Strategic Delivery Framework for Tourism in East Staffordshire

DISCOVER Culture

DISCOVER Creativity

STRATEGIC DELIVERY FRAMEWORK

DISCOVER EAST STAFFORDSHIRE

Tourism in East Sta ordshire

FOR INCLUDING 2026/27 ACTION PLANS

DISCOVER Flavour

DISCOVER Leisure

DISCOVER Excitement

DISCOVER Outd rs

East Staffordshire is an attractive and scenic borough nestled in the heart of the country, with much to discover. Home to Burton upon Trent, famous for being the home of brewing and principle town in the National Forest and the historic market town of Uttoxeter with its nationally renowned racecourse, East Staffordshire is perfect base from which to discover the Midlands, including, The Peak District, Cannock Chase, Alton Towers, Drayton Manor and The National Arboretum.

Visitors to East Staffordshire will be welcomed to some of the most beautiful countryside, with lush fields and pretty villages, along with award winning restaurants and cosy pubs dotted along our stunning waterways.

As well as being home to nationally recognised attractions, such as Uttoxeter Racecourse, Hoar Cross Hall, St George’s Park National Football Centre and the National Forest, East Staffordshire boasts a plethora of exciting things to do, historic sites to visit and great outdoors to explore!

We no longer want East Staffordshire to be undiscovered, it’s a special place, with special people, where attractions, culture and natural beauty come together and we want to share that with visitors. That’s why we’ve developed this strategic delivery framework for tourism, setting out our aim of making East Staffordshire a desirable destination for day and short stay visitors.

In delivering, we’ll work in conjunction with a wide range of local partners and stakeholders to increase awareness of East Staffordshire, its attractions and cultural activity, to potential visitors.

We hope to welcome you to East Staffordshire very soon!

Cllr Paul Walker Cabinet Member for Tourism and Cultural Development

AUGUST IS THE MONTH FOR VISITING MOST POPULAR 31% OF VISITORS SPENDING ON FOOD & DRINK

3.6 MILLION VISITOR DAYS

20% OF VISITORS SPENDING ON RECREATION & ATTRACTIONS 17% OF VISITORS SPENDING ON SHOPPING

£138 MILLION GENERATED FROM DAY VISITS £98 MILLION GENERATED FROM OVERNIGHT STAYS £400 THOUSAND FROM OVERNIGHT VISITORS

2.5 MILLION DAY VISITORS £236 MILLION ECONOMIC IMPACT FROM VISITORS

2.9 MILLION VISITORS

*BASED ON 2023 EAST STAFFORDSHIRE VISITOR DATA COLLECTED VIA THE STAFFORDSHIRE STEAM ECONOMIC IMPACT DATA PROGRAMME.

Our approach to tourism is to create places where people are proud to live, work and spend time. Building our visitor economy from the inside out, with people at its heart, creating places and destinations that will be attractive and welcoming for visitors, helping ensure they have a positive experience and want to return again and again.

East Staffordshire has a stunning natural and unspoilt landscape of open countryside, nestled between charming small towns and villages, and picturesque waterways. Located in the heart of the UK, within close proximity to the Midlands and Derbyshire, East Staffordshire attracts around 3.2 million visits per year, although this figure reduced dramatically to less than half that figure as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic and the cost of living crisis.

Tourism is a significant economic sector which supports over 3,500 local jobs and generates spending of over £200 million from visitors, with 84% of these visitors being on day trips from the wider Staffordshire area (45%) and Derbyshire (28%). 66% of visitors to East Staffordshire are families, the second highest amongst Staffordshire districts and 17% adult couples. 89% of visitors to East Staffordshire are repeat

visitors, one of the highest in Staffordshire. East Staffordshire is perhaps best known for being home to St George’s Park, the state of the art training base for England’s elite men’s and women’s football teams, but there’s lots of attractions and cultural activity distributed across the borough for visitors of all interests.

The borough is located close to major cities, including, Derby, Birmingham and Stoke on Trent, with excellent road connections and as such, 93% of visitors to the borough travel here by car.

Partners and stakeholders have highlighted the post-pandemic fragility of businesses facing rising costs and uncertainty among visitor markets who themselves face spending challenges, particularly on leisure time.

In developing this delivery strategy, we’re seeking to attract more visitors to East Staffordshire, giving them a memorable experience, encourage them to stay for longer and return again and again. In doing this, we’ll also better package and promote the health and wellbeing benefits to both visitors and residents of spending time in our nature sites.

A COHERENT STRATEGY

We’ve taken an ‘eyes open’ approach to developing this strategic delivery framework, recognising that many organisations have similar aspirations, both locally and regionally which impact of the visitor economy here in East Staffordshire.

