Visit Great Yarmouth

What Visit Great Yarmouth does

Visit Great Yarmouth is the trading name of Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area Ltd (GYTABIA), the official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) and Tourism Business Improvement District (BID) for Greater Yarmouth in Norfolk, England. The organization operates as a not-for-profit Company Limited by guarantee, funded primarily through compulsory BID levies collected from local tourism and hospitality businesses, raising nearly £500,000 annually in its current third 5-year term (2024-2029). Its mandate is to increase visitor numbers, improve visitor experience, encourage longer stays, and drive economic activity across the borough, from Winterton in the north to Hopton in the south.

The organization delivers a portfolio of destination marketing and event services including the Visit Great Yarmouth consumer website (visitgreatyarmouth.co.uk), the GYTABIA corporate site (gyta.com), printed What's On Guides (100,000 copies annually), PR campaigns, and influencer programs that generated over £1 million in media value. Major events include the Wheels Festival (70,000+ visitors, £3.5 million local economic impact) and Big Tuesday/Wednesday summer fireworks (£3.3 million annual impact). Underlying operations are supported by partnerships with TMS Media (creative), Out There Arts (events delivery), Great Yarmouth Borough Council (infrastructure), Destination Research UK (economic impact modeling), and VisitEngland (national tourism body coordination).

Governance rests with a board drawn from levy-paying businesses, currently chaired by Nathan Race (General Manager of Haven Seashore Holiday Park) with Asa Morrison as CEO and Lyndon Bevan as Vice Chair. There is no parent company, external equity ownership, or disclosed technology platform — the organization operates as a membership-based services body rather than a technology business. Tourism supported by the DMO contributes nearly £700 million annually to the Greater Yarmouth economy and sustains 13,500+ jobs, against 7.5 million annual visits.

Name

Visit Great Yarmouth

Legal name

Greater Yarmouth Tourism and Business Improvement Area Ltd

Website

https://gyta.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Visit Great Yarmouth (GYTABIA) is the not-for-profit Destination Management Organisation and Tourism Business Improvement District for Greater Yarmouth, UK, funded by BID levies from local tourism businesses to deliver destination marketing, events, and PR campaigns.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Destination Marketing & Tourism Promotion Services

NAICS

Convention and Visitors Bureaus (561591)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Full-Service Destination Management (Ground Handling & Onsite Operations) (THAHADAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Experiential & Cultural Programming (Tours, Activities, CSR/Voluntourism) (THAHADAF)

Keywords

• Destination management services
• Tourism marketing campaigns
• Business improvement district
• Visitor economy promotion
• Destination event management

Headquarters

HQ city

Great Yarmouth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. BID Levy: Visit Great Yarmouth collects annual levies from tourism and business levy payers across the Greater Yarmouth area. The BID renewal allows the organization to raise nearly £500,000 per year from levy payers plus additional income sources to invest in events, marketing, and destination improvements until 2029.
2. Event Sponsorship and Investment: The organization directly delivers and invests in events such as Wheels Festival, Big Tuesdays/Wednesdays fireworks, and sponsors various community events. These activities are funded through BID levies and generate economic return for the local area.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Visit Great Yarmouth is the official Destination Management Organisation (DMO) and Tourism Business Improvement District (BID) for Greater Yarmouth. It delivers destination marketing campaigns, coordinates and funds major events such as the Wheels Festival and weekly summer fireworks, produces printed visitor guides, conducts visitor and business research, and represents local tourism businesses. Activities are funded primarily by mandatory annual BID levies collected from tourism and hospitality businesses across the borough.

