Visit Kent is a public/private partnership with an industry-led board. It is recognised by the two upper-tier local authorities Kent County Council and Medway Council, the 12 district councils and the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) as the official Destination Management Organisation for Kent and Medway responsible for supporting and growing the tourism industry.
Tourism contributes £4.1 billion to the Kent economy and supports more than 81, 458 jobs (Cambridge Economic Impact Survey 2019).
Tourism in Kent has never experienced the benefits of substantial national and regional government funding. As a result of this, Visit Kent formed in 2002, developing a collaborative approach in order to fund its operation. What has emerged is a public/private sector partnership supported by Kent County Council, Medway Council, the District and Borough Councils, and the leading private sector tourism businesses.
Research demonstrates that Kent has a clear and strong identity that is recognised by its residents, its businesses and visitors. It has a strong tourism product with a rich heritage, areas of outstanding natural beauty, iconic chalk cliff coastline and blue flag beaches, quality local produce and a vibrant cultural and arts offer. There is a cohesive business base of varied and distinctive tourism interests including historic houses, attractions, accommodation providers, transport operators, catering suppliers and retail - all working together within Visit Kent. In addition, the industry has always enjoyed strong local political leadership and support. It is this shared identity and focus that helps Visit Kent to deliver an ambitious tourism strategy for the benefit of all.
Visit Kent has brought its local authorities and businesses together to bid successfully for many European funding programmes worth millions of Euros; to run innovative marketing campaigns and to drive forward major new initiatives such as the popular Big Weekend campaign showcasing our industry to local residents and encouraging them to be local ambassadors.
Visit Kent also offers tourism businesses access to a sector-specific B2B support network. This includes business advice, subsidised training courses in both classroom and online formats, a monthly Business Barometer to track how the Kent tourism industry is performing and allow peer benchmarking, networking events and much more.
Visit Kent takes a lead in the place-making agenda for the county. Through discussions with key stakeholders, it has developed a brand strategy around 'the Garden of England' proposition and has influenced the recognition of tourism in key planning, regeneration and economic development strategies. It also takes a proactive role in securing hotel investment, supporting the growing cultural and leisure offer, getting improvements in infrastructure and signage management.
Visit Kent interacts at a regional and national level with VisitEngland and VisitBritain. It has won several awards for its work and has been acknowledged as one of the leading DMO's in England by Visit England. Its Chairman is Bill Ferris OBE, and it's Chief Executive is Deirdre Wells OBE, who is also a Family Holiday Association Ambassador and a regular speaker at national and regional conferences and events.
Visit Kent strives to be adaptable in its delivery and business model and has remained flexible in its response to changes in the market, within the sector it serves and to the wider tourism infrastructure.
