Connect events

Annual Conference and Cultural Leaders Symposium
Thursday 10 March 2011
Northern Ballet, Leeds

Tourism makes an enormous contribution to the economy: It’s the UK’s fifth largest Industry, the third largest export earner and was worth £115.4bn to the UK economy in 2009, equivalent to 8.9% of UK Gross Domestic Product. These figures are undeniably impressive, but where do arts, cultural and leisure organisations begin in trying to capitalise on the opportunities that tourism offers?

Join us at &Co’s Annual Conference and Cultural Leaders Symposium to investigate how best to identify, understand and ultimately attract the tourist market. A varied and inspiring line-up of experienced tourism practitioners and experts will provide an important overview for organisations wishing to tap into this market and explore how to harness the momentum of major national and regional events, such as London 2012, which attract large numbers of visitors to the UK.

Keynote speakers and contributors:

• John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage
• Laurence Bresh, Marketing Director, VisitBritain
• Alex Saint, Project Manager, Creative Tourist
• Julie Tait, Director, Kendal Arts International
• Dr. Andrew Miles, Senior Research Fellow, University of Manchester
• Joanna Royle, Director, Royle Consulting Ltd
• Paul Williams, Head of Programme and the Portfolio, Staffordshire University Business School
• Peter Dodd, Sales and Marketing Director, Welcome to Yorkshire
• Franco Bianchini, Professor of Cultural Planning and Policy, Leeds Metropolitan University

John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage
John Penrose MP will open the the conference via a recorded video address, and will emphasise the rich links between tourism and culture, and the opportunities available for cultural organisations and tourism professionals to capitalise on.

Laurence Bresh, Marketing Director, VisitBritain
Laurence will discuss how VisitBritain promotes the UK’s arts, culture and leisure offer internationally, including the new techniques they’re using such as digital technology and social media. Laurence’s presentation will give clear direction on how arts and culture can capitalise on the opportunities tourism offers.

Alex Saint, Project Manager, Creative Tourist
Alex Saint, Project Manager of Creative Tourist will be joining us to share with delegates the story of the award winning website, and how collaboration has led to success in marketing Manchester as a destination to culturally motivated tourists.

**Alex will replace keynote speaker Christian Perdrier, Chief Executive of Alnwick Castle and The Alnwick Garden, who has since resigned from his position and is unfortunately no longer able to present at the Conference.**

Julie Tait, Director, Kendal Arts International and Dr. Andrew Miles, Senior Research Fellow, University of Manchester
Julie and Andrew will explore and evidence how the Olympic Legacy Programme 'Lakes Alive', an outdoor arts season in and around the Lake District, has achieved great success in attracting visitors from outside Cumbria as well as having created a significant impact on the local economy.

Other contributors:

Joanna Royle, Director, Royle Consulting Ltd.
Joanna is a cultural tourism expert with 15 years experience in the sector, working with organisations such as Hadrian’s Wall Heritage and York Minster. She will deliver a practical session that will look into how you can develop a cultural tourism strategy which can be embedded into your existing business and marketing strategies.

Paul Williams, Head of Programmes and the Portfolio, Staffordshire University Business School
Paul will draw from his experience as Senior Examiner for the Chartered Institute of Marketing’s ‘Tourism Marketing Diploma’ to explore how your organisation can segment its cultural tourists using readily available tools and models to improve the impact of your marketing activity.

Cultural Leaders Symposium
Taking place on the afternoon of the Conference, Cultural Leaders and Senior Managers are invited to join a discussion which will look at the ways heritage, tourism and arts professionals can work together to shape a ‘destination’ that will attract cultural tourists.

The discussion will be preceded by presentations from the following speakers:

Peter Dodd, Sales and Marketing Director, Welcome to Yorkshire
There is a slight change to the speaker line-up for the Cultural Leaders Symposium section of ‘Are we there yet? Becoming the tourist’s destination’. Peter Dodd, Sales and Marketing Director at Welcome to Yorkshire will now be speaking instead of Gary Verity, Chief Executive of Welcome to Yorkshire.

There is no change to the content of the afternoon session, Peter will still be discussing the vital role that arts and cultural organisations play in the success of destination marketing, and exploring how to create a compelling offer for the lucrative tourism market.

Franco Bianchini, Professor of Cultural Planning and Policy, Leeds Metropolitan University
Franco will explore how Cultural Leaders can collaborate to create more inventive, exciting and successful approaches to destination marketing. His theory presents an alternative approach to traditional ‘product marketing’ and draws heavily on partnerships with local specialists such as historians, artists and sociologists who recognise the multiple layers of a ‘destination’ which can be used to attract tourists.