_FAQs about the Suffolk and Norfolk LVEP
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FAQs about the Suffolk and Norfolk LVEP
Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) were announced by the Government in December 2022 following an independent review chaired by Nick De Bois. Suffolk and Norfolk were awarded joint LVEP accreditation by VisitEngland in July 2024.
What is an LVEP?
The creation of LVEPs was part of the UK Government’s response to the recommendations of ‘The de Bois Review: an independent review of DMOs in England,’ to reshape destination management across England, reducing fragmentation and bringing coherence to its DMO landscape.
Developed and administered by VisitEngland, the national portfolio of strategic and high-performing LVEPs support collaborative working locally and nationally on shared priorities and targets to grow the local visitor economy.
The LVEP programme was created to provide consistency for travellers and government support for destinations to improve their offerings and infrastructure. The LVEPs play a central role in transforming the visitor economy in an inclusive, accessible, and sustainable way.
Why Norfolk and Suffolk together?
Visit East of England made a bid for a joint Suffolk and Norfolk LVEP because of the benefits of working together with a larger collective voice. Together, our LVEP is one of the largest in the country – worth £5.9bn in 2024 and employing 120,000 people.
Historically we are the North folk – Norfolk – and the South folk – Suffolk – of the East Angles and belong together. That is how we can claim to be East Anglia.
The only enmity between Norfolk and Suffolk should be on a football pitch.
Who is part of the LVEP?
The LVEP board, which meets quarterly, is made up of public and private sector stakeholders, arts and culture representatives, Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) and Business Improvement Districts (BIDs). It is representative of the whole sector and region’s geography. There is oversight from VisitEngland.
There are four sub-groups:
- Visitor Economy Group of local authorities
- DMO Coalition of all Destination Management Organisations
- Skills and Business Group made up of higher education and government stakeholders
- Brecks Regenerative Tourism Group overseeing and working on the Brecks project
There is also a Destination Management Plan (DMP) group of the sub-group chairs to ensure the DMP action priorities are being implemented.
What’s a Destination Management Plan?
A prerequisite of LVEP accreditation, the Destination Management Plan was developed for us by Reith Consultants and involved 50 face-to-face interviews, four workshops and two questionnaires. The LVEP’s fingerprints are not on the DMP, but it is the LVEP’s responsibility and role to enact what is in the DMP.
A Destination Management Plan (DMP) is a shared statement of intent that outlines how a destination will be managed over a specific period, in our case five years, with clear actions, responsibilities, and resource allocation for all stakeholders involved, including government, local communities, businesses, and tourism organisations. It serves as both a strategy and action plan to ensure sustainable tourism development, maximise benefits for visitors and residents, and minimise negative impacts on the environment and local culture.
What does it mean for Suffolk and Norfolk to be accredited?
Being a VisitEngland-accredited LVEP means a seat at the national table for Suffolk and Norfolk and close ties with the national tourism bodies VisitBritain and VisitEngland. This means exclusive access to national tools, training and webinars for the LVEP and its members.
How will this change the tourism landscape in the region?
The ambition of the Suffolk and Norfolk LVEP is to work with stakeholders to further develop the region’s visitor economy through more value and more and better employment.
A key element of this is working to spread visitor demand seasonally and geographically across Suffolk and Norfolk.
As well as implementing the action priorities and strategy of the Destination Management Plan, the LVEP will look to enact marketing and promotion that will attract new year-round staying visitors to the region.
What's next for the LVEP?
The Suffolk and Norfolk LVEP is working with stakeholders to fulfil the DMP’s key action priorities and signature projects.
The LVEP has become a membership organisation and is developing benefits for members.
The LVEP will continue to develop its three customer-facing websites, Visit East of England, Visit Norfolk and Visit Suffolk, a B2B website and a Travel Trade website.
The LVEP will market the ‘Naturally – A Welcome for All’ in promotional campaigns to attract new staying visitors to Suffolk and Norfolk.
Five key goals of the national LVEP Programme
Strategy
Develop a strong national strategic relationship between LVEPs, VisitEngland, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and wider government and national agencies.
Stability
Ensure stability and resilience through increased income generation, diversifying funding streams, robust destination management and diverse governance.
Growth
Join up local visitor economy growth priorities and activities with those at national level, setting clear targets and driving high performance. There will be a strong emphasis on sustainability and accessibility, growing business support and working on approaches to data.
Place-shaping
Provide a significant role in place shaping and economic development, generating better outcomes for visitors, the environment, communities and businesses, through building influential relationships with local government and businesses.
Training
Develop skills and expertise in LVEP teams through access to training opportunities, and the wider sector and SMEs through a more targeted business support offer.