Our work on developing a tourism strategy for Winchester district.
In May 2025, Winchester City Council started working on developing a new Tourism Strategy for the Winchester district. This comes at an important time for the district with a recently announced Local Visitor Economy Partnership for Hampshire.
There are lots of changes taking place in how tourism is managed nationally and regionally and doing this work helps clarify how and where Winchester can align with and benefit from these changes.
This work has helped to determine the long term vision for tourism across the Winchester district and the objectives and actions that need to be taken to help it thrive. The new Winchester District Tourism Strategy was approved by Winchester City Council's Cabinet on 12 March 2026, and you can read the full strategy below.
Thank you to all our businesses who have contributed to the evidence base through 1-2-1 consultations, strategy workshops and business surveys, and helped share our visitor survey. You can read more about our engagement activities below.
The findings from the research and data collected are published in the Baseline report, which can be viewed by clicking on the button below.
Winchester District Tourism Strategy
In order to inform the evidence base, we held one-to-one consultations with 15 key stakeholders to discuss the destination, visitor markets, challenges and opportunities in greater detail. Organisations participating in one-to-ones included Winchester Cathedral, Winchester College, Marwell, The Science Centre, Hampshire Cultural Trust, The Hat Fair (Play to the Crowd), Winchester BID, Hampshire Fare, South Downs National Park, Lainston House, Wallops Wood, Long Barn, The Grange Wine and Vineyards of Hampshire.
During May/June 2025, over 65 businesses responded to a business survey which is a robust response when viewed alongside other strands of this work. Businesses that took part in the survey represented a cross-section of the visitor economy and included accommodation providers, café, restaurant, pubs, attractions, culture and venues, leisure and entertainment, events, retail, guides, community organisations and attractions. Half of those responding are members of Visit Winchester while 15% were unsure if they were or weren’t.
During early July, workshops were held across two days in venues in and outside Winchester. These drew approximately 60 stakeholders across the two days who were able to work together to identify challenges and opportunities for Winchester, priorities for the emerging tourism strategy and specific needs they have as businesses operating in the district. The outputs from the stakeholder workshop can be downloaded below.
Bluegrass were commissioned to conduct a survey research programme with existing and potential visitors, to support the development of our tourism strategy.
The core research objectives were:
• To profile existing and potential audiences
• To measure awareness and understanding of Winchester as a visitor destination
• To explore which aspects of the Winchester visitor offer carries greatest appeal
An online survey was developed and distributed via an independent research panel and via databases held by Visit Winchester and supporting social
media activity. The survey was live between 30 May and 22 June 2025.
A sample of 1,015 interviews achieved – 330 via research panel and 685 via Visit Winchester – resulting in a robust dataset for analysis. The sample was structured to be inclusive of those who have and have not visited Winchester, as well as local and non-local respondents.
The full Audience insight report can be downloaded below and details the findings from the visitor survey.
From a national perspective this strategy aligns with the priorities and ambitions set out by our national tourism agency, Visit England who are supportive of our work in this area.
As part of this work, we’re absolutely delighted that the strategy has received endorsement from the Executive Director of the Tourism Alliance, Eddy Levitan, It is great to hear him recognise our plans to grow higher-value visits, encourage longer stay and strengthen the visitor experience as the Government prepares to publish its Visitor Economy Growth Strategy.
Eddy Leviten, Executive Director, Tourism Alliance, said, “Winchester is one of England’s most distinctive historic destinations and an important part of the wider visitor economy across Hampshire and the South East.
As the Government prepares to publish its Visitor Economy Growth Strategy later this year, it is encouraging to see destinations such as Winchester setting out clear plans to grow higher-value visits, encourage longer stays and strengthen the visitor experience.
The Tourism Alliance, which represents businesses and organisations across the UK tourism sector, welcomes the strong focus on partnership, destination development and collaboration in this strategy. Local initiatives like this will be critical to delivering sustainable growth and ensuring that communities across the country benefit from a thriving visitor economy.”
The chair, of the Hampshire, Portsmouth, Southampton and Winchester Advisory Board, Steve Lorton has also endorsed the strategy, noting the vital role Winchester plays within the regional visitor economy and how the strategy acknowledges the importance of sustainable growth, protecting the heritage, landscapes and culture that make the district so distinctive. Steve welcomes the alignment of the district tourism strategy with that of the LVEP and both organisations support our collective approach to partnership working.
"The Winchester District Tourism Strategy 2026 - 2031 provides a clear and well considered framework for strengthening the visitor economy across the district. It reflects the significant work that has been undertaken to understand Winchester’s strengths, opportunities and the ever-evolving expectations of visitors.
Winchester already plays a vital role within the regional visitor economy, attracting a significant number of visitors each year and supporting local businesses, jobs and communities. This strategy rightly focuses on sustainable growth, increasing overnight stays and enhancing the overall visitor experience while protecting the heritage, landscapes and culture that make the district so distinctive.
Partnership will be central to its success. The collaborative approach set out within the strategy aligns with the ambitions of the Hampshire, Portsmouth and Southampton Local Visitor Economy Partnership, where Winchester is a key destination.
As Chair of the LVEP Advisory Board, I am pleased to endorse this strategy and look forward to continuing to work with partners to deliver their ambitions to support a thriving, sustainable visitor economy."
