable them to deal with difficult situations in their workplace.
Enda Rylands, Ramada Plaza Southport
sPoTLighT on...
Enda Rylands, General Manager of Ramada Plaza Southport and member of the Visitor Economy Board, talks to The Biz about what he thinks the future holds for Liverpool City Region Visitor Economy and the newly established Southport BID.
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VisitLiverpool.biz
What brought you to Liverpool City Region?
I moved to Southport in 2010 following 15 years living and working in Yorkshire and Edinburgh. My wife is originally from the Wirral so it was an opportunity to move closer to her family.
There was also the lure of taking charge of a flagship hotel in a great resort with so much scope and potential. As soon as I first visited I knew that there were great opportunities for growth.
What motivated you to join the Visitor Economy Board and how do you see their role in Liverpool City Region? I always enjoy various stakeholder meetings and was very vocal in my opinion that Southport needed better representation, I also believed that business in Southport underestimated some of the
work that was being done within the City Region on behalf of the town. When I got approached about becoming more involved I felt that this was an opportunity to keep Southport in focus and also allowed me to feedback to stakeholder groups in the borough exactly what was happening in the wider City Region. Why do you think collaboration is important?
Prior to joining the board I was always interested in what was going on in the wider City Region as this could impact and influence my business. Far too often the left arm does not know what the right is doing and in fact they are pulling in opposite directions meaning that they are competing against each other. If the message is the same and the target audience similar
we have a greater chance of achieving our market share if everyone works together.
You’re a member of the newly established Southport BID, what are your aims for Southport in the next 5 years?
Southport BID has been in development for 2 years and will formally commence on the 1st November.
The overriding aim is to assist business growth within the BID area. It is an exciting time for Southport with the key priorities being to improve retail footfall, improve the shopping experience, invest in events and activities, improve marketing of the town centre, encourage more investment in the town and increase stakeholder collaboration for the benefit of all.
There is an incredibly strong will in Southport to
see improvements and the more involved the business community gets the better chance we have of success. Exciting times ahead.
How do you see the City Region developing in the coming years?
There is so much happening within the City Region at the moment and so much more in discussion that this is a time when Liverpool can really establish itself as a global city.
Liverpool waterfront development, Liverpool 2, Cruise Liverpool and the new Exhibition Centre will all give Liverpool a greater appeal internationally. Hopefully future developments on Wirral and in Southport will all add to the appeal and enhance Liverpool City Region both internationally and nationally.
Liverpool Convention Bureau
Ask the LEP:
New Tourism & Conference Members2 Blackburne Terracewww.2blackburneterrace.com
4x4 Vehicle Hirewww.4x4vehiclehire.co.uk/4x4-hire/liverpool/
Aloft Liverpoolwww.aloftliverpool.com
Bellini Cocktail Bar and Restaurantwww.bellinicocktailbar.com
Bretta & Co.www.liverpooldeli.co.uk
Crown and Cushion Eventswww.teaparlour.co.uk
Epic Liverpoolwww.epicliverpool.co.uk
Epstein Theatrewww.epsteinliverpool.co.uk
Everton Football Clubwww.evertonfc.com
Horseradish at Speke Hallwww.horseradish-hospitality.com
Live 4 Tourswww.live4tours.co.uk
Liverpool Boat Charter www.liverpoolboatcharter.com
Liverpool Comedy Cellarwww.liverpoolcomedycellar.com
Liverpool Empire Theatrewww.atgtickets.com/venues/ liverpool-empire
Progress to Excellencewww.ptoetraining.co.uk
Seecret Tours Liverpoolwww.seecrettours.co.uk
Share the Citywww.sharethecity.org
The Art Schoolwww.theartschoolrestaurant.co.uk
The Brinkwww.thebrinkliverpool.com
The Liverpool Innwww.liverpool-inn.co.uk
The Venue at The Royal Liver Buildingwww.royalliverbuildingvenue.co.uk
Titanic Hotel and Rum Warehousewww.titanichotelliverpool.com
Village Urban Resorts Liverpoolwww.village-hotels.co.uk/hotels/liverpool/
Emma Bellis, Head of Liverpool Convention Bureau, tells The Biz all about the team’s work.
twitter: @VLBiz
The Biz 15
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What does the convention bureau do?
The convention bureau works to attract conferences, meetings and events to Liverpool City Region, and help with all organisation. This takes many forms; bidding for major events, organising familiarisation trips, proactive sales work, exhibitions and site inspections. We source venues, book accommodation, arrange transfers and private dining. It’s all part of the daily routine here. We attend trade shows to forge connections with conference and event organisers and sell the City Region – however these things can be expensive, and can be demanding on staff hours. Therefore we are highly selective of which shows we attend, and only go to those where we are extremely confident of a positive return on investment. While at the shows, it is non-stop; almost every minute of the day, from getting up to going to bed, is taken up with appointments and meetings with relevant contacts.
What have you been up to recently?
A couple of the shows we have recently attended are IMEX Frankfurt and Meetings Show UK. The former is one of the major events for European conference organisers, so it’s key that Liverpool is represented there. We had 23 meetings over 3 days, which generated a number of enquiries and have given the city the opportunity to bid for 2 large international conferences for 2016 and 2018. At Meetings Show we had 33 meetings during the event and made 87 new contacts, with various ongoing enquiries as a result. The International Festival for Business (IFB 2014) was also a major focus for us over the summer, with hundreds of events at venues right across the city region. By the time you read this, we will have just returned from IMEX America – one of the biggest shows in the world. The market has huge potential
for us. Conferences are not just sold on the facilities but also on the character of the destination, and Americans love Liverpool – whether it’s The Beatles, the maritime links or increasingly the ‘soccer’, there are lots of selling points for us at the show and we have lined up some very promising meetings.
