Board Meeting 19 June 2014

Board Meeting 19 June 2014 NORTHERN IRELAND TOURIST BOARD MINUTES OF BOARD MEETING HELD AT CLOTWORTHY ARTS CENTRE, ANTRIM ON THURSDAY 19 JUNE 2014 Present: Mr Howard Hastings (Chairman) Mrs Colette Goldrick Mr Alistair McGowan Mr Michael McQuillan Mr Don Price In attendance: Mr Alan Clarke, Chief Executive Ms Kathryn Thomson, Chief Operating Officer Mr Jim Daly, Corporate Communications Unit Apologies: Mrs Katy Best Mr Duncan McCausland 1. Standing Items 1 (i) Introduction and Minutes of Last Meeting The Chairman welcomed members to the meeting and reminded those present that minutes would be published. He asked if anyone wished to declare interests in relation to agenda items. No declarations were made. Minutes of the Board Meeting held on 1 May 2014 were approved as an accurate record and signed. 1

1 (ii) Matters Arising The Board noted actions completed since the last meeting and updates were given as follows: UK City of Culture the Board was advised that external evaluators were still awaiting some information from Derry City Council in order to complete their evaluation of events supported by NITB. Air Connectivity the presentation by Neil Gibson had tentatively been deferred to the August Board Meeting in order to permit a meaningful discussion. Irish Open the Board was advised that the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP) had now granted approval for the total programme costs, including activation. Tourism Ireland the Chairman reported that the issues previously discussed regarding the Board & SMT Action Plan were to be picked up following the recent appointment of the new Chairman of Fáilte Ireland (ACTION: HH). 2. Key Governance Matters 2 (i) Governance Action Plan An update was given with two key issues noted to remain outstanding. The first of these is approval by DETI of a proposal submitted for non-procurement expenditure including the creation of a strategic partnership grant fund. It was suggested that the issue should be escalated with DETI through the Board, given the need for NITB to fulfil obligations to its delivery partners. The Board asked if a process was currently in place for supporting such partners and was advised that if NITB requires to enter into an agreement with a partner, it proceeds on the basis that the fund will go ahead and develops a written agreement on that basis. The Board agreed to approve the draft proposals for implementation in lieu of final approval and that NITB should advise DETI accordingly (ACTION: KT). The Board was also advised that following the appointment of a new Funding Manager, work is underway to develop a new Tourism Development Scheme (TDS) Manual. Members suggested that the Board should sign off and close out the Governance Action Plan at the August Board Meeting (ACTION: KT). 2 (ii) Audit Committee Annual Report An annual report for the Audit Committee was presented. This had been considered and revised in draft at the last two of the Committee s meetings. Members noted the annual report and commented that greater emphasis should be placed on the work done and the number of targets met. The Board also approved the accompanying revised Terms of Reference for the Committee. 2

2 (iii) Draft Governance Statement The Board was presented with a draft Governance Statement which will form part of NITB s annual report and accounts. It was emphasised that the document will be subject to audit. Discussing the statement with reference to fraud policy, Members cited a recent report by the Public Accounts Committee which had highlighted the need for officials undertaking fraud investigations to have appropriate training for that purpose. The Board was advised that NITB s fraud policy goes into some detail on this point, requiring DETI to be notified and IAS to lead investigations, appointing suitably qualified individuals to do so. The Board suggested that it would be useful for new Board Members to receive (a copy of the Governance Statement) as part of their induction. The Board also commented that Learning Journey on 5-7 June 2013 should be included in the Statement as part of the list of activity undertaken by the Board (ACTION: KT). 2 (iv) Finance Update An update was given on promotion and marketing, administration and capital budgets. The Board was advised that the outcome of the June monitoring round was not yet known and that as things stood, NITB s bids had not been met. Consequently NITB was having to proceed at risk in making project payments, including for HMS Caroline and the Giro d Italia, in the understanding that correspondence received from DETI provides assurance that budget cover will be found. Members commented that the approval of funding to host the Open would create further budget pressures of this nature. The Board recommended that in the interest of creating a robust audit trail, the Chief Executive should write to the Permanent Secretary of DETI formally setting out NITB s understanding of the arrangement with DETI under which such payments continue to be made (ACTION: AC). The Board noted that if the Department identified pressures elsewhere, there was a possibility that DETI might seek a surrender of funds from NITB s marketing budget during the course of the year and urged that the budget should be committed as far as possible. Members also noted that in the absence of a Comprehensive Spending Review settlement, transfers to the administration budget are likely to continue in order to ease pressures associated with annual pay and pensions. 3. Standing Items 3 (i) Chairman s Report The Chairman formally relayed the Board s warm thanks and congratulations to the Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and all the NITB staff who had worked to make the Giro d Italia Big Start such a phenomenal success. He also commended the enthusiastic way in which other agencies and partners had supported the event. The Board observed that the public reaction to the Giro had been wholehearted and unprecedented, and commented that it created expectation 3

