Visitor economy
Experience Sussex Partnership works to promote Sussex as a place to visit and to support businesses and the wider sector.
The Sussex visitor economy is worth over £5 billion to the economy, supporting over 74,000 jobs, demonstrating its value as an important sector in the regional economy.
This is why East Sussex County Council have partnered with West Sussex County Council to fund a new visitor economy development programme, Experience Sussex - which will transition out of Experience West Sussex and aims to formally launch in late 2024.
The new programme, hosted by West Sussex County Council, has created a new pan-Sussex approach to delivering marketing, business support and sector development, working closely with local, regional and national partners.
Alongside the formation of Experience Sussex, VisitEngland approved Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) status for East Sussex, Brighton and Hove and West Sussex, to champion the visitor economy.
It has set out a new visionary 10-year strategy for growth for the visitor economy in Sussex. This strategy will be delivered by partners across Sussex including Experience Sussex.
Experience Sussex
About Experience Sussex
Experience Sussex strives to be a leader of change, to encourage positive and purposeful visitor economy development in the South-East, creating unparalleled success for Sussex through the development, management and marketing of the visitor economy.
We aim to be a long-standing and respected dynamic agent of positive change, consistently delivering innovative and transformative programmes that have valued impact by a wide range of stakeholders.
Our mission is to enhance the economic growth, resilience and sustainability of Sussex visitor economy by effectively developing and promoting the Sussex offer.
We are committed to fostering collaboration and partnerships across the sector, bringing businesses, community, organisations and government agencies together to ensure ongoing success and positive development of Sussex as a world-class destination.
Through strategic planning, marketing initiatives and visitor experience enhancement, we aim to attract and delight first time and repeat visitors, while preserving, regenerating and celebrating Sussex's cultural heritage and natural beauty.
Our priorities
Incredible experiences
Delivering high quality tourism infrastructure and developing the visitor experience to strengthen the appeal and distinctiveness of Sussex.
Positive impact
Advancing overall economic, social and environmental worth of the visitor economy, supporting vibrancy of places and inward investment. Concentrating on visitor markets and audience segments able to deliver sustainable growth and bring benefits to local destinations.
Sustainable and productive sector
Delivering sector transformation through industry support programmes curated to ensure the sector is successful and resilient, the needs of potential visitors and visitors to Sussex are met and a world class welcome is created.
Collaborative, connected and innovative sector
Facilitating a connected ecosystem to stimulate innovation, creativity and effective and efficient solutions, thus creating a tourism powerhouse of leadership, advocacy, fundraising and inspiration.