Innovation in...Promotion Of The City

Manchester is the employment hub of New Hampshire with 68,100 jobs. This number represents one in every 10 jobs for the entire state of New Hampshire. Each day 46,900 people travel into Manchester from surrounding areas to work, making the City the region’s hub for employment. (Source: US Census On the Map)

Manchester’s economic base is diverse. As a regional medical center, medical jobs represent nearly 19% of employment in Manchester. The City is a retail, dining, and meeting destination with 21% of the jobs in the retail services, accommodations, and the dining sector. Education represents 13% of the overall jobs, while professional, finance, real estate, banking, and management represent 31% of all jobs. (Source: US Census On the Map)

The City’s role as the commercial and employment hub of New Hampshire and its proximity to the Boston metropolitan area continue to make for a thriving business climate that has reinvented itself over the past decades from a traditional manufacturing role. From an organizational standpoint, there are several groups involved in economic development activities in Manchester. These include the following:

• The Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce that serves as the region’s business organization.

• Intown Manchester that promotes a clean, safe, and active downtown district.

• Manchester Connects is a grass roots advocacy and planning group seeking to better connect the

City’s riverfront with downtown and advance placemaking in the City.

• Manchester Proud which is promoting a robust public education system in the City.

• City of Manchester Economic

Development, which is an office under the Mayor of the City.

The City of Manchester depends on the business climate’s energy to maintain its role as a regional employment center and generate a stable tax base. This Plan represents a singular opportunity to reimagine how economic development functions work. The following suggestions present preliminary recommendations and a conceptual structure of a new Economic Development Partnership for Manchester. Initial steps should include the following:

Development. This task force should unite the various groups advocating for a more robust business climate in Manchester. Many organizations are working to advance the cause of economic vitality and placemaking in the City, but there is no central “guiding mission” for all economic development initiatives.

for Manchester. The City’s image is inconsistent among groups. Economic development data is scattered among sites, and each group has separate and uncoordinated identities as they relate to their roles in promoting a healthy economic climate for Manchester.

The City’s role in executing publicprivate partnerships, retaining a strong presence with economic development groups, and maintaining a vibrant downtown is contingent on an office that can serve to partner, coordinate, and in some cases act as an umbrella for economic development functions.

The City would benefit from a destination marketing organization (a.k.a. convention & visitor bureaus). A destination marketing organization would help promote and market the City’s local attractions and transportation options, retail stores, restaurants, events & more.

The primary long-term objective is to attract Manchester visitors and develop a strong economy due to increased tourism to the City.

Such an organization could reside within the economic development organization envisioned on page 149 and be responsible for deploying a consistent visitor brand for a city that is the most suitable convention location in the state.

New Hampshire is one of the few states that does not permit a local option lodging tax for municipalities. The state levies a 9% tax on hotel rooms and distributes a portion of that revenue to localities based on a percapita formula. Over time, this portion has diminished as the state has kept the state levy to fund state initiatives.

The New Hampshire Municipal Association has been actively pursuing a bill that would allow localities to levy a $2 per night hotel tax. This bill passed the New Hampshire House of Representatives in 2019 and was tabled in the Senate. Such a levy would allow localities to directly fund tourism and promotion initiatives on a tax that would not impact local residents. Most states require that local funds generated from these revenues be allocated toward tourism promotion. Manchester should continue to monitor this legislation as it would present a dedicated stream of revenue to fund a Destination Marketing Organization.

This model would allow for existing organizations such as Intown Manchester to be part of a larger group that would seamlessly coordinate with city-wide tourism, special projects, development, and public private partnerships.

The Board of Directors could be under the Manchester Development Corporation, but the MDC would need to be broadened to include the functions listed in the conceptual structure diagram.

There are many models to follow to create a strong economic development entity. The City should explore the City of Lancaster, Pennsylvania’s Lancaster City Alliance. Their Economic Development Strategic Plan represents a unified effort to focus on downtown vibrancy, housing issues, regional partnerships, and promotion of small business and entrepreneurship.