TOURISM PARTNERSHIP LIMITED
A company limited by guarantee and without share capital
REPORT OF THE DIRECTORS
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE TOURISM PARTNERSHIP LIMITED
DECEMBER 2002
The directors submit a report for the period up to the date of the Company’s sixth Annual General Meeting.
Principal Activity
The Company’s principal activity consists of giving advice and direction to the Head of Tourism Services on the promotion and marketing of the Isle of Wight for tourism purposes and advising the Isle of Wight Council on various tourism issues.
The Company has met on 5 occasions.
The 2001/02 period has proved particularly testing for both Isle of Wight Tourism and the tourism industry. On a wide range of issues, new challenges have come to the fore as well as new opportunities.
The tourism industry has performed well during this period against a backdrop of a decline in UK holiday taking. Research results to be reported at the Full Members Meeting in November are likely to show a stabilisation in visitor numbers and a levelling-off of tourism income to the same results as achieved during 2001. A number of particular issues that impacted include the Jubilee and, in the early part of year, the war in Afghanistan. On the credit side, the IW Walking Festival was a huge success and although some issues remain unresolved, the reinstatement of the IW Music Festival should improve our ability to market the Isle of Wight in future years.
In other marketing areas, significant new publications have been launched, in particular covering walking and cycling, and the new Isle of Wight TV commercial produced tangible results for the industry during May and June 2002.
Membership of Isle of Wight Tourism has stabilised at 820 members and Isle of Wight Tourism budgets have been balanced.
Directors should be aware that staff turnover at Isle of Wight Tourism in the first 12 months has exceeded 20%. For the most part this has been for very positive reasons where staff have gained new confidences and been able to move onwards and upwards. The unusually high rate of turnover should, however, continue to be monitored to ensure no adverse impact on the delivery of services to the industry.
Looking forward, four key areas are likely to dominate during 2002/03. These include the Tourism Development Plan for which a great deal of work has already been undertaken, and Sandown Bay Regeneration, which although only at the concept stage, must clearly be a priority for the industry. Isle of Wight Tourism’s role
with both these issues will be to lead and assist others in ensuring that the tourism product begins the process of exceeding customer expectations. Isle of Wight Tourism’s IT procurement is ongoing and must be regarded as a very high priority for the immediate future.
The resignation of the Head of Tourism Services in June has allowed the Council to restructure and better link tourism to related mainstream Council services including leisure, parks, gardens & beaches management. This should ensure improved strategic planning in between the infrastructure and marketing support for tourism on the Island. There still remains, however, a need to appoint a Head of Service within the new structure as soon as possible. This may however need to follow deliberations over the most effective way to externalise Isle of Wight Tourism as recommended by the Best Value Review completed this year.
John Metcalfe
Isle of Wight Council’s Head of Community Development and Tourism
13 November 2002