Plans for the future?
In November we are attending EIBTM, an event for the meetings and event industry in Barcelona. Though it is global, we are going with a particular European focus and will follow a similar format to that employed in Frankfurt.
We also have two familiarisation trips in conjunction with VisitEngland – one from Denmark and the other from Benelux countries. These trips are an extremely powerful tool in attracting conferences to Liverpool, and it is rare that a destination will have the opportunity to host three in such a short space of time.
How do I get involved?
There is sometimes a misconception that we only work with conference venues and hotels – but our services are here to be used by any organisation who we can help, from massive corporate clients to small independent businesses in the city region. If any of the above activities sound like something we could help with, please contact Sarah Maxwell on 0151 600 2994 or [email protected]. Finally, we are always looking to improve Liverpool’s international ranking, and there is a very simple way you can help; if your organisation is involved with any meetings involving over 50 people, which include some attendees from outside the UK, please drop me a line at [email protected]
liverpoolconventionbureau.com
Liverpool Convention Bureau is part of Marketing Liverpool based at Liverpool Vision and commissioned by the LEP to deliver tourism marketing and convention bureau services on behalf of Liverpool City Region.
November 2014
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Tuesday 18 NovemberSouthport Tourism Business Network Meeting venue: Southport Theatre & Convention Centre contact: [email protected]
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Wednesday 19 NovemberLiverpool Welcome Workshop venue: LEP Offices, 12 Princes Parade contact: [email protected]
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Wednesday 19 NovemberLiverpool Hoteliers Association Meeting & Workshop venue: TBC contact: [email protected]
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Tuesday 25 NovemberSouthport Restaurateurs Meeting venue: The Hache House contact: [email protected]
December 2014
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Tuesday 2 December LEP Tourism and Conference Members Christmas Social venue: Oh Me Oh My contact: [email protected]
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Thursday 4 DecemberVisitor Economy Board Meeting venue: TBC contact: [email protected]
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Wednesday 17 DecemberWirral Attractions Partnership Meeting venue: Carr Farm Garden Centre contact: [email protected]
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Thursday 18 DecemberLiverpool Hoteliers Association Social venue: TBC contact: [email protected]
January 2015
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Wednesday 28 JanuaryWirral Tourism Business Network Stakeholder meeting venue: TBC contact: [email protected]
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Wednesday 28 JanuaryKnowsley Visitor Economy Network venue: Village Hotel, Whiston contact: [email protected]
February 2015
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Wednesday 4 FebruaryWirral Accommodation/ Attractions Partnerships Joint Meeting venue: Holiday Inn Express Hoylake contact: [email protected]
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Wednesday 11 FebruaryWirral Food and Drink/ Golf Partnerships Joint Meeting venue: Heswall Golf Club contact: [email protected]
March 2015
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Wednesday 4 MarchKnowsley Visitor Economy Network venue: Knowsley Chamber of Commerce contact: [email protected]
Forthcoming Tourism Business Events November 2014 – March 2015
USEFUL CONTACTS...Visit Liverpool staff at Marketing Liverpool 10th Floor, The Capital, 39 Old Hall Street, Liverpool L3 9PP
Alena Tan conference events executive [email protected] 0151 600 2996Amy Dann Digital marketing executive [email protected] 0151 600 2995Annette McGarry marketing Project [email protected] 0151 600 2997 Chris Adderleycommercial Tourism Development [email protected] 600 2986Emma Bellishead of convention [email protected] 049211James Woodcampaign [email protected] 600 2992Joe KegginPress officer – visitor [email protected] 600 2997Kate Currieconvention bureau [email protected] 600 2991Sarah Maxwellconference events [email protected] 600 2994
Stacey Koksconference events [email protected] 600 2993
Visit Liverpool staff at Liverpool LEP 12 Princes Parade, Liverpool L3 1BG
Anna Biagetti research manager [email protected] 0151 237 3521Carolyn Knottmembership [email protected] 0151 237 3927 Chris Honess Data [email protected] 237 3961Martin McCauley erDf Programme [email protected] 237 3917Natasha Mealor visitor economy &membership [email protected] 237 3525Nina Robbmedia & communications [email protected] 237 3893Peter Sandman head of visitor economy [email protected] 237 3916Sue Hamiltonexternal relations [email protected] 237 3904Suzi Smithvisitor economy &membership [email protected] 237 3940
The Biz is produced by Liverpool City Region LEP and is distributed to members and other businesses free of charge. Although every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of information contained in The Biz, Liverpool City Region LEP cannot accept any responsibility for any omissions or inaccuracies it may contain.
Printed on totally chlorine free paper acquired only from suppliers operating sustainable forest reserves and using vegetable based inks.
We want to hear from you!The Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership, 12 Princes Parade, Liverpool, L3 1BG Telephone: +44 (0)151 227 2727 Fax: 44 (0)151 227 2325 www.LiverpoolLEP.org Email your latest news, views and pictures to Suzi Smith, Visitor Economy and Membership Executive [email protected]
Contact the Chair of the Visitor Economy BoardIf you have a suggestion for driving forward our City Region’s Visitor Economy please contact Sara Wilde McKeown on [email protected]
