The long-standing ‘Enjoy Redcar & Cleveland’ tourism brand is to be ditched as part of a revamp aimed at reflecting the borough’s “distinctiveness and character”.
A report for the council’s cabinet said it “no longer reflects the ambition, scale or direction of the borough’s cultural, heritage and destination offer”.
As part of the planned change, a five month contract was awarded earlier this year to a marketing firm tasked with developing a new “brand identity”, based on simply ‘Visit Redcar & Cleveland’.
The spending decision report said: “The branding will be complementary to the council’s main branding and will include sub brands for Kirkleatham Museum and the Saltburn Cliff Tramway, along with a brand hierarchy and guidelines of usage across the culture and tourism team and the wider council.
“The new brand will underpin future work in digital transformation, including a full website redevelopment that will be procured separately.”
The initial cost of providing a “refreshed, coherent and future-focused brand identity” has been put at more than £15,000, as per the contract signed with the external agency, but further costs are expected to follow, albeit budgeted for.
The report said the council did not have the resources to deliver the rebrand in-house and the aim was to attract a wider audience to Redcar and Cleveland.
The new branding is expected to be delivered by September with a new website to follow early next year.
Comment from council
A council spokesman told the Local Democracy Reporting Service it was a “relatively small, but important piece of investment”.
The spokesman said: “Moving from ‘Enjoy Redcar & Cleveland’ to ‘Visit Redcar & Cleveland’ brings us more in line with national tourism organisations and gives greater clarity to audiences.
“Crucially, it helps position the borough not just as a day-trip destination, but as somewhere people choose to stay longer, supporting local businesses and increasing economic impact.
“It’s essential we have a strong, modern and consistent brand that can be applied effectively across all platforms and campaigns, helping to raise our profile as a leading tourism destination.”
The spokesman said the current Enjoy Redcar & Cleveland website was “outdated and no longer performs as effectively as it needs to”.
He said the new website would be fully accessible, designed with mobile use in mind, and will provide improved functionality to better showcase the area’s attractions, events and experiences.
The spokesman added: “The work is being funded through an amount of money already set aside to deliver the actions within the destination management plan, so this is a planned investment rather than a new or unexpected cost.
“Work is progressing well. Our appointed agency has completed an initial audit and is now engaging with key stakeholders across the sector.
“Partner surveys will be issued shortly to help shape the new identity before creative concepts are developed.”
In 2024 Redcar and Cleveland welcomed an estimated 4.4m visitors, a 16.5% increase on figures recorded before the coronavirus pandemic, which decimated the tourism industry and related sectors such as hospitality.
But day visitors still dominate the market, with Saltburn remaining by far the borough’s most popular location, amid a push to further grow the offering provided across the borough.
The council’s destination management plan sets the target of increasing the volume of overnight stays, along with the amount spent per (visitor) head at the same time.
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