The bull is coming home. Final preparations are now being made to welcome the star of last year’s Commonwealth Games to Birmingham’s bustling New Street station. Once in place on the station’s futuristic concourse the iconic beast will greet the visitors who are now coming to our region.
And make no mistake, they are coming! Indeed, the West Midlands welcomed an unprecedented 141.2 million visitors in 2022, smashing the previous record set before the pandemic. This represents a 38% increase on visitors in 2021, and a 5% rise compared to pre-COVID data.
This is positive news as we all work to undo the damage done to our economy by the pandemic. After all, hospitality and tourism is an important provider of jobs here – in fact, many people get their first taste of work in this sector.
The government wants to recover domestic and inbound visitor numbers to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023. Our region is leading the way, 12 months ahead of schedule, helped of course by the Commonwealth Games. But beyond that success the brand of the West Midlands has never been stronger.
In this column, I’ll explain how a united region, under the leadership of a Conservative mayor and empowered by devolution, has used investment to build that brand. And, in a region where hospitality is a key part of our economic mix, how a focused business-like approach is behind the colour and creativity that is drawing the crowds.
Those crowds, of course, bring money. Last year, visitor spending rose to £14.1 billion in the West Midlands, up by £4 billion in 2021 and, crucially, up by £1 billion on pre-COVID figures in 2019. These figures, from the West Midlands Growth Company, show most went to retail, food and drink, and recreation; a huge boost to our recovering economy.
And, while our hotels saw their occupancy levels rocket, the growth in home sharing spread the benefits into the community. Local Airbnb hosts here supported an extra 1 million visitor nights in the West Midlands, putting money into the pockets of our residents too.
This wasn’t just down to the Commonwealth Games. We also saw the Coventry City of Culture, the Birmingham 2022 Festival, and the British Art Show in Wolverhampton. The Birmingham and Sandwell Mela was the biggest South Asian music festival in Europe. The Rugby League World Cup brought sports fans to Coventry. And in a nod to the future, Birmingham hosted an esports championships and global forum.
Since I became Mayor, we have been building the structures needed to boost the West Midlands brand, worked to protect the hospitality sector throughout the pandemic, and are using local decision-making to direct effective investment.
Behind the razzamatazz of the Commonwealth Games, for example, is the long-running £24million Business and Tourism Programme, that aims to shape the reputation and profile of the region.
Recently, we reformed the West Midlands Tourism and Hospitality Advisory Board, which speaks on behalf of the sector. The Board can advise on policy and funding needs at a regional and national level, informing the region’s domestic and international tourism strategy.
Alex Claridge, chef-patron of the city's Wilderness restaurant, has been appointed as the region’s Night time Economy Advisor, acting as a champion for the region's pubs, clubs, bars, concert venues, theatres and restaurants.
We are giving a voice to local experts and tapping into their knowledge. After all, the West Midlands is the conference capital of the country, and Birmingham now boasts six Michelin starred restaurants.
The next step in our tourism evolution is an agreement between Visit England and West Midlands Growth Company to create a Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) representing Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The LVEP will give us a voice at a national level, using its new status to shape national strategy and activities, and roll them out regionally. The partnership will also provide access to expert advice, as well as dedicated toolkits and training programmes.
Of course, winning investment has also played a big part in building the West Midlands brand – with a constant eye on using money efficiently and effectively, while creating a genuine, lasting legacy. The money spent on the Commonwealth Games not only drew in millions of visitors, it left behind benefits across communities, from a revitalised national athletics stadium in Perry Barr to a brand-new swimming centre in Smethwick. Hundreds of pieces of equipment have been handed out to our sports clubs.
What’s more, the Games came in under budget, with tens of millions of pounds unspent. The Government is reinvesting this in the region to ensure the Games deliver a legacy - just this week our Investment Board is agreeing a host of projects funded from the underspend.
The investment goes on. In March, I welcomed the Prime Minister as he visited the 26-acre Black Country Living Museum, to promote English Tourism Week.
The PM had an exclusive first look at the next phase of a £30m capital development at the museum, which allows visitors to literally walk down memory lane and experience life in our industrial past. The latest development adds a new community of buildings, vehicles and people, extending the living history experience on offer to visitors into the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
But perhaps the most exciting investment we are seeing in the building of brand West Midlands is in Digbeth, Birmingham, where a cluster of media and TV production facilities is taking shape.
As the creator of Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight has played a huge role in raising the profile of our region. It’s my hope that his Digbeth Loc Studio alongside new BBC facilities there, will enable us to tell our story in a new way, while developing local talent and pulling in more visitors.
Not so long ago, the idea of the West Midlands as a tourist destination would have seemed a little risible. Now that has changed. The figures speak for themselves.
During my time in business, running John Lewis, I learned that reputation and brand is everything. The cultural shift we are seeing in attitudes to the West Midlands brand is down to a business-like approach, built on strategy, investment, listening to the experts and then delivering real results.
This approach hasn’t just changed attitudes around the UK - it has boosted confidence here, with renewed pride in the potential of our region. Right now, thousands are voting to choose a new name for the mechanical bull that will soon welcome visitors at New Street station. The choices are suitably local – Ozzy, Brummie, Bostin and Boulton. Whatever name they choose, the growing reputation of our region makes me feel bullish about the future.