Visitor economy : Derbyshire & Nottinghamshire

From Sherwood Forest to the Peak District and all urban attractions in between, tourism and the visitor economy is big business for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire. A multi-billion pound sector, the region attracts thousands of visitors each year to its iconic landmarks and cultural events.

For *D2N2, the visitor economy covers a broad range of businesses, including hotels, restaurants, sports and leisure activities and museums and tourist attractions.

As part of its action plan for the sector, D2N2 has identified a need for more investment into Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire's attractions.

Headline projects include the £24 million revamp of Nottingham Castle, Derby City Council's regeneration of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site and the Buxton Crescent hotel and spa project.

As one of the central attractions to Nottingham, investment in the castle aims to double its visitor numbers to 400,000 a year, bringing more people to the city as a whole. The developments include a redesigned and extended museum section, opening up the caves beneath Castle Rock and installing a glass lift.

At Derwent Valley Mills visitor site, investment in developing parking and traffic facilities, flood risks and environmental impacts have all been put in place to improve the visitor experience.

The £35 million Buxton Crescent transformation into a luxury spa and hotel is due for completion in 2016.

D2N2 is keen for investment in these big projects and to also help smaller visitor economy businesses in the region including pubs, restaurants, hotels and accommodation.

One project aimed at drawing visitors is the Grand Tour 2015 – a year-long campaign boasting previously unseen works of art including Baroque, Enlightenment and contemporary artists. With investment from D2N2 and Arts Council Cultural Destinations, it is a joint venture between a number of firms including Derby Museums, the Harley Foundation and Chatsworth House Trust, as well as Visit Peak District & Derbyshire and Experience Nottinghamshire.

Partnerships between the public and private sectors can also be influential, as the recent visitor economy strategy meeting at Chatsworth House highlighted. Chair of Visit England, Lady Cobham, stressed the importance of D2N2 projects in helping the region's visitor economy grow.

Discussions at the meeting included ways to turn day-visits into overnight stays, bringing the food and drink sector closer to visitor attractions and boosting the skills sets of both existing and future workforces, particularly young people.

Due to the seasonal nature of the tourism and visitor economy sector, employment has fluctuated in recent years, but with more than 65,000 currently employed D2N2 is hopeful investment in projects with job creating potential will increase the number of workers.

This coupled with marketing activity will help lengthen the season and encourage longer stays which promotes the area and is better for the environment.


D2N2 has the Summer of Cycling for 2014, celebrating the Tour de France passing through Derbyshire, the Milk Race in Nottingham and L'Eroica Britannia cycling festival, with Derby's Velodrome due to be completed later this year.

For Nottingham Castle alone, 200 jobs will be created in the construction phase, with the potential for more service employment at once work is complete.

Recognising a number of opportunities in the visitor economy sector, D2N2 also relies on destination management organisations Visit Peak District & Derbyshire and Experience Nottinghamshire. The prospects include a greater dependence on branding, festivals and events involvement, and a more tactical approach to marketing campaigns.

Targeting potential opportunities in prevalent locations like Sherwood Forest, Creswell Crags and the Buxton Crescent restoration, D2N2 can not only improve the appeal for visitors coming to the region, but also invest in the people who work on them.

*The D2N2 is the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.

Source: Derby Telegraph