Marketing Liverpool has appointed Steven Small as its new head of tourism.

Small joins the agency, part of Liverpool Vision, to lead its work across brands such as VisitLiverpool.com and Liverpool Convention Bureau. He will head up a team of ten which is responsible for marketing the city internationally, both for leisure and business tourism.

In 2014, the visitor economy was calculated to contribute £3.8 billion to the city region’s economy, supporting more than 49,000 jobs.

He returns to his home city following a successful seven year stint at Marketing Manchester in roles including head of initiatives and head of business tourism, where his team have helped to grow the city’s lucrative conference industry over the last 5 years.

Steven said:

“During my time with Marketing Manchester, I have been directly involved in a variety of significant projects and I am truly excited to be able to use this knowledge and experience to support the amazing work Liverpool has undertaken in recent years.”

“I am proud to have the opportunity to represent Liverpool and to join a talented and passionate team at Marketing Liverpool. I am also looking forward to working with the incredible group of stakeholder and partner organisations which support Marketing Liverpool’s ambition”.

Chris Brown, director of Marketing Liverpool, said:

“The head of tourism position is an extremely wide-ranging one, so we needed someone with a rigorously proven track record and excellent knowledge of the city region; Steven is that person. He comes to head up a team that has done a lot of excellent work in the last two years, but has a lot of room and ambition to grow. As we increasingly move towards a model of private sector investment, his previous experience at the likes of Ernst & Young, as well as his work at Marketing Manchester, is essential.”