BID 2nd Term

Campaign starts to continue boroughwide events and marketing funding

Tourism body’s bid for a second term 

The tourism & business group promoting Greater Yarmouth is set to launch a campaign to win a second five-year term of funding investing half a million pounds a year.

Hundreds of local businesses will vote this summer on whether to keep the Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area going.

The Greater Yarmouth BID stages events such as the annual Maritime Festival, Summer Fireworks in Great Yarmouth, Hemsby & Gorleston, and last year’s new air show. It supports initiatives like the award-winning Filby In Bloom and promotes the area through radio & television advertising.

In its first five years the BID has supported more than 40 events – including the Wheels Festival and Arts Festival – 30 marketing initiatives, and 35 projects aimed at improving facilities from seafront lighting to floral displays.

Over this period the impact of that work has seen day trippers rise from 5.6m to 6m, and the value of overnight stays rise from £249m to £263m. The number of jobs in the tourism sector has gone up from 11,500 to 12,500.

Later this month future anticipated levy payers will be invited to a series of workshops, which will provide feedback for officials planning the ballot processes.

GYTABIA is one of 300 Business Improvement Areas (BIDs) in the UK, which use levy-payers money to fund events, marketing and facility improvements to attract more visitors and spending power for the benefit of the local economy.

BID chairman Gareth Brown’s message to levy-payers stresses that only a YES vote will enable GYTABIA to continue its events and marketing work after October 1.

He says: “GYTABIA has worked tirelessly over the last five years to implement a diverse range of projects to attract the visitors that we want to Greater Yarmouth.

“We are keen to underpin our current success and plan for the future. We can only do this with our ongoing support and commitment.

“We simply cannot afford to lose our BID; It is crucial that you vote YES to the next BID term.”

Having listened to feedback from a range of businesses the current proposals include plans to have two schemes that support the BIDs activity;

  1. Mandatory Member – applicable to businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 and above who will be liable to pay the levy.
  2. Discretionary Member – applicable to businesses with a rateable value of £12,000 or below who recognise the value of the work undertaken by the BID and wish to pay a discretionary levy.

Company Secretary David Marsh says “Whilst we are proposing raising the mandatory levy by a quarter of a percent we recognise that many businesses below this threshold would want to support the BID and its activities”.

The Great Yarmouth is about investing in the future of the Borough – supporting the tourism industry – the borough biggest sector is a good place to start.”

Picture:

Great Yarmouth Maritime Festival – one of the flagship events funded by GYTABIA to attract more visitors to the area.

Media contact:

Issued on behalf of GYTABIA by TMS Media. Contact BID chief executive Alan Carr on 01493 331532, alan@gyta.com, or Richard Batson, TMS Media, 01493 662929, richard@tms-media.co.uk