Together Visit North Yorkshire and Make it York & City of York Council, supported by the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority, form the York and North Yorkshire Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP).

Part of Visit England’s national portfolio of LVEPs, we are recognised as the official body to support the area’s visitor economy, providing strong local leadership and governance for our destination.

This network of approximately 40 LVEPs across England works in collaboration locally, regionally and nationally on shared priorities and targets. Our mission is to support and grow the visitor economy through robust destination management, strong stakeholder relationships and clear destination management plans.

There are five key goals for each of the LVEPs in the programme:

Strategy: Develop a strong national strategic relationship between LVEPs, VisitEngland, the Department for Culture Media and Sport and wider government and national agencies.

Stability: Ensure stability and resilience through increased income generation, diversifying funding streams, robust destination management and diverse governance.

Growth: Join up local visitor economy growth priorities and activities with those at the national level, setting clear targets and driving high performance. There will be a strong emphasis on sustainability and accessibility, growing business support and working on approaches to data.

Place-shaping: Provide a significant role in place shaping and economic development, generating better outcomes for visitors, the environment, communities and businesses, through building influential relationships with local government and businesses.

Training: Develop skills and expertise in LVEP teams through access to training opportunities, and the wider sector and SMEs through a more targeted business support offer.

​

LVEP Board

The York and North Yorkshire LVEP Board is a collaborative partnership of public and private sector leaders working together to champion the region’s Visitor Economy and to provide strategic advice and support to help us achieve the objectives set out in the region’s Destination Management Plans.  A Framework Agreement and Growth Plan are to be established by the partnership to provide a shared understanding on expectations and outputs.  

York & North Yorkshire LVEP Board Members

Mayor David Skaith – LVEP Chair – York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority
Cllr Mark Crane – Executive Member for Open to Business, North Yorkshire Council
Cllr Peter Kilbane – Executive Member for Economy and Culture, City of York Council
Justin Scully – Chair, Visit North Yorkshire Advisory Meetings
Stuart Paver – Chair, Make it York
Paul Szomoru – Regional Development Lead, VisitEngland
Tony Watson – Head of Tourism, North Yorkshire Council (coordinating the LVEP at the request of the Board)