Cornwall

The visitor economy is a key economic driver for Cornwall. It generates £1.5 billion a year in turnover, employs almost 50,000 people and hosts over 4 million visitors per annum. It is primarily driven by the quality of Cornwall's environment and culture.

Without proper measures to protect our environment and mitigate impact on our communities, we place at risk the very product we seek to capitalise on and will fail to deliver on consumer expectations.

The Cornwall DMO (CDMO) was formed in 2004 from the Cornwall Tourism Forum, through a process set out in The Way Forward - Action Plan. The CDMO is currently a ‘virtual DMO', based upon a partnership governed by a Board and guided by working groups focussed on quality, sustainability and marketing. The Board and working groups include public and private sector members.

The CDMO has no executive function but instead operates through the functions of the partners, in particular:

• County destination marketing and PR by Cornwall Enterprise using County Council and private sector funds, guided by the Marketing Working Groups
• Sustainable tourism development by CoaST (Cornwall Sustainable Tourism Project) using funds from the Local Area Agreement, guided by the Sustainable Tourism Working Group
• Workforce development planning by the Tourism Skills Network using SWRDA funds, delivered by partners including Cornwall College and guided by the Quality Working Group
• Operation of TICs through District Authority support
• Production of information for visitors within Cornwall by District Authorities, including sustainable tourism
• Support for local area forums and local tourism associations by District Authorities
• Work with planners by District Authorities to ensure tourism is part of strategic land use plans.

The industry and Cornwall as a whole needs a clear championing body for the Visitor Economy and this body needs to make sense to all parties. Closer working arrangements through partnership can only go so far, as revenue protection will always win out over true collaboration. Therefore it makes sense to have all public sector support work under the CDMO. A true partnership includes financial dedication from its stakeholders.

Increased competition means Cornwall needs to provide a seamless visitor experience to retain market share. All agree Cornwall is the Brand, but it must also reflect its constituent parts under the CDMO.

Our work with Cornwall has included a comprehensive destination audit, a thorough review of the current arrangements and the production of a new Destination Managment Plan and Business Plan.