Member Article

New director of tourism for Marketing Manchester

Nick Brooks-Sykes, currently chief executive of Bath Tourism Plus, has been appointed to a new role as director of tourism at Marketing Manchester.

A respected tourism professional, he is set to bring a wealth of experience to the organisation, having previously worked as director of tourism at the North West Development Agency and head of marketing services at the North West Tourist Board.

Mr Brooks-Sykes arrives at an important stage for Manchester’s tourism industry which has experienced significant growth in recent years.

He will be responsible for delivering Greater Manchester’s tourism strategy in line with the recently updated Destination Management Plan 2014-20 and will be guided by the objectives outlined in the Greater Manchester Strategy.

The appointment coincides with a significant development at Marketing Manchester as it joins the Manchester Growth Company, a newly established group of companies whose purpose it is to drive forward Greater Manchester’s economic development in relation to employment, skills, business support, inward investment, international marketing, the visitor economy, policy development and research.

Nick Brooks-Sykes said: “I’m looking forward to working with the team at Marketing Manchester to ensure that Greater Manchester maintains and further improves its reputation as a global destination for leisure and business tourism.”

Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, said: “I’m delighted to announce that Nick will be joining us at such an important time for both the organisation and the tourism industry as a whole.

“In recent years we have seen the value of tourism rise to £6.6bn from £5.2bn in 2008 and it currently supports almost 84,000 jobs throughout Greater Manchester but there is much more to achieve.”

“As we continue to attract increased numbers of national and international visitors and grow our thriving business tourism industry which is worth approximately £822m per year to the local economy, Nick’s experience in the sector makes him a clear choice to help us achieve our objectives and we are very much looking forward to working with him.”

Mr Brooks-Sykes will commence his role at Marketing Manchester in November.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .