Cabinet minister visits Bognor and Chichester Harbour to discuss tourism challenges

Oliver Dowden, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, visit to the south coast started at Portchester Castle in Hamsphire, followed by Cobnor Activities Centre in Chidham, and then Butlin’s for a round-table discussion arranged by the Experience West Sussex Destination Partnership.

Tuesday’s discussion focused on the impact of Covid-19 on the tourism sector, how the summer is going so far and measures taken to keep visitors safe and the ways the government can help the industry in the coming months.

Bob Lanzer, West Sussex County Council’s cabinet member for economy, said: “Tourism is such an important sector for the West Sussex economy, supporting more than 37,000 jobs.

“We were pleased to highlight to the Secretary of State the hard work of the Experience West Sussex Destination Partnership - hosted by the county council - in supporting businesses and consumer confidence to ensure we can enjoy summer safely.

“We also welcomed the opportunity to discuss wider challenges faced by many of our attractions and businesses due to the impact of Covid-19.”

Experience West Sussex is a destination partnership, which is funded by councils to deliver tourism projects.

As well as being a central voice for the region on tourism and the visitor economy, the partnership delivers local business support and creative marketing campaigns to attract visitors to the area.

Nigel Lynn, chairman of Experience West Sussex Destination Partnership and chief executive of Arun District Council, said: “Tourism has been particularly hard hit because of its obvious seasonality, with the coastal areas being an essential economic driver to the county. With the recent announcement of a confirmed recession, we know that the coastal towns are already badly affected by this.

“Recent Experience West Sussex forecasts (June 2020) indicate a decline of 59 per cent for visits in 2020 and a drop of £10.6bn in visitor spend.

“We are really pleased that the Secretary of State understands the value of tourism to West Sussex. It has given Experience West Sussex and Arun District Council an opportunity to highlight issues and ask directly for support which will help to build the tourism offer for our Coastal areas in the future.”

Discussion participants also included: James Walsh, leader of Arun District Council and cabinet member for economy, Jon Hendry-Pickup, managing director at Butlin’s, Kathy Bourne, executive director at the Chichester Festival Theatre, Paul Bromley, communications director at the Bluebell Railway, Caroline Wood, director at the Coastal West Sussex Partnership and Andrew Lee, director of countryside policy and management at the South Downs National Park Authority.

Visit www.experiencewestussex.com

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