Speaking up for our county at the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership Economic Growth Event
Destination Lincolnshire headed to Boston, to the Jakeman’s Community Stadium to be precise, to talk up all the work we are doing for Greater Lincolnshire at the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership Economic Growth Event.
Invited by Michelle Sacks, Deputy Chief Executive (Growth) Boston Borough Council, to present to the region's elected members as a key partner, Charlotte Goy, Destination Lincolnshire Chief Executive, headed to the event to discuss how we have been working with the Growth Team, reveal the successes that this Partnership delivers, and also provide an update as the DMO covering the South Lincolnshire area.
As a DMO we are working toward implementing a new framework, one that we are building from scratch and will deliver operationally and strategically for the visitor economy in South and East Lincolnshire. It's a big challenge but one we feel more than ready to tackle, largely thanks to the blossoming partnership journey we have with the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership Growth Team, as well as other officers in the South & East Lincolnshire Councils.
I see working with Michelle and her Growth Team as one of our biggest achievements, it's given us an insight into their incredible vision for South East Lincolnshire.
We are now six months into our journey working with these councils as an expert visitor economy delivery partner. While we are perhaps best known for our work through the Visit Lincoln brand in the city of Lincoln, we are very passionate about delivering countywide tourism marketing and destination development through our other county projects like Cycle Lincolnshire, Taste Lincolnshire and now Destination Lincolnshire.
Although the past two years have been among the most challenging we’ve ever seen in the sector, visitor and consumer sentiment is on our side because there has never been so much interest in domestic rural, coastal, and countryside locations in England. Now is the time for Lincolnshire to capitalise on this and in-build a legacy for the future. Which is why now is the right time to bring our work and skills into East Lindsey, Boston and South Holland – to work with the Growth Team to drive positive change, spend and investment into their part of Lincolnshire.
This is also a priceless opportunity to enable more 'joined up' working between popular visitor locations across Lincolnshire so that residents and visitors can be dispersed widely across the county.
Already working with business partners in the area, there are already voices that are committed to working with us as their DMO – and it is great to see the Growth Team in local councils recognising this, leaning in to develop their destination in partnership with us and our business partners. For us, marketing is the cornerstone of our activity, developing businesses through new products, innovation, bookable experiences and events.
At the event, Charlotte Goy, said: "Partnerships are so important to us, and one of the most important partnerships that impact on the visitor economy is with our councils. Over the last few months we have been developing a new relationship with the officers in the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership - I see working with Michelle and her Growth Team as one of our biggest achievements, it's given us an insight into their incredible vision for South East Lincolnshire.
"You’re clearly on a mission to build a place agenda and framework. You deliver everything with purpose, co-creating a delivery model with others who share your passion and bring specialist knowledge. For us, as a delivery partner, understanding your vision and knowing that we’re working to the same goals is absolutely critical and underpins successes. This means that we can talk with confidence and represent your destination in our wider visitor economy circles – we’ve got your back when we talk to DCMS, Visit England and other strategic partners."
Currently, Destination Lincolnshire has a huge programme of research and trend analysis taking place; so that we can better understand who is – and more importantly – who isn’t coming to Lincolnshire and how we reach them. You can still take part in that here. Working with partners across heritage, arts, retail, sports and culture, we will also help with the visitor management bigger picture – by coordinating thematic campaigns that move people around Lincolnshire. And we’ll continue to support place making, by making sure the visitor economy has a voice around the table.