to achieve further success with future events including the Open Championship, the Irish Opens and the Tall Ships. The Chairman also commended the Senior Management Team on its hard work within an extremely tight timeframe to prepare for the announcement of the Open. He applauded NITB staff further for their efforts in staging the NITA Awards in the Ulster Hall, once again creating a distinctive and memorable event. The Board was advised that an announcement by DETI of the appointment of new Board Members is expected soon. The Chairman also advised that he was considering how best to mark the Chief Executive s forthcoming retirement. 3 (ii) Chief Executive s Report The report was taken as read and the following issues highlighted: Review of NITB The draft report had been circulated to Members for information the previous day, with the Minister expected to formally launch the report and a consultation period on 1 July. The Board was advised that John Hunter had been invited to attend the Board Meeting on 14 th August and the Senior Management Team will prepare a draft response to the consultation for Board approval at the meeting. Game of Thrones the red carpet event marking the launch of the exhibition at the Belfast Waterfront was noted to be another success. The Chief Executive paid a warm tribute to NITB staff for their efforts on this, on the NITA Awards and particularly in relation to the Giro d Italia. Capital Projects updates were given on a number of key capital projects. The Board was advised of a meeting with Belfast Hilton regarding the Belfast Waterfront Conference centre and it is expected that an update on the operator contract will be given at the August Board Meeting. Progress with the Apprentice Boys Memorial Hall project was also outlined. Government Advertising the Director of Marketing had held discussions with DETI in relation to a relaxation of restrictions in respect of pay-per-click advertising. It was hoped that some movement might be secured on the issue. The Board also noted that the new summer campaign demonstrated NITB s efforts to work creatively within the limits imposed by the Government Advertising Unit. Tourism Innovation Fund the Board was advised that the Department had now granted approval for the scheme to go ahead but the delay in securing approval presented a challenge for NITB in terms of the timelines for the scheme. 4

Freedom of Information the Board noted requests received since the last meeting and also that the Committee on the Administration of Justice s decision to lodge an appeal with the Information Commissioner s Office, in relation to the ICO s decision on a request for documentation relating to bilingual signage. Members were also pleased to note some very favourable comments regarding the consistency of procedures and expertise demonstrated by the Business Planning and Improvement team in relation to Freedom of Information requests. 3 (iii) Other Reports Tourism Ireland the Chairman advised that the TIL Board had met twice since the last NITB Board meeting. The meeting on 8 May had noted some very favourable tourism performance figures and discussed the timeliness of statistics provided by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). Return on marketing investment was estimated at 34 per 1 spent. A presentation was given on Limerick's City of Culture Programme. The meeting on 12 June took place in Waterford and the agenda included an effectiveness review, a paper on business planning and a presentation on the North American markets, highlighting a growth in market share to the island of Ireland, which was enjoying record numbers while visitors from North America to Great Britain were down 25% from their peak year. Audit Committee a report was given on the committee meeting of 3 rd June at which external audit had outlined the process for audit and approval of the annual accounts. Board Members took the opportunity at this point to extend congratulations to the Chairman on receiving the OBE in the Queen s Birthday Honours, for services to tourism. 4. Papers for Discussion 4 (i) Key Strategic Issues As requested by Members at the last meeting, the Board received a paper outlining a range of key strategic issues. This had been prepared before the Board had an opportunity to see the draft report on the review of NITB and Members were asked to consider the paper in light of that. At the outset the issue of a tourism strategy was discussed and the Board was asked to consider if tourism growth would be best served by a new strategy or a more aspirational vision document. Timing is critical, with new council structures due to be implemented in 2015. Members remarked that work to develop any new strategic document must have a clearly defined outcome, in order to secure the industry s participation in steering groups and implementation bodies. The Board s view was that NITB should support the review s recommendations in this regard and seek to take greater ownership of any vision document and ensure it is supported by an implementation plan. Also stressed was the need for cross-government accountability with the new council structures. 5

