Business and Tourism Programme Highlights

One Region, Many Ways to Shine

The Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) aims to leverage the Games to embed positive perceptions of the West Midlands into the international imagination, driving long-term economic benefits across the region and fostering civic pride.

Focusing on tourism, trade and investment, the three-year programme will catalyse the West Midlands’ growth strategy, cementing the region, and wider UK, as a globally sought-after location to visit, invest and live in.

Underscored by the strapline of ‘One Region, Many Worlds’, the programme reflects the breadth and diversity of the region’s unique places and people, under a single vision of achieving sustained economic legacy for the West Midlands.

BATP in numbers

130 events delivered and attended in 9 markets worldwide before the Games started
WMGC and partners held more than 180 events to showcase all the West Midlands has to offer
We took over 60 senior investors, tourism operators and event organisers to the Opening Ceremony
Around 300 leaders from across the globe attended the Commonwealth Business Forum, the first large-scale event during Games-time

Investment in numbers

Our investment team were out in full force during the Games, engaging with potential investors and proactively seeking new opportunities for the region. The team also put on a number of Sector Showcase Days, which coincided with UK House’s themes on data-driven healthcare, business, professional and financial services, low carbon, advanced manufacturing, future mobility, creative and digital technology.

Here are some preliminary numbers from our data:

The West Midlands’ investment pipeline has risen to more than 970 from 328 in December 2021
Over 400 inward investment jobs were created by June 2022, exceeding our target more than three-fold
Across investment, leads grew by more than 200 and the pipeline of opportunities grew by 8%, while the number of inward investment projects rose by 20% from 19 to 23
The export workstream has started to generate impact with £160,000 worth of export wins recorded and more in the pipeline

Welcoming and attracting visitors

A domestic marketing campaign was put together by our Visit Birmingham team, which was seen in cinemas, train stations and social media in the UK and worldwide. Our data showed that:

25 million people across the country watched out adverts together with an international campaign receiving 160 million impressions across India, Australia and Canada
Our Visit Birmingham website saw an increased of users by 175% receiving 1.6 million visits (July 2021 – July 2022 compared to July 2020 – July 2021)
Our Visitor Information stewards engaged with more than 5,000 visitors

Boosting our tourism sector

The tourism team worked with VisitBritain to host travel agents, press and airline partners from India Australia and Canada to showcase key destinations from across the West Midlands. Here are some key data points from the trips:

6 travel trade familiarisations visits took place with 52 travel trade delegates
Delegates visited 8 sporting events and locations around the region alongside 21 travel-trade ready visitor attractions and 10 restaurants in Birmingham
28 bookable products were developed for the travel trade, which included many of the region’s tourism attractions and hotels

Global spotlight on the West Midlands

The BATP has secured global media coverage for the city and the region – Conde Naste Traveller, National Geographic, Lonely Planet, The Australian, Toronto Sun and the Toronto Star, as well as The Sun, The Independent, The Financial Times, The Metro and other domestic titles – increasing visibility even before the Opening Ceremony. Here are some numbers below:

More than 1,200 media articles supported across the globe
With a reach of 825 million people worldwide
10 major events were secured, including the Commonwealth Esports Championships 2022

UK House

The UK House was a Games-time event that brought together global and local leaders from the private and public sector to showcase the West Midlands’ key growth sectors including: Food and Drink, Education, Data-Driven Healthcare, Sports Economy, Creative and Digital Technologies, Tourism and Legacy of the Games.

Led by DIT and supported by WMGC, UK House:

Welcomed more than 1,500 attendees
Reached over 23 million people on social media
Had more than 25,000 unique web views

Ensuring a legacy for the Games

Our teams are continuing to crunch the numbers and there will be more data to share with you all in the coming months. But for now, the team are planning how we can best use the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as a springboard for growth and prosperity.

If you have any questions about the BATP or this data, please contact partners@wmgrowth.com.