The Coastal West Sussex Partnership is calling on tourism and hospitality businesses in West Sussex to share their views on what support is needed to tackle the challenges facing the sector and to help it thrive in 2023 and beyond.
Business leaders and stakeholders are invited to attend the Tourism and the Visitor Economy Ideas Exchange workshop at the Fauna Taproom in Arundel on Thursday 2nd March from 10am to 12.30pm.
The workshop is hosted by the Coastal West Sussex Partnership and Experience West Sussex Partnership and will provide a platform to discuss the current challenges facing businesses in tourism and hospitality – from the cost-of-living crisis to staff shortages – and opportunities for collaborations which could help the sector grow.
It is the second Ideas Exchange the partnerships have held on tourism and this session will include an update on the new Sussex Visitor Economy Initiative and the development of a Sussex Story, to help build a stronger identity for the county and attract more visitors from the UK and overseas.
Ideas and feedback from the workshop will be shared with West Sussex MPs, local authority leaders, senior officers and other business leaders from across the coastal area and will help inform future funding bids.
Caroline Wood, director of the Coastal West Sussex Partnership, said: “While spending by inbound visitors to the UK is predicted to grow this year[1], tourism and hospitality continues to face significant pressures with rising costs and recruitment challenges.
“We are working with the Experience West Sussex Partnership to deliver support to the tourism and hospitality sectors and we want to hear directly from business owners to get their views on what support would benefit them most.
“Knowledge sharing is crucial for us to succeed as a county in boosting the visitor economy.”
The Tourism and Visitor Economy Ideas Exchange will be hosted in collaboration with local strategic consultancy Always Possible.
To register to attend, please visit the Eventbrite page here.
For more information on Experience West Sussex Partnership, visit www.experiencewestsussex.com.
[1] https://www.visitbritain.org/visitbritain-forecasts-strong-recovery-inbound-visitor-spending-2023