Whether you are looking to start up a new tourism business, develop or diversify an existing one or grow it even further, Visit Essex is here to help and support you through advice, marketing and PR activities so that you can achieve your full potential.
Please contact the Visit Essex team if you are looking for any particular business support or research signposting on Tel: 03330 130177
Visit Essex research
Visit Essex and its partners commission annually market intelligence to help the media, tourism businesses but also to develop policies for managing tourism. The Volume and Value research is based on the Cambridge Economic Impact Model which is an industry respected tool for measuring the economic impact of tourism of a specific destination.
Tourism has been one of the UK’s most successful industries over the past decade and, given the right policy structure, will continue to grow strongly in a Post-Brexit environment. The Tourism Alliance has launched 'Tourism After Brexit 2017', a Post-Brexit Policy Agenda for the UK Tourism Industry.
The report presents the key findings from a survey designed to evaluate the success of two marketing campaigns; the Rural Escapes and Discovery Coast. The aim of the campaigns was to inspire visitors to spend their leisure time in the rural and coastal parts of Essex and to encourage them to stay longer, thereby supporting the local economy.
VisitEngland research
VisitEngland is the national tourism board which provides research and business advice for all tourism businesses in England.
Their Insights and Statistics section of their website gives you access to a wealth of in-depth market intelligence about the English tourism landscape. Please visit the website for more information.
Their business support page is packed with information on quality, legislation and training. Please visit the website for more information.
National accommodation occupancy data
Accommodation providers can sign up for the national occupancy survey (RIBOS) which provides national data for VisitEngland. Individual businesses can benefit from access to occupancy data to compare with their own business data. This service is free but you need to sign up on the website. All data submitted is handled on a completely confidential basis.
SusTRIP (Sustainable Tourism Research and Intelligence Partnership)
SusTRIP was a European funded project with international tourism research partners, which put together research and models for businesses to use.
For instance:
- A local events impact model where you can input easily collectable data to work out the impact of your events at an attraction or destination level. Visit the website for more information.
- A report on the value of the visiting friends and relatives market to a destination and how best to reach this market. Visit the website for more information.
COOL Tourism Toolkit
Welcome to your toolkit which is crammed with helpful hints and advice for new and existing rural tourism businesses. It is designed to assist you in planning, developing, marketing and sustaining your services for customers. It is intended to encourage initiatives that offer great visitor experiences whilst nurturing the environments that create them.
Explore each of the FIVE sections:
- Getting Started
- Communicating Effectively
- Working Together
- Local Distinctiveness
- Saving Money and Sustainability
The toolkit has been produced as part of the COOL Tourism Project, a European partnership of 11 local authorities and organisations, based in the east and south of England and in the north of France, working to help each other compete effectively in the global market. It aims to encourage rural tourism businesses to make use of their areas’ environmental assets and local distinctiveness to attract visitors.
Explore our county
Explore our 350 miles of coastline, the longest shoreline of any county in England, a place of surprising wild beauty, rich in wildlife and sprinkled with history and hidden cultural gems.