Product overview

Visit Great Yarmouth is the trading name of Greater Yarmouth Tourism & Business Improvement Area (GYTABIA), serving as the Destination Management Organisation (DMO) for Greater Yarmouth. The organization operates a portfolio of services centered on destination marketing and tourism promotion, including the primary Visit Great Yarmouth website (visitgreatyarmouth.co.uk) for visitor information and the GYTABIA corporate website (gyta.com) for organizational governance. Key products include annual publications such as the What's On Guide and Holiday & Short Break Guide (both printed at 100,000 copies and distributed regionally), major event programs like the Wheels Festival and BIG Tuesday/Wednesday summer fireworks displays, research services including Tourism Business Surveys and Summer Visitor Surveys, and comprehensive marketing campaigns encompassing PR, influencer programs, and social media marketing. The organization does not offer a software product or API.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Visit Great Yarmouth Website Official tourism website (visitgreatyarmouth.co.uk) providing visitor information, events calendar, attractions guide, and accommodation listings for the Greater Yarmouth destination.
• What's On Guide Annual printed and digital guide showcasing attractions, beaches, events, food and cultural experiences across Great Yarmouth; 100,000 copies printed and distributed across Norfolk and Suffolk.
• Holiday & Short Break Guide Printed and digital guide highlighting accommodation and attractions available in the Greater Yarmouth area for holidaymakers and day trippers.
• Events Programme Organisation and funding of major events including Wheels Festival, BIG Tuesday/Wednesday summer fireworks, and sponsorship of various local festivals and cultural events across the borough.
• Destination E-News Digital newsletter delivering tourism news, event updates, and destination information to subscribers and levy payers.
• Wheels Festival Annual two-day free celebration of all things wheels featuring classic cars, motorbikes, monster trucks, and world-class stunt performances along the Great Yarmouth seafront.
• BIG Tuesday/Wednesday Fireworks Weekly summer firework displays at Great Yarmouth seafront and Hemsby beach, featuring pyrotechnic plane displays, street entertainment, and family activities.
• Tourism Business Survey Online survey conducted every two months to gather feedback, opinions and views from BID levy payers and members on key policy issues.
• Summer Visitor Survey Annual summer visitor survey conducted between July-September to gather visitor satisfaction data and guide organisational activities.
• National & Regional PR Campaigns Marketing campaigns including national press visits, blogger/influencer programmes, social media marketing, and TV campaigns to promote Greater Yarmouth as a premier holiday destination.

Quantifiable outcome

• £698 million tourism contribution to local economy (2024)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Out There ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOut There Arts is the delivery partner for the Big Tuesday and Big Wednesday summer fireworks events and the Out There Festival. The organization delivers world-class street performance and pyrotechnic displays, including the Dutch company Close Act Theatre and Leicestershire-based AeroSPARX pyrotechnic plane team.
• TMS MediacoreGTM or Marketing PartnerTMS Media is the creative communications partner designing and producing Visit Great Yarmouth materials including the What's On Guide, promotional videos, and press releases. They help find new stories and push media releases about Greater Yarmouth.
• Great Yarmouth Borough CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGreat Yarmouth Borough Council works in partnership with Visit Great Yarmouth on destination management, events (including CCTV and decorative lighting), and tourism development. The council previously organized the Wheels Festival before transferring it to Visit Great Yarmouth.
• VisitEnglandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerVisitEngland partnered with Visit Great Yarmouth on digital campaigns and the #RealTimeTravelGuide initiative, promoting Greater Yarmouth as an all-round resort targeting families.
• Heart RadiominorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsored weather segments on Heart radio in Essex, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Buckinghamshire to promote Greater Yarmouth as a holiday destination.
• Destination Research UKminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCommissioned to conduct economic impact studies using the Cambridge Model and PRIME model to calculate visitor spending and local economic impact of events.
• Essex Petrolheads Car ClubminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCar club with nearly 9,000 members that attended Wheels Festival, bringing 23 cars and 160 members to the event. Founder Lee Parkinson praised the festival as 'one of the best' seafront shows.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Visit England: National tourism agency for England. Acts as an umbrella body supporting regional and destination DMOs like VGY through national campaigns, research, and policy — a higher-level partner/incumbent in the same destination promotion space.

Direct peers

• Visit Jersey: Destination marketing organisation for Jersey. Comparable as a small-island/coastal destination DMO running events, marketing campaigns, and tourism business engagement in a geographically contained territory.
• Marketing Blackpool: Destination marketing organisation for Blackpool, a comparable traditional British seaside resort. Highly relevant peer given similar focus on coastal tourism, events programming, and serving levy-paying tourism businesses in a single seaside destination.
• Visit Norfolk: The official Destination Management Organisation for Norfolk county. Direct peer as VGY operates within Norfolk and collaborates with VisitNorfolk on regional tourism research and promotion, serving overlapping visitor audiences and tourism business members.
• Visit Brighton & Hove: Official tourism body for Brighton & Hove. Comparable as a destination marketing organisation promoting a UK coastal destination, running events, and engaging local tourism businesses and attractions.
• Destination Cornwall: Cornwall's destination management organisation. Highly comparable peer given the shared focus on UK coastal tourism, beaches, and family holiday destination marketing, with similar event programming and BID-style funding structures.
• Visit Suffolk: Regional DMO for Suffolk, the neighbouring county where VGY distributes its What's On Guides. Comparable structure as a destination promotion body serving coastal and heritage tourism businesses in the East Anglia region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@VisitGreatYarmouth6930
• Facebookfacebook.com/VisitGreatYarmouth
• Instagraminstagram.com/VisitGreatYarmouth
• Xx.com/GYTourism

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Visit Great Yarmouth