Hay on Wye Tourism Focus Group Meeting

17th November 2009

Meeting Notes 

Chair: Luke Skinner

Attendees

Karen Clare Tinto House B&B

Miguel Ferros (MF) Marches TV

David Gittins (DG) Hay Town Council

Anna Heywood (AH) Drover Holidays

Alison O'Grady (AOG) Little Quebb S/C cottages

Luke Skinner (LS) Drover Holidays

Nick Stewart BBNPA

Jim Wesley (JW) York House B&B

Apologies

Lisa Marie Badham (LMB) Wye Local

Charles Drury (CD) Ladywell House B&B

John Evans Hay TIB/Chamber of Commerce

Pauline Goodwin (PG) White Haywood Farm

Amy Mackintosh (AM) The Swan at Hay

Lyn Parrington (LP)

1. Review of Last Meeting

LS had produced and circulated a summary of the last meeting, and asked for any comments/further input. There was general agreement that this was a good summary of the SWOT analysis and exploration of group/destination values. Two additional points were made:

KC wanted to place more emphasis on the point about the lack of good choices for evening meals. Anecdotal evidence seemed to back up the idea that Hay was in need of a quality restaurant. NS suggested that the Real Food Town initiative might be a way to create a distinctive food offer (this is related to the Slow Food movement and emphasises use of local produce).

DG commented that Hay's position on the border could be seen as both a strength and a weakness . Being on a county and national border could make access to funding more difficult. On the plus side, the group felt that border towns had a distinct character, were potentially more accessible and relaxed than the archetypal rural town. The identity of a border town could be a little ambiguous (even mysterious?) and being on the boundary could make for interesting encounters – hillfarmer meets county set! This was thought to be very marketable .

2. Visitor Survey

NS circulated the Interim results of the Hay Visitor Survey. Over 250 surveys have now been returned and analysed - an excellent start, but there is a need to keep the momentum going. The following points came out strongly in the survey:

· Hay was considered to be a very distinctive place – over 90% of respondents responded Excellent or Good when asked about the uniqueness of Hay as a place to visit.

· Signposting – to and within the town – was an issue for several respondents, and could be significantly improved.

· Availability/Cleanliness of public toilets were rated as Average, Poor or Very Poor by over a third of respondents. This was in marked contrast to responses overall – visitors tended to rate other aspects of their experience as Good or Excellent. There were also several specific, unfavourable comments about public toilets suggesting this was a key issue for a significant minority of visitors to Hay.

· Respondents' comments suggested that, during a visitor's stay, more could be done to actively market what the town and surrounding area have to offer. There appears to be a need to sell the destination more effectively.

· The most popular source of information which visitors consulted before their visit was the Internet. Double the number of respondents consulted the Hay on Wye Brochure during their stay compared with those who used it before their visit.

· 60% of respondents are return visitors. This was felt to be a positive finding, but suggested more might be done to attract new visitors.

· Environmental awareness/practice was seen to be very important. Almost 70% of respondents said they would be more likely to choose a business that supported the environment when deciding where to stay on holiday.

3. Mission Statement

Following a in-depth discussion, the group formulated the following draft mission statement:

“Working together to increase the value of tourism to Hay on Wye and the surrounding area, and to conserve and celebrate our distinctive character for the benefit of those who live, work and visit here.”

4. Objectives & Action Plan

Based on the evening's discussion and interim findings of the Tourism Survey, it was felt that the next steps should be to formulate a set of values, and a series of objectives which would in turn allow the group to devise an Action Plan consisting of 6-8 actions deliverable within the next 12 months: Values Objectives, Mission Statement, SWOT Analysis, Action Plan.

5. Date of Next meeting

The proposed date for the next meeting is Wednesday 25th November, at 6.30pm at The Swan at Hay.