Mayor's View: Let’s get tourism in Peterborough moving

We’re a well-connected city by both rail and road. We’re a gateway to the East and with a rich history and heritage. Our 900-year-old Cathedral, Ferry Meadows, the Nene Valley Railway, Flag Fen, our museums and historic buildings, and places for food, drink, fun and entertainment. Why don’t we get more attention?

I’m passionate about this city, but even that aside, there’s absolutely no reason why Peterborough shouldn’t be a top tourism destination.

We’re missing ambition. Now, as Mayor, I’m in a position to do something about it. This month, I met with Visit England, the national tourist board, and we’re going to make a business case for a Local Visitor Economy Partnership for Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

But what is it?

Well, if successful, this will help our region – including Peterborough – to work better together across boundaries, while also giving us a direct link into Visit England’s promotion of the UK nationally and globally. That means really selling what we have here, putting Peterborough more firmly on the map for visitors, investors, and events. It will also mean we are in a much better position to bid for national investment to support our tourism sector.

I’ve made it a priority as Mayor to bring the region together. I’ll chair this partnership and get it moving – working with the City Council and other regional partners – pushing everyone to think big.

We need to work as a pack and make the region more than the sum of its parts as a place for visitors. People coming from around the country or abroad are not concerned about city borders. Let’s stop working in isolation.

Getting this right will mean more jobs, stronger businesses, and ensure more money flows back into the heritage and cultural assets that make this such a unique destination.

And alongside this, I want to invest directly into what makes us special. Proposals I kick-started will put in £300,000 to upgrade of Peterborough Cathedral’s outdated lighting system, making the building safer, more accessible, and capable of hosting a wider range of events. That means more people through the doors, more revenue to sustain the Cathedral, and more trade for the city’s shops, restaurants and hotels. The Combined Authority’s Funding Committee has already backed it, and final approval for the money rests with our Board, which I chair, and is meeting next week.

And by linking our strengths with the wider region through a Destination Management Plan – another piece of work we’re developing – we can present a package to tourists that really is exciting. Whether it’s history, culture, entertainment or countryside, we’ll be putting forward a clear, joined-up story about why our region is worth visiting.

I know there have been criticisms about how this city has been promoted. But it’s time to move forward, with positivity.

Because when we work together, everybody benefits. My mission is to get Peterborough moving – and that includes getting our visitor economy moving too.

Our city's tourism potential has gone untapped for too long.