Money to boost tourism in Chichester could be extended for another year

Formerly known as Visit Chichester, The Great Sussex Way acts as a Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for the district.

It receives £130,000 per year for its work promoting the area as a tourist destination, increasing the number of people who visit, the amount of time they stay and the amount spent in local shops and attractions.

In 2021, the government ordered a review of all DMOs, which resulted in Visit England looking into new ways to do the work.

DMOs were seen to be ‘fragmented’, so it was decided to move to a new structure involving 40 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships.

In Sussex, the partnership will cover the East and West of the county as well as Brighton & Hove.

During a meeting of Chichester District Council’s cabinet on Tuesday (September 3) it was recommended that The Great Sussex Way continue to receive the money until the partnership is established and the future of DMOs defined.

John Cross, cabinet member for culture, sport & place, said an agreement would be developed to lay out what work would be carried out by The Great Sussex Way up to March 31 2026.

The recommendation will be decided at the next meeting of the full council.

Francis Hobbs, the council’s representative on The Great Sussex Way board, said the organisation seemed to be ‘bucking the national trend’ when it came to interest.

He told the meeting that its website had seen a 47% increase in traffic while most DMOs had seen it drop by 3%.

Mr Hobbs told the cabinet: “We are grateful for your proposed continued support of The Great Sussex Way and look forward to a serious debate about the value we can bring now and longer term to the district’s visitor economy.”

He added: “The most ardent advocate of our local community is ourselves. I hope, despite potential longer term fiscal challenges, we will find a way to continue supporting our local visitor economy with focussed local support.”

A report to the meeting said that, in Sussex, the visitor economy supported 74,000 jobs – equivalent to 14% of all employment.

This compares to an average 11% across England.

Some 62m visitors came to the county, having a £5billion impact on the economy.