Agenda and minutes

Forum members were welcomed by Museum staff and shown to the Spencer Wing.

Forum members were invited on a tour of Cannon Hall led by Museum staff.

Museum staff were on hand to answer any questions.

Attendees were invited to enjoy the refreshments which had been provided by Barnsley MBC.

Joanne Edley, RMBC Tourism Manager, welcomed members to the first joint Tourism Forum between Rotherham and Barnsley and thanked Anne Untisz, Barnsley MBC for booking the venue.

It was pointed out there was a slight change in the agenda and new copies distributed to members.

Anne Unitsz, explained some housekeeping rules of the venue.

Yvonne Pennington from the Rotherham/Barnsley Chamber thanked the organisers for the great turnout.

An explanation was given about the work of the Chamber and members were urged to refer to their packs given out at the start of the meeting.

It was explained that the role of the Chamber is to:

• Help raise and maintain a profile in the area.
• Tailor advice to the type of business due to different needs.
• Advise on a range of issues including training, HR, compliancy issues and legal expenses.

It was reported that last year’s Business Awards held in both Rotherham and Sheffield in October were very successful and helped raise businesses profiles.

Caroline Wilson, YST,  updated on the following:

Business Tourism

• Magna & Hellaby Hall are attending Confex (24-26 February) to act as stand partners.
• Yes project will be showcased at Confex with the Doncaster College ICT project
• A new conference guide will be launched at Confex.
• SY Business Magazine will promote business and tourism in SY.

Ambassador Scheme

The scheme has already launched in Sheffield & Doncaster. A meeting is still to take place with Barnsley/Rotherham Chamber, RCAT and Dearne ValleyCollege.

PR

Advertising equivalent spend 2.9m since April 08 against a total budget of £48,000

Leisure

·      YST recently attended Dublin Holiday World to increase profile of area. Only one of 3 UK destinations to attend.

·      Guestlink V3 is being launched on 5^th February. Training will be available on 26^th and 27^th February at Cent @ Magna or The Circle Training Centre, Sheffield.

·      Best of Britain Show in March in London.

·      Bolton Great Days Out Fair, 7^th March.

·      York Pass scheme – working with VisitYork to promote SY attractions when they launch the 6 day pass from 1^st April. We are the first ATP to work with the scheme. The aim is to encourage York visitors to explore some of the regions other attractions. 8 venues have expressed an interest or signed up to the scheme. Matthew Beck  (Magna) pointed out that attractions will be able to claim half the admittance fee back. Magna and the Tropical Butterfly House indicated they had signed up to the scheme.

Priorities for YST

YST would like to consult with businesses about their priorities for the coming year (form attached).

Yorkshire Tourism Network

From 1^st April the Yorkshire Tourism Network will be rolling out a joint partnership scheme to all tourism businesses. This will be based on the scheme which has run in South Yorkshire for the last 18 months. More details will be released shortly.

Visitor Research

The latest results from the Yorkshire Visitor Survey (up to November 2008) are available at www.yorkshiretouristboard.net

Destination Imagery

YST requested some updated high resolution imagery on Barnsley and Rotherham to aid them in promoting the destinations to both leisure and business tourism visitors.  Needed for guides, websites and press releases.

Training Opportunities

·        Marketing in a Downturn Workshop – 3^rd February 10.30am- 1.30pm at Wortley Hall – cost £15.

·        Maximising Food Profits – Free for one person per organisation (details attached).

·        Venue Meeting for Business Tourism Partners at Mosborough Hall on Thursday.

General

·        Yorkshire South Book is now available to all accommodation partners of Yorkshire South to put in hotel lobbies/bedrooms. Rotherham TIC also has copies for guest accommodation to collect copies.

·        Yorkshire South Website to be re-skinned – new version should be ready for April 09.  Better SEO.

·        UK School Trips website if you want to promote your venue to school parties.

Steve Blackbourn gave the following update on Wentworth Castle:

Last year was the 2^nd year open to the public and a good Christmas for 2008.

First stage of the restoration is complete. It was reported that the lottery bid for a second kitchen garden had been turned down.

2009

• Children’s play areas opening in May and more events being held such as the Cancer Research run.
• Plans to develop a niche market for outdoor theatre with 2 events already planned.
• Restoration of the kitchen garden planned with Yorkshire Forward developing a scheme to secure funding and sponsorship.
• A lottery bid is in place to develop/restore a potting shed, museum, terrace, the access to the South lawn, the gun room, coach house and offices.
• Currently working in partnership with Northern College.
• It is hoped that the new plans will allow larger scale events/parties/weddings to be held here.

Joanne Edley reported to the members that the content of the Business Plan for Yorkshire had not yet been completed.

It was reported that area partnerships are to continue and Yorkshire South will continue to promote business tourism.

