New advisory board aims to grow region’s tourism industry

Representatives from Derby Museums the University of Derby and Chatsworth House, which is part of the Devonshire Group, have been appointed to a new advisory board set up to boost the region’s tourist industry.

Tony Butler OBE, executive director at Derby Museums, Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE DL, vice-chancellor and chief executive at the University of Derby and Jane Marriott, director of Chatsworth House Trust, have been appointed to the Visit East Midlands Advisory Board.

The board, the creation of which was recently approved by East Midlands Combined County Authority, will spearhead Visit East Midlands, supporting plans to help grow visitor spend, overnight stays and jobs across Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire

The new board of independent sector leaders will provide strategic, independent advice to support the region’s ambition to attract more tourists, encourage longer stays, increase visitor spend and grow the visitor economy.

This will help deliver the East Midlands Growth Plan ambition of an additional £1 billion in gross value added over the next decade.

The board will advise on detailed plans and investment for the regional visitor economy, which are due to presented at the EMCCA board next month.

It forms part of a wider programme of work to strengthen EMCCA’s leadership across priority sectors and put in place the right support to deliver long-term growth.

The visitor economy is one of the East Midlands’ priority growth sectors.

The region welcomes about 76 million visitors each year, including 7.3 million overnight stays, and is home to a wealth of internationally recognised cultural, heritage, sporting and natural assets.

These include the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, Derby’s City of Learning status, the UK’s first National Park, elite sports venues and a growing business tourism offer.

Visit East Midlands has been created to help unlock that potential by bringing partners together behind a shared regional ambition. 

Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward said: “I’m delighted to announce the members of the advisory board for Visit East Midlands.

“I’m so pleased that we have such a high-calibre group of people bringing their expertise, insight and passion to this priority work.

“As chair, I can’t wait to start working with them to champion and grow our visitor economy.

“There are so many exciting opportunities ahead for the visitor economy in our region. This group coming together is just the start, we expect to add even more talent to the board further over the coming year.”