The Board also discussed the need for the industry to have clear understanding of the experiential tourism message and observed that the brand work currently underway would have an important role in shaping any future vision. Air connectivity was identified as a key issue along with the need for all three major local airports to work together to secure routes and address barriers to demand such as air passenger duty. Members discussed the need for an integrated strategy on tourism and hospitality skills and noted that the review report observes that NITB is well placed to consult / advise on skills needs. With regard to competitive positioning the need for more consistent and distinctive brand architecture was recognised along with the need for a model that clearly defines Northern Ireland s positioning within the Ireland brand. Discussing accommodation, it was emphasised that more bedrooms are needed in order to achieve the targets already set for 2020. In particular there was a need for homegrown businesses providing the authentic local character that visitors seek. Further consideration needs to be given to what accommodation is needed, where it is needed and how developments can be stimulated. The Board recognised the need to consider what resources NITB will have and how it can best use them once a Comprehensive Spending Review is complete and Programme for Government targets are set. Match funding, and buy-in from other organisations, will be a key issue and funding structures are likely to include a mix of both national schemes and local networks to promote product clustering. The Tourism Innovation Fund will help in this regard but it was acknowledged that some hand-holding of the industry would be needed. More clarity was required on proposals for a Tourism Growth fund The Board also discussed NITB s increasing role in event organisation and management and the impact that this has on other key areas of the organisation s work. Members asked if the issues could be condensed into three or four key areas in order to deal with them methodically. Also discussed was how NITB might best influence responses to the review consultation. Members requested detailed and consistent briefing to support them in reinforcing NITB s messages with this (ACTION: LMcC) and in the next phase of Campaigning for Tourism meetings which are currently in preparation. These were noted to be initial thoughts and it was agreed that the Board should have time to give further consideration to the review report. Members also noted that the draft report s main narrative includes a number of recommendations that do not appear in the executive summary and in relation to the proposal for a revised tourism strategy the Board again emphasised a need to secure ownership of the document once produced. It was recommended that John Hunter should be invited to attend the August meeting with a view to approving NITB s response to the consultation (ACTION: AC). 6

4 (ii) Tourism Development Scheme RPSI Railway Works Museum The Board received a paper requesting approval for funding to support the development of Railway Preservation Society of Ireland (RPSI) facilities at Whitehead into an open air railway works museum. The project had already been reviewed by the Designated Board Members who had recommended supporting the project and confirmed that there would be no requirement for ongoing revenue funding. Accordingly the Board granted approval for funding support under the Tourism Development Scheme of up to 1,393,120, subject to the fulfilment of conditions recommended by the Senior Management Team and agreed by the designated Board Members (ACTION: AK). 5. Papers for Noting 5(i) Year of Food - Options The Board had previously requested a paper setting out proposals for a year of food in 2016, following a proposal from Food NI to DETI. Discussions had taken place between DETI, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Invest NI following which a strategic options paper had been drawn up. The Strategic Investment Board had been asked to prepare an economic appraisal of the options. Key issues will be deliverability in 2016 given current concerns over available resources and an agreement on the organisations best placed to lead. The Board noted the current position. 5 (ii) Draft Agenda for August Board Meeting In light of receipt of the review report and the earlier discussion of strategic issues, the Board recommended that the agenda for the August meeting should be revised to incorporate a discussion with John Hunter and approval of NITB s response to the consultation expected to be announced by the Minister on 1 July. To that end the presentation by Neil Gibson and the update on the Waterfront Hall Operating Contract should be deferred to the September agenda (ACTION: JD). It was also agreed that the Chairman should invite the new DETI Permanent Secretary Andrew McCormick to attend the meeting and dinner with the Board on the prior evening. 6. Any Other Business 6 (i) The Open The Board formally ratified its decision at a special meeting held on Wednesday 11 June to approve support for the hosting of the Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Members were advised that DETI had also granted approval for the event. 7

6 (ii) Funding Approvals Designated Board Members With a small number of projects requiring consideration within the next few weeks, the Board discussed arrangements for approval of funding cases by designated Board Members during the summer holidays. It was agreed that the process for both events and capital projects should be harmonised and in future approval from two out of three designated members would be sufficient. Colette Goldrick agreed to act as an additional designated Board Member for this purpose. The Board also discussed the possibility of reconstituting the Funding Committee for instances in which a large number of projects require approval at the same time. The Board requested a short private discussion and Jim Daly and Kathryn Thomson left the meeting at this point. 6 (iii) Chief Operating Officer The Board agreed to procure expert independent advice to review the content of the Chief Operating Officer s job specification (ACTION: LK). 7. Date of Next Meeting The next Board Meeting is due to take place on Thursday 14 th August in Fermanagh. 8