The development of this strategic delivery framework has taken account of these and seeks to align approaches wherever possible. Sometimes this means influencing others to ensure the needs to the borough, its residents and visitors considered. In other cases it means picking up on shared priorities to achieve an integrated and coherent approach making best use of resources for maximum impact.

The other strategies and plans to which we will align includes:

Staffordshire’s Visitor Economy Action Plan

East Staffordshire Borough Council Corporate Plan

National

Forest Strategy

East Staffordshire has many key attributes to be able to grow its visitor economy. We will seek to exploit the opportunities which exist to us to better champion our borough, whilst recognising there is a collective effort which still needs to be made to improve some areas of our wider visitor experience.

We will work with partners locally and regionally to overcome the complexity of different layers of tourism and place making across the county, encouraging a jointed up approach effort to promote East Staffordshire and the Staffordshire County.

Lack of cohesive promotion, identity & narrative

No previous tourism department

Lack of digital and online promotion

Low number of overnight visitors

Limited visitor data

No sense of place

Lack of accommodation and quality offerings

Lack of historical or cultural scene

Poor rail and bus links

Cost of living crisis

Major cities outside the borough are also investing in regeneration schemes

Over the coming years East Staffordshire will become a destination with a clear identity and stronger visitor offer, which will support the continued economic develop of the Borough.

Working with the wealth of visitor attractions, operators, businesses and partners, we’ll work to raise awareness and improve the perception of East Staffordshire as a year round destination, building on the exciting regeneration of Burton upon Trent and Uttoxeter.

Given its green and blue spaces, with close proximity to the National Forest, The Washlands, The River Trent and Canal, network there is a great opportunity to make even more of these fantastic features. These will become a more central part of the place, expanding their appeal as an integrated network for a more joined and appealing visitor experience, encouraging people to stay for longer.

Through regeneration and by activating more place initiatives and cultural activity, we’ll improve the quality of life for residents and make principle towns and villages more vibrant

East Staffordshire will leverage the support of partners, attractions and tourism businesses to develop its products and services which will ultimately determine it success.

Being clear about our target markets with whom we want to raise our profile with, along with the production of an annual marketing plan will help give our working focus towards this vision.

Our overarching aim is to grow the East Staffordshire visitor economy through attracting more visitors, encouraging them to stay for longer and giving them an experience whereby they return again and again. To do this we’ll focus on a selected number of targeted actions and measurable goals, leading to strong and positive outcomes.

Our strategic delivery framework priorities will help contribute to the following areas:

We will embrace and celebrate the diversity of our communities, activating inclusive and accessible activity and events to increase a sense of local pride, whilst using this to welcome visitors.

We will also help contribute to increasing opportunities for local employment.

We will work with and support organisations and local businesses to champion sustainability and to make the transition to a low carbon economy.

We will also pursue the development of our products with sustainability as a priority.

East Staffordshire already has a well-defined audience, we aim to build on this and increase visits from day trip and short stay visitors, from across the region, including, Staffordshire, Derbyshire, along with the West and East Midlands.

Visitor data shows that day visitors account for 84% of the total number of visitors to East Staffordshire, a total of 3.1 million visits spending in excess of £155m per annum. Overnight visits account for a very small number of all visitors, however total spending from this group is over £28m demonstrating the importance of encourage more overnight stays.

45% of visitors travel from other parts of Staffordshire and 28% from Derbyshire, with 66% of visitors to East Staffordshire being families, the second highest in Staffordshire and 17% adult couples. Over half, 53% of visiting is for an attraction, one of the highest rates in Staffordshire, with just 5% visiting for walking or outdoor pursuits, one of the lowest in Staffordshire and an obvious area of development.

These visitors have been broken down into distinctive target groups, of whom we will communicate our distinct message and offer.

ASPIRATIONAL FAMILY FUN

This is primarily a day tripper audience that wants to experience the best in music, theatre and history. They enjoy art and culture, films, fine food and wines. This group enjoys East Staffordshire’s and surrounding area’s stunning walks and countryside. They’re boaters, walkers and cyclists. The audience is made up mainly of couples, either on a day trip or short break.

East Staffordshire has a host of family attractions, where families can enjoy the great outdoors, getting active and exploring, cultural activities and events.

Each of these key priority areas has been broken down into distinct deliverable frameworks:

As part of this strategic approach to promoting tourism in East Staffordshire, a new tourism operators forum has been developed, this group consists of key organisations involved in the visitor industry across the borough.

The aim of this group is to align key priorities, programmes and activities to enhance and build the visitor economy as a collective, whilst avoiding miscommunication and duplication. This forum also provides an opportunity for stakeholders to network and share experiences, helping to create new collaborations.

This group will meet throughout the year and each meeting will be hosted by a different venue to encourage connectivity and understanding amongst providers.

The focus of these meetings will be to share key topics, including, marketing, regeneration, visitor management, business support, funding streams and projects.

