As a member of Visit Buckinghamshire and The Chilterns, you have access to expert advice and practical support to help you run a successful business.
Buckinghamshire Business First
Through our partnership with Buckinghamshire Business First, we are able to offer a range of resources to help you develop your business. We have retail, food & drink and tourism advisers on hand, and an adviser who can offer general business advice, including a business review or health check. We can do this over the phone via a surgery call, or we can come to you.
We have many examples of businesses and owners that have flourished after receiving support including;
- Orchard View Farm Owner Jim Mackellar who gained more time away from day-to-day tasks to focus on business growth. Read more here >
- The Roald Dahl Museum & Story Centre was able to access tourism support and forge local partnerships that have helped the business build a solid platform for growth. Read more here >
You can sign up separately to become a member of Buckinghamshire Business First and also feature on their business directory with over 12,000 other local business. It is free and by becoming a member of both Buckinghamshire Business First and Visit Buckinghamshire you are giving your tourism business the best chance of success.
You can sign up for free here >
Visit Buckinghamshire: Boost
Visit Buckinghamshire: Boost is a new programme designed to accelerate the recovery of tourism, hospitality and leisure businesses and the wider visitor economy in Buckinghamshire.
The programme offers support to help boost your business and prepare you for future trends. It is a time-limited programme delivered in partnership by Visit Buckinghamshire, Buckinghamshire Business First and Buckinghamshire Council and is funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund.
Find out more and apply here >
Growth Programme
In addition, tourism and hospitality businesses can access support via the Buckinghamshire Business First Growth Programme. Businesses can access free, practical and high-impact 1:1 support tailored to their business needs via the fully-funded Growth Advice Programme*.
*Eligibility criteria applies
Events
Our aim is to help you grow your business and to provide you and your team with a range of additional skills which also improve the visitor experience. In partnership with Buckinghamshire Business First we have created a raft of support to help businesses survive and bounce back, including a Power Hour, Mastermind sessions with other business owners and one-to-one strategy surgeries with experts.
Take a look at events specifically for Tourism and Hospitality businesses here >
There are lots of other really useful and often free courses available for businesses, from customer care to business finance and marketing, on the Buckinghamshire Business First website.
Take a look at what is coming up here >
Support from VisitEngland
VisitEngland’s Business Advice Hub features a dedicated section containing the support available to tourism businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, from funding to guidance on mental health.
Information signposted to includes:
- Government support finder tool
- Skills Toolkit
- Tips on securing finance
- Decontamination advice for hotel rooms
- Support webinars