New Leadership for Solihull Tourism Forum
Published on Thursday, 29 November 2018
Solihull Tourism Forum has appointed a new Chair and Vice Chair to help
raise the borough’s profile and awareness of what it has to offer visitors.
Supported by Solihull Council the Solihull Tourism Forum is a group of
businesses and stakeholders with an interest in the local visitor economy and
is made up of local hotels, restaurants, retailers, attractions, Birmingham
Airport and the NEC.
The group has welcomed Robert Elliot, General Manager from Hogarths as
its new Chair along with Tim Rudman from Resorts World as its Vice Chair. Under
its new leadership team the Solihull Tourism Forum will be tasked with setting
to work on a new action-plan to drive the local visitor economy in and around
Solihull.
Solihull Tourism Forum is already focussing on a number of key projects
including working with students at Solihull College and digital training
start-up ‘Digital Innov8ors’ to look at ways of engaging with younger audiences
and attracting them to the region.
Another key focus of the Tourism Forum is to look at ways of boosting
Solihull’s reputation and profile as an international destination for both
business and leisure. Recent figures from a ‘Visit Britain’ passenger survey
show that international travel and tourism is booming across the region, with a
28% increase in passenger volume recorded at Birmingham International last year
compared to 2016. The Tourism Forum recently
hosted a delegation from Solihull’s sister city, Changzhou, which looked at
improving links between the two towns.
Councillor
Joe Tildesley, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Tourism and Sport, said:
“We are
delighted to have Robert and Tim on board. They both have extensive hands-on experience,
working locally in hospitality and tourism, and really understand the
challenges and opportunities facing the sector here in Solihull.
“They are
taking the helm at a really exciting time for the local visitor economy and I
am confident that they have the expertise and knowhow to make a real success of
it.
New Chair
to the Forum, Robert Elliot said:
“I’m really
excited to be promoting tourism to the borough in my new role as Chair of the
Tourism Board. I am very proud to be chairing such a forward thinking group of
business and partners, and am excited to see what Solihull as a borough can do
to attract new visitors, returning visitors and the local community.”
Tim
Rudman, Vice Chair of Solihull Tourism Forum, said:
“The Solihull
Tourism Forum plays a vital role in providing a regular and invaluable way for
all of those businesses and organisations operating in the Solihull Borough to
share news, developments, best practice and indeed challenges. Tourism in the
borough is growing. There are more places to visit and stay and the borough’s
location in the heart of the country with such excellent transport connections
and links makes Solihull a very desirable place for visitors.”