The East Staffordshire Borough Council tourism team will also meet and engage on a regular basis with key stakeholders, from Staffordshire, Derbyshire and the National Forest, internal council colleagues and attractions across the borough for a cohesive approach.

Key Performance Indicators

Number of day and overnight visitor numbers

Economic impact of tourism

Business and employment growth

DELIVERY PILLAR

MARKETING & PUBLIC RELATIONS

Develop a coordinated approach to marketing East Staffordshire as a destination, improving awareness and perceptions of the place.

Produce an annual tourism marketing plan to give a planned and coordinated approach to promoting East Staffordshire.

APPROACH

Collaborate with partner organisations, tourism businesses and media outlets to focus on delivering rich content about East Staffordshire and its places which resonates with the target audiences.

ACTIONS

Deliver seasonal campaigns which will increase awareness of East Staffordshire and it’s attractions as a place to visit at key times of the year.

Participate in national and county wide campaigns to amplify East Staffordshire as a visitor destination.

Develop ongoing content plans which are aligned to the target audience and local activity.

Engage regional and national PR agencies for increased coverage of East Staffordshire and it’s places.

Contribute and encourage tourism businesses to submit visitor data into the STEAM model.

Encourage and support tourism businesses to submit applications to regional and national awards.

Launch a new online industry resource toolkit for businesses.

Continue to invest in improving digital assets to promote East Staffordshire.

Install new or updating existing visitor signage & way marking.

OUTCOMES

Increased impact of marketing. Stronger partnerships with local businesses.

Improved perceptions of East Staffordshire and its places.

Growth of the tourism sector.

Increased visitor intelligence.

DELIVERY PILLAR

PARTNERSHIPS & SUPPORT

Support the growth of the tourism sector locally and regionally.

Working in partnership with other organisations to influence and align priorities which will enhance the visitor offer, supporting the growth of the tourism sector in East Staffordshire.

ACTIONS

Maintain a method of working and collaborating with visitor economy operator’s across East Staffordshire Borough Council, Staffordshire County Council and key operators to plan, coordinate, align strategies and address common issues.

Establish cross sector operational working groups aligned to priority development areas.

Organise and deliver an annual programme of visitor economy business support and training.

Maintain regular and ongoing contacts with key delivery partners inc, Visit Staffordshire, We Are Staffordshire, and National Forest along with Regeneration and Business Support colleagues, ensuring the voice of tourism is represented in council and partner strategies and opening up cross boarder opportunities.

The tourism team will be an active part of local business networks to champion a collaborative approach to promote the local tourism offer.

Support operators and tourism businesses with ongoing marketing, including website listings, social media content and email newsletter distribution.

Support the county wide study into the current accommodation stock review to ‘nighttime economy pilot and strategy development.

OUTCOMES

Coordinated approach to tourism for more impact.

Growth of the tourism sector.

Increased number of events and initiatives.

Development of operator and tourism business partnerships.

DELIVERY PILLAR PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

AIM APPROACH

To develop a well-defined and targeted range of products which can be marketed to residents and visitors.

Establish an annual programme of events and initiatives to encourage visiting.

Increased sense of pride in the local area.

Work with partners and stakeholders to develop a range of events, initiatives, packages and services for those in East Staffordshire and to entice those from further afield to visit and stay for longer.

ACTIONS

Facilitate and support an increased range of third party events taking place in East Staffordshire.

Launch a Discover East Staffordshire Trail App, bringing together walking, cycling and heritage routes.

Develop and deliver cohesive visitor itineraries to promote longer stay and cross boarder stays.

Develop group travel packages and experiences to tour operators.

Implement the new Culture and Events strategy strategy in collaboration with stakeholders.

Continue to develop the music place making project in Burton upon Trent and deliver the Sonic Boom Festival in 2026.

Investigate the feasibility of installing co-developed public artwork to brighten places, linked to heritage and culture.

OUTCOMES

Growth of the tourism sector.

Increased overnight stays.

Improved local economy.

DELIVERY PILLAR TOURISM SUSTAINABILITY

Protect the special natural landscapes and environments of East Staffordshire.

APPROACH

Support tourism businesses in reducing carbon emissions and encourage sustainable travel and activities across East Staffordshire.

ACTIONS

Host a range of events and initiatives to celebrate national Green Week, raising the profile of green/sustainability solutions.

Support attractions and businesses become more sustainable.

Support increased provision of active travel infrastructure and facilities to encourage less car travel.

Investigate discounted packages or attraction entry for those who travel by a sustainable method.

Investigate green/sustainable visitor packages linked to new itineraries.

Support and promote the Sustainable Tourism Grants available from partners.

Contribute to the Staffordshire and Stoke On Trent sustainability action plan via their delivery group.

Support the National Forest Walking Festival.

OUTCOMES

Enhanced perceptions

Contributed to local sustainability strategies and action plans.

Improved local environment.