Merseyrail marketing executive Natalie Wyatt is to take up a new role that will see her sell Liverpool city region as a global visitor destination. Tony McDonough reports

Natalie Wyatt is to become the new managing director of the Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) and her job will be to sell Liverpool city region to the world.

For more than a year she has been head of marketing and revenue growth at Merseyrail. She starts her role at LVEP at the end of October and is tasked with positioning Liverpool city region as the “ultimate global destination”.

She will head up the strategic development and management of LVEP, a newly established body dedicated to enhancing the Liverpool city region’s thriving visitor economy.

Her role will focus on destination marketing, stakeholder engagement, and promoting tourism on both a national and international scale.

This is seen as crucial in amplifying the region’s reputation as a premier visitor destination, leveraging the unique cultural and environmental opportunities that the city region offers.

Although yet to be officially named, the LVEP has been put in place to significantly boost the region’s £5bn-a-year visitor economy, which currently employs around 51,000 people.

It is a partnership supported by local authorities in the city region and will be delivered in collaboration with the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority and Liverpool City Council. It will be chaired by Tony Hall, Lord Hall of Birkenhead.

At Merseyrail Natalie led the development and delivery of marketing and passenger communication strategies, strategic partnerships, and supporting major events across Liverpool city region.

She said: “I can’t wait to get going and start to make a real, positive difference. I’m so pleased to be part of a team committed to devising and delivering a strategy which places our six amazing boroughs at the epicentre of everything.

“It will be LVEP’s ambition to amplify the City Region’s endless assets to such an extent, that we’re the first destination that comes to mind for anyone organising a major event, looking for new business locations or filming the next Hollywood blockbuster.”

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Liverpool City Council leader Liam Robinson added: “This new collaborative approach is about unlocking the full potential of Liverpool city region and this new appointment plays a pivotal role in its success.

“Liverpool has already excelled in events and self-promotion, but now, by uniting the entire region, we can achieve even greater impact.”