Following a five month consultation period, Visit Isle of Wight, the Island’s destination management organisation, has today – through OnTheWight – published their final proposal for the Wight BID (Business Improvement District).
The 24 page document (embedded below) sets out the five-year plan to attract an additional 370,000 visitors to the Island, as well as generate an extra £60 million of direct tourism spend.
What happens now?
Over the summer a postal ballot of businesses who derive their income from tourism (also known as the visitor economy) will take place.
If over 50% vote in favour of the Wight BID (what’s this?) it will commence from 1st September 2016.
The proposal reveals that the Wight BID will raise £371,000 per annum in levy contributions and between £75,000 to £100,000 in voluntary contributions.
Eligible businesses with a rateable value of over £3,000 will be required to pay an upfront annual levy of 1.75% of their rateable value (or £150, whichever is higher).
What will happen to Visit Isle of Wight?
If the Wight BID goes ahead, it will be managed by Visit Isle of Wight, in partnership with the levy payers.
It’s worth pointing out that apart from a Wight BID sales position (£15k pa), none of the levy contributions will fund Visit IW staff (full details in the document below).
There’ll also be a change to the governance of Visit Isle of Wight and levy payers will be invited to participate in electing board directors.
Well supported
The proposals have the support of many Isle of Wight business leaders and personalities, from the chairs of the IW Chamber of Commerce and Visit Britain, to high profile residents such as Lord Grade of Yarmouth and the former High Sheriff, Alan Titchmarsh, not to mention a plethora of tourism businesses.
The comprehensive proposal is worth reading in full to get a better understanding of the plans. You’ll find a breakdown of budget and financial management, the framework plans for improvement, how performance will be monitored along with many other key facts.
The Proposal
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What’s a BID?
A Business Improvement District (or ‘BID’) is a defined area within which specific classes of business are required to jointly fund a programme of activities, agreed through ballot of the levy payers, designed to deliver business growth and improve the trading environment in which they operate.
BIDs were first introduced into the UK over a decade ago having operated elsewhere in the world for over 40 years. There are now over 240 programmes operating across the UK supported by thousands of businesses ranging from major retailers to small independent shops, from hotels to visitor attractions, and from major industrial sites to small enterprises. What they all have in common is their focus on supporting programmes that have been developed in collaboration with local businesses that address the specific needs and priorities of each locality.
