STTAR Centre hosts regional sandpit to shape East Midlands visitor economy
Professor Marina Novelli, Director of the Sustainable Travel and Tourism Advanced Research Centre (STTAR Centre), at Nottingham University Business School, recently convened and facilitated a high-level “sandpit” workshop bringing together regional partners to help shape the future of the visitor economy in the East Midlands.
The event, titled Building the Visitor Economy in the EMCCA Region, brought together 20 participants from the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA), local destination management organisations (DMOs), and leading academic experts from the 海角黑料, Nottingham Trent University and the University of Derby.
The sandpit marked the first time that experts in the visitor economy from the three universities came together to co-construct a shared, collaborative agenda. Through a series of structured discussions, participants identified key priorities for the region and explored innovative opportunities for collaboration aimed at driving sustainable and inclusive growth.
The workshop focused on how academic expertise can better support EMCCA and regional stakeholders through the provision of high-quality evidence, actionable research insights and practical interventions. This aligns with the newly established Compact/Insights Model agreement between the three universities, designed to strengthen connections between research and regional policy priorities and enhance impact across the East Midlands.
With a strong emphasis on partnership working, the session enabled participants to share knowledge, align priorities and identify areas of complementary expertise. The outcome was a clearer, more coordinated approach to tackling the challenges and opportunities facing the region’s visitor economy.
Professor Novelli said:
This sandpit created a unique opportunity to bring together academic and regional expertise in a highly collaborative setting. By identifying shared priorities and exploring new ways of working together, we are laying the foundations for impactful partnerships that can support the sustainable growth of the visitor economy across the East Midlands.
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Posted on Monday 8th June 2026