Major funding for coastal tourism project
A new tourism project to open up England’s coast has been awarded funding of £1 million from VisitEngland’s Discover England Fund.
The ‘England’s Coast’ project, led by the National Coastal Tourism Academy, will promote the coastline using interactive video technology which allows holidaymakers to create their own coastal itineraries.
‘England’s Coast’ will target German, Dutch and French visitors coming to Britain, and enable them to build personalised itineraries along the North East, South, South West and East coasts. It will inspire visitors with a selection of each region’s finest coastal locations and activities, allowing them to see destinations and retailers along each route, while also booking accommodation, activities and attractions.
The new project builds on a successful pilot, ‘the Coastal Pass’, which gained year one funding from the Discover England Fund. ‘England’s Coast’ receives £1 million over two years from the Fund (and is 40 per cent match-funded by the National Coastal Tourism Academy and its partners from the public and private sector).
John Glen
John Glen, the Minister for Arts, Heritage and Tourism, said: “The Discover England Fund is spreading the benefits of our thriving tourism industry to the whole country by helping to strengthen the tourism offer outside of the capital.
“England’s Coast is a great example of how technology can be used to target key markets and make it even easier for international tourists to explore our stunning stretches of coastline.”
VisitEngland chief executive Sally Balcombe added: “The Discover England Fund is all about boosting international and domestic visitor growth, creating a step-change in the industry and spreading the economic benefits of tourism across the country and I am really pleased with the variety and quality of the projects who applied for funding.
“‘England’s Coast’ will develop and connect the coast, extend the season and target European markets, getting more people out exploring everything our coastline has to offer.”
The three-year £40 million Discover England Fund, which runs from 2016-19, improves England’s competitive tourism offer by building world-class, bookable tourism products and getting them to the right international customers at the right time, benefitting the domestic market and making it easier to explore the country.
The successful bid follows the recent announcement of £1 million funding for the ‘Great West Way’ project along with three pilot projects. These announcements build on the 20 pilot projects that were delivered in 2016/17, the first year of the Discover England Fund. In years two and three the Fund is supporting destination-led collaborative bids worth more than £1 million, and a series of pilots. It also continues to fund existing year one projects that demonstrated early successes.
Click here for more information about the Discover England Fund.
