Research Programme

Research will underpin the Discover England Fund, providing insights and market intelligence to prospective applicants to ensure robust and well-considered projects are proposed. In addition to awarding grants to a number of projects, an element of funding will support the delivery of a national Discover England research programme, informed by industry feedback. This activity will inform industry research requests, inform future product development and have industry-wide benefit.

We have developed a programme of strategic research which will be delivered during 2016/17 based on the requests and the wider requirements of the Fund.

The programme will cover the following:

  • Secondary research of existing data sources – delivering a series of topic reports, bringing together product development-related insights from across a range of data sources covering for example, activities, life stages / demographics, multi-destination trips, destination types, ports of entry and transport
  • Case studies illustrating best practice and learnings from product development initiatives around the world
  • An innovation approach for tourism product development, creating a toolkit to help identify areas of opportunity and optimise funded projects in 2017 and beyond
  • Activities and themes - research to better understand the appeal of  a wide range of activities / thematic areas among international audiences
  • Business Visits and Events – a modular programme of research, likely to focus on motivations and barriers, delegate expenditure and business extenders
  • “London plus” – research to help maximise the appeal of products outside of London
  • Travel Trade research – to understand the attitudes of the travel trade towards England’s regional product
  • Regional gateways – understanding the role of regional gateways in facilitating regional spread
  • Future trends – identifying the macro trends influencing international tourism in the years to come

Download more detail about the programme (PPT, 5MB)

See the latest published Discover England Fund research.