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Talks begin on city’s visitor economy strategy Tourism body’s chief said: It’s ‘We were safe. We were not W time for decisions on the future sleeping with one eye open’ ork is under way on a new strategy for the visitor economy of Milton Keynes. The city’s destination management organisation Destination Milton Keynes has opted to plough its own furrow, having previously considered alliances with fellow tourism organisations Visit Bedfordshire, Northants Surprise and Visit Buckinghamshire. The decision comes in the wake of the government’s and national tourism body Visit England’s decision to reduce the number of Destination Management Organisations in the UK from 180 to 40. Destination Milton Keynes has chosen to apply for Local Visitor Economy Partnership status, still under the auspices of Visit England but in charge of its own local tourism and visitor economy. “We believe that we need a coherent visitor economy strategy for the next five to ten years that will crystallise where we need to go and what the city will be like in ten years time,” said Destination Milton Keynes chief executive Ian Stuart. DMK has completed the appointment of a new tourism
strategy head, which has already begun work on the plan. The draft strategy is expected to be completed by the end of March next year and will be presented to the city, including its business community, for feedback. Mr Stuart (inset) said: “It is important to recognise that Milton Keynes is at a moment as a city. “We have city status and from a visitor economy point of view we need to make some decisions about what we do, where we go and how the city is perceived both outside and by its residents.” Speaking to an audience of businesspeople at the City Breakfast Club networking group, Mr Stuart said that Milton Keynes is now an economic powerhouse, with a GVA higher than Oxford and Cambridge combined and a
GVA per capital higher than any other location outside of London. He added: “One of the issues we have as a city is that we do not realise just how important a place we are.” Mr Stuart took over as chief executive in 2019, during which time DMK has launched a new website and social media plan that has seen website visitors rise from 10,000 per month in the first year to a current 28,000 per month. Its social media activity has been transformed, with impressions of 679,000 two years ago increasing to 2.1 million in 2023. “We are becoming a force to be reckoned with,” Mr Stuart said. “We have a fantastic city yet we do not have a visitor economy strategy, a plan
We hope the strategy will point towards investment, collaboration and engagement.
Accountants pledge fundraising support
Michelle Horsman Above left: Simon and Emily Penwright
mployees of one of the Big Four accountancy firms have chosen to support a Milton Keynesbased charity through a year of fundraising. Staff working at EY’s office in Luton voted for Brain Tumour Research as its charity of the year following a nomination by senior manager Michelle Horsman. Ms Horsman, who heads the office’s corporate responsibility team with colleague Amaan Baig, became aware of the charity after her mum died in October 2021 ten weeks after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour. A launch event took place in September to kickstart the office’s fundraising, attended by speaker Simon Penwright from Stewkley, who has a
same feeling of hopelessness. I do not want anybody else to have to go through that. More has to be done to help and supporting Brain Tumour Research is our way of doing that.” Brain Tumour Research funds sustainable research at dedicated centres in the UK. It also campaigns for the government and larger cancer charities to invest more in research into brain tumours in order to speed up new treatments to find a cure. “Michelle and Simon’s stories are, sadly, not unique,” said the charity’s community development manager Charlie Allsebrook. “We are so grateful to EY’s employees for their support. We are excited to see where the team’s fundraising work takes us over the next year.”
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multifocal glioblastoma and is now receiving end of life care, and his wife Emily. “What Simon and Emily had to say was very powerful, and not easy to listen to,” said Ms Horsman. “I found it particularly difficult because I lost my mum to the same type of tumour Simon has two years ago.” Fundraising is under way, with EY staff joining Brain Tumour Research’s Luton Walk of Hope in September and enjoying a Halloween bingo game. In the pipeline is a winter appeal and other fundraising plans. “My hope for the future is that there is hope because we had none with my mum,” said Ms Horsman. “Parents at the Luton Walk of Hope, who had lost children to the disease, had experienced that
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of what we want to aim for. Milton Keynes needs its own tourism and visitor economy strategy and this tourism strategy will be a step change in how the city sees itself.” DMK currently has a membership of around 60 visitor economy organisations including hotels, conference centres, visitor attractions and other arts and culture venues. Each pays £500 a year for membership. At its current funding levels, Destination Milton Keynes is struggling to achieve what it would like to achieve. ”You do the maths,” said Mr Stuart. “We do our best to promote what we have and we have some fantastic venues, places to go and things to do but if I had more resources and funding there is so much more we could do. “We are hoping that the strategy will point towards investment, collaboration and engagement with bodies outside the city and working with business based here to become part of the overall visitor economy because they realise that their people are so closely linked to our visitor economy.”
>> From page 1 “It sounds churlish to say after one night that we now know what sleeping rough is like but it gives you a glimpse and it is something you can appreciate more fully,” said CEO Sleepout ambassador Amanda Wright. “We were in as much of a realistic situation as we could be but what we did not have was the risk. We were safe, we were not sleeping with one eye open in fear of abuse from the public and it must be exhausting to feel that every night.” She took part in the sleepout, using a survival bag in which to sleep. “If I was going to give one thing to a homeless person, it would be one of those bags - they are invaluable.” According to the homeless charity Shelter, 2,336 people were housed in temporary accommodation across Milton Keynes last
year. On any given night, 18 people slept rough. “That equates to one in every 122 people in Milton Keynes who go to bed without a secure roof over their head. That is a shocking figure in this day and age,” said CEO Sleepout chief executive Bianca Robinson. “The aim of CEO Sleepout is to bring awareness and unlock compassion around this, all while raising big money for charities who work so hard to help people change their lives.” For many taking part, raising awareness of the plight of the homeless is as important as the money raised by CEO Sleepout. “It is one night when you might feel some discomfort but it is an easy way to help to raise awareness and make a difference,” said Ms Wright, who has raised more than £1,300 from her own sleepout.
Business MK | December 2023
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