The Deputy Chief Executive / Director of Corporate Services submitted a report upon a more strategic approach that had been taken, to help local tourism businesses sustain and increase trade, during the current national economic downturn. Immediate action was necessary, so the Council’s Destination Marketing Office (DMO) had been working closely with The Mersey Partnership (TMP) and the other Merseyside boroughs, to develop a joint three-year “Partners for Tourism Growth” project for European funds. The Wirral element of the bid, from the Northwest Development Agency’s (NWDA) operational programme, would directly help local tourism businesses market their products and services to potential and existing visitors, more effectively and efficiently.

The Director reported that the total cost of the Wirral element of the three year project would be £600,000, of which £300,000 was a European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) grant, matched against £300,000 from the Council’s existing budget (i.e. DMO staff time and the marketing budget).

Resolved – That to enable the Wirral element of the “Partners for Tourism Growth” project to be successfully delivered, an allocation of £300,000, from the Council’s existing resources, (i.e. Destination Marketing Office staff time and marketing budget), be approved over the three-year period stated, thus enabling an application for £300,000, of European Regional Development Funds, to be secured from the Northwest Development Agency’s operational programme.