Connected Destinations – England’s Heartland

WMGC aims to appoint suppliers to support them in delivering the aims and outputs of year 1 England’s Heartland Connected Destinations project, up to end of March 2027.

The project has been formed through a partnership across a cohort of Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs). This includes Bristol and Bath through Oxfordshire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, Coventry and Warwickshire LVEP to Birmingham, Solihull and Black Country LVEP, using the geography of established travel corridors to encourage the movement of visitors out of London (a key objective of the bid) facilitated by ease of travel and familiar places (such as Bicester Village, The Cotswolds, Stratford-upon-Avon for example) to punctuate journeys towards less well-known product and experiences.

Our aim through the bid is to strengthen partnerships with inbound flights to Birmingham and Bristol (while acknowledging the reality that the majority of visitors still arrive into Heathrow) – and to facilitate onward journeys by public transport to accessible, sustainable and travel trade ready products and experiences.

Project Objectives

• Better connected air and public transport routes and ticketing for visitors

• New / developed accessible and sustainable trade ready product for contract (themes: food & drink; culture & heritage; nature & wellness)

• Motivation to travel outside London for growth market segments; domestic and international.

Outcomes

Longer dwell time, increased spend and higher satisfaction of visitors to England.

This is an open advertised, below threshold Procurement requiring the submission of proposals, pricing information and mandatory supplier information.

This procurement is formed of three Lots:

• Lot 1 – Product Experience & Audit

• Lot 2 – Commercial Partnership Development & Market Testing

• Lot 3 - Product & Experience Business Support & Development

Suppliers may bid for either one, all or any combination of Lots.