Ann Gosse, Director of Development, commented that Yorkshire South  would be leading on events by using events to stimulate new tourism and retain current tourism.

Joanne Edley reported that VisitBritain would be launching their new strategy for 2009-13 on 11^th February in London.

A wokshop had been arranged on 18^th march at Cannon Hall for volunteers and facilities that wished to be involved in Heritage Open Days September 2009. Joanne Edley RMBC and Tina Wood BMBC would be receiving the information soon and will send out for people to attend.

Matthew Beck (Magna) commented that the York Pass will become a Yorkshire Pass in 2010 and encouraged attractions to take part. It was also highlighted that accommodation providers could also help promote/sell the pass.

Joanne Edley commented that she had expressed an interest in selling the pass in the Rotherham TIC. Kim Bellis (Tropical Butterfly House) commented that she had already signed up to the scheme.

Alistair Farr, Rotherham MBC, gave a presentation to the Forum members about the current restoration of Clifton Park. Information was presented on:

• The history of the park.
• 4.5m is to be invested in the restoration of the park over the next 6 months.
• The water play area is to be the main feature and will be fully accessible and free to all.
• The rock garden is to be restored with a stream, pool, new seating and flower beds and will be a potential venue for events.
• The Memorial gardens will now have a dedicated team of gardeners on site.
• The bandstand will be fully restored and will again be used for performances.
• The garden building which is currently dilapidated will be re-built with an indoor room with good access to an outdoor walled garden.
• Tree felling to give visitors better views.
• Work is due to be completed by September 2009.
• Further information can be found at www.rotherham.gov.uk/clifton.

Joan Binns discussed the work of Business link and explained that the 4 Business Links have now come together to form one which covers the whole of Yorkshire and the Humber providing impartial help and advice to businesses.

It was reported that business can get information via fact sheets, the website and news sheets which are sent out weekly.

Business Link also provide a programme of workshops and seminars which cover a variety of topics.

New funding streams are available and businesses are encouraged to contact Business Link advisors before going ahead with any plans to make sure funding is available otherwise the scheme may not be eligible for external funding if it has already started.

Help and support is available for coping with the economic downturn as well as financial planning for the next 2-3 years.

Funding is also available for businesses in rural areas. Contact Chris Franklin at Business Link for more information.

Wortley Hall is currently updating its ballroom.

DearneValley College is developing it’s Foundation Degrees in tourism and business. Support from local business would be welcomed.

The Tropical Butterfly House will again be hosting the Enchanted FairyForest after a very successful event last year.

Magna are to convert all day tickets into annual passes when purchased in February. They will be hosting more all night dance events and smarter marketing through their new website with events listings and ticket sales going live. He gave an update on the redevelopment of RCAT and the Magna Campus.

Delinquent Dogs reported they have currently 20 days of shows booked in with a 4 day show at Easter.

Barnsley MBC reported on a current lottery bid to build a new museum and archive facility in the Town Hall – A decision is to be made on 24^th March. A lift will also be installed in Cannon Hall to improve accessibility as part of DDA funding.

John Wigfield commented that the Tourism Forum had been a positive meeting.

The SouthYorkshire TransportMuseum reported that they are currently taking booking for visits – including educational visits, which are free.

Carlton Park Hotel updated Forum Members on the progress of the hotel after the fire in 2008. The hotel is due to re-open on 1^st March and will include a new extension.

Barnsley MBC reported on a new signature brand including a new website (BarnsleyLive). 2 new hotels opening this year (Ramada Encore, open 5 February, and Premier Inn, a new hotel for the Town Centre). The new Cultural Events Programme for 2009/10 was outlined, which will launch with the opening of The Civic on March 5^th, marketing will commence with a 16 page insert in the Chronicle this will be produced 3 times a year to promote attractions, events and accommodation plus extra print for distributing nationally.

Joanne Edley reported on Heritage Open day workshops on 18^th March for both Rotherham and Barnsley businesses. For more information contact Joanne or Tina at Barnsley.

Sheffield HallamUniversity have students willing to carry out Destination Management and market research consultancy work. Contact Joanne for further details. Voucher scheme for Hotels with Co-op foods loyalty scheme – waiting for details.

Park Inn hotel in Wath is due to open Autumn 2009.

Wortley Hall raised the question as to whether there would be a downside to the increase in bedspace, and whether building hotels on motorway junctions would deter people coming into Barnsley.

Barnsley MBC commented that they had 300 additional bedrooms coming online. There would also be more investment in new events to attract visitors and joint marketing to retain motorway visitors.

Joanne Edley commented that Rotherham had recently had an accommodation report carried out which states there is only room for an extra 80 bedrooms in the town and this has been allocated to the town centre hotel which is part of the Renaissance Project.

To be confirmed.