TMI Annual Convention 2021 - Heading Towards Sustainable Destinations

We will be providing you with a full update of the Convention in due course and delegates will be receiving a pack containing all the presentations from the day.   

Highlights included:

In his speech, Nick de Bois described Destination Management Organisations as ‘Potential agents to deliver growth.. Absolute glue that brings together the local visitor economy’.  His speech was also a call to action for all of our members to lobby their MPs and local stakeholders hard to get the Government to support the recommendations in his Review.   

The Comprehensive Spending Review will be announced next week and the likelihood is that purse strings will be very tight indeed.  Everyone needs to lobby now to help get these recommendations implemented. 

Sally Balcombe, CEO Visit Britain, confirmed her support for the Review and shared some very valuable insights with us.  The picture for inbound visitors is still not very positive, but they do expect things to pick up throughout 2022. 

It was great to have Lord Taylor of Holbeach, Chair of the APPG for Visitor Eonomy for the Midlands Engine, championing the sector in government and sharing his views.

Lydia Rusling, East Lindsey District Council and Boston Borough Council, spoke on behalf of the Midlands Engine and showed us a 'Ten Point Plan for Green Growth'.

Following on from Quality in Tourism’s rousing session: 'Is now the time for destinations to stop tinkering and put responsible, ethical and sustainable tourism at their core?'  we can confirm that TMI will take up the mantel and will explore a ‘TMI Sustainability Charter’ for our members. 

For our panel discussion at the end of the day, we were fortunate enough to have Sally Balcombe, CEO Visit England/Visit Britain,  Nick de Bois who discussed in detail some of the key recommendations of his Independent Review of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and Kurt Janson Tourism Alliance, who shared some of the key tourism statistics from the last two years and outlined what initiatives are needed now to help the industry recover.

TMI Fellows

At the TMI AGM we were delighted to confer Fellowship on Kathryn Davis, Director of Tourism, Bristol and Bath, and Amanda Lumley, TMI Chair.   

We were also very pleased to announce one new, very well deserved, Hon Fellow this year: Kate Nichols, CEO UKHospitality 

TMI Executive 

All current members were re-elected and we welcomed new member, Fran Downton, CEO of Tourism South East, who willl take on the new role of Head of Membership 

Thank you very much to all our guest speakers

Sally Balcombe, CEO Visit Britain 

Nick de Bois,Chairman of the VisitEngland Advisory Board

Lord Taylor of Holbeach

Quality in Tourism

Lydia Rustling,  East Lindsey District Council and Boston Borough Council

Andrea Nicholas, Chief Executive Officer – Green Tourism

Adam Bates/Lorna Easton, Blue Sail

Kurt Janson, Tourism Alliance

James Berzins, MD TXGB

Richard Veal, Simpleview

Visit Coventry

Huge thanks to our sponsors:  Simpleview  TXGB  Quality in Tourism