The review examined and assessed how Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) across England are funded and structured, and how they perform their roles, in order to establish whether there may be a more efficient and effective model for supporting English tourism at the regional level, and if so what that model may be.
The review recommended that Government should bring coherence to England’s DMO landscape via a tiering approach, using an accreditation process administered by VisitEngland, to create a national portfolio of high performing DMOs that meet certain criteria
In July 2022 the UK Government published its response to that review. The response recognises that Destination Management Organisations are a vital part of England’s tourism landscape and that it is necessary to transform the DMO landscape at a local level and address long-running concerns about the structure, funding models and fragmentation of England’s DMO landscape.
As a result, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) has announced that it will provide £4 million over the next three years for VisitEngland to develop and administer a new accreditation scheme and pilot a top tier partnership, or a collection of partnerships (known as a Destination Development Partnership). Under the new accreditation scheme, DMOs will be renamed Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs).
The DDP pilot will give funding and the opportunity to focus on activities that ensure their destination remains sustainable, competitive and responsive to challenges such as boosting skills, accessibility and levelling up. DCMS has announced that the pilot will take place in the North East of England, led by NewcastleGateshead Initiative.
VisitEngland welcomed the UK Government’s response and the opportunity to play our part in implementing the recommendations. Since the response, we have been working through how we implement the accreditation scheme and have engaged with DMOs to further refine and develop the criteria and process through a series of regional roundtables.
Please contact destination@visitengland.org if you would like to express your interest in becoming a Local Visitor Economy Partnership.
