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Tourism: West Midlands

Asked by Sir Andrew MitchellConservativeDepartment for Culture, Media and SportTabled Answered 3 April 2025UIN 41794

The question

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what recent steps her Department has taken to increase tourism in the West Midlands.

Answered by Chris Bryant

The Government is delivering the largest reform of destination management in a generation. We now have a network of 41 Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) across England and two Regional Destination pilots in the North East and West Midlands. The programmes have been looking at how we make it easier for people to visit those regions and enjoy a range of things to do when they are there, including great places to eat, shop and stay.

In March 2025, during English Tourism Week, we announced that the government is now providing an extra £1.35 million of support so the pilots can operate for another year. The extension will provide an opportunity to keep testing how a regional approach to managing the visitor economy can help drive visitor numbers, increase spending and create jobs, and secure the West Midlands’ reputation as a world-class destination to visitors.

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