JOHN FORKIN (JF): Derby has never been at the top of the tree as a tourist destination. When you consider what we have, we seem to be punching below our weight. You sense that over the next five years there's a great opportunity to attract greater numbers; both day and night visitors. So, what have we got and what more could we be doing? What are the potential numbers and how do we develop that part of the economy? More people are staying in the UK for holidays and looking at different places to go. What do we need to do in Derby and how do we promote the city? David, if I could turn to you first as chief executive of Visit Peak District and Derbyshire. Could you give us an insight into what you do and an analysis of where the city is at in terms of tourism?

DAVID JAMES (DJ): Derbyshire has many assets, but the biggest is the Peak District. We carried out surveys in places like Leeds and Birmingham and they said the Peak District was the biggest draw. We all know there is more to the county than that. But say, for example, I had three tennis balls, and threw them to John all at the same time. He wouldn't be able to catch them all. But if I just threw one, then he would catch it. It's targeted marketing. We have introduced an attract and disperse strategy. This means we attract people to the Peak District and then tell them about everything else there is. The competition is tough though. We get £1.3m of funding, whereas Yorkshire has just been given £30m.

JF: But if you throw one tennis ball at me, that ball might not be the one I want. I might want to go to the Lake District, but not go to Liverpool. Or I might want to go to Liverpool, but I'm not interested in the Lakes. I'm just trying to understand the logic of the strategy. There is an opportunity to promote Derby as a city break to those who have already done the likes of York, Canterbury and Bath.

DJ: City breaks is a very competitive market. You're competing with the likes of Prague. But there is no reason why Derby shouldn't go for it. But people need more reasons to come. We have things like the annual Feste Festival, the Women's FA Cup Final, the Moto GP at Donington, which are all good for the city. But in places like Sheffield, it has its own events team, which actually buys events in.

STEVE HALL (SH): I don't think it's clear what the marketing strategy is when it comes to tourism. Before this meeting, I went on to the Visit Derby website and it wasn't very exciting. If I was from outside the area it wouldn't inspire me to visit.

RICHARD FELIX (RF): We need the Peak District, but we have enough in this city to attract people. If only we woke up and realised what we've got. The fact is, we have a history that is second to none. The reason Yorkshire is spending £30m is because we're catching up with the competition. For example, we've taken the ghost capital of the UK title away from York.

MARTIN JINKS (MJ): Derby has got so much of interest. It's now a pleasant place to visit. It's a question of getting people here to see it. Once they do, they'll go away and tell others. What the city needs is a series of events on most weekends to give people a reason to come. There should be a team organising these events.

STEPHEN MUNN (SM): It's about developing the cultural jewels of Derby. The Quad recently hosted the Format Festival which has been a great success. Deda was not the main venue for the event, but we got around 1,000 extra visitors. For the Feste Festival there is a great opportunity to bring international artists here.

JF: Can you tell us a bit more about Feste?

SM: The first event was in Derby and was focussed around the opening of Westfield and aimed to provide a link between Westfield and the Cathedral Quarter. It attracted 15,000 people. Last year, it coincided with the opening of Quad and was held over three days. It attracted 25,000 people. This year it will be in September and we have artists from Australia, France and Spain coming. It is going to be bigger and better. Festivals are a great way of attracting new visitors to the city.

JF: What do you think, David?

DAVID STANBRIDGE (DS): There are two issues. I don't think we market the city effectively and we're not joined up. How do we welcome tourists to the city? Do we do enough to promote the quality here? In the past five years the standard of restaurants in Derby has grown, but do tourists know how to find them?

JF: I think it's worth mentioning Stella Birks, visitor services development manager at Derby City Council, was due to join us but couldn't because she is ill. She would've been able to give us an insight into what the council is doing to address some of these issues.

VICTORIA FLANAGAN (VF): We're finding, and it's not just Kedleston Hall, the National Trust is also seeing it too, that the economy has been very positive for us. One of my key aims is to work with Westfield and create a link so that when people come to Derby, they know what else is out there.

JF: If I could bring in Rachel. Your company, Jurys Inn, has built a new hotel in the city. You're looking at this with fresh eyes. Derby is a business city. Monday to Friday hotel rooms are full of visitors from around the globe doing business with the likes of Rolls-Royce and Citi. But at the weekend it is a major challenge to fill these rooms. Why is Jurys investing in the city?

RACHEL STRANGE (RS): The whole process has taken about four years. We have spoken to key people in the city and found out how it has grown. We do not invest £20m haphazardly. We see Derby as an up-and-coming city so we were happy to invest. I think there is potential for offering packages to visitors, whether they be on business, a city break or a family holiday. We are therefore keen to work with others in the city to offer these packages. I'm from Belfast, but already I have a passion for Derby.

JF: Belfast has gone on something of a journey in a rapid amount of time. It's now very popular for tourism. Is there anything Derby could learn?

RS: The Belfast Visitor and Convention Bureau did a lot of work to bring visitors in. The city also became more accessible thanks to cheap flights from the UK. Belfast is even making the most of its bad times with tours of areas such as Shankhill.

JF: What are your thoughts, Jim?

JIM ORIBINE (JO): When you look at other cities that have undergone a transformation they've all had certain things. They've had a vision about what they want to be. They've had ambition, and they've had the resources. Places like Sheffield and Newcastle have had these ingredients – vision, ambition and resources. Derby already has the passion, but I don't think it has these other important elements. I don't believe the city council has the vision, ambition or the willingness to commit the resources. Stella is doing the best she can and it is a shame that she is not here because she would probably tell us what is being planned. But Derby needs a joined-up plan. I'm sensing that all the elements are probably here, but they need bringing together.

SH: There seems to be echoes here of the cultural debate we had some time ago at another Big Talk. We need to be thinking both short term and long term. I don't think enough consideration is given to the local market. We don't do anything to celebrate and market Derby's history. There isn't a decent heritage trail. There should be monuments in the city centre celebrating our industrial heritage in rail and aviation. Attracting people from the surrounding area to spend a day here is quite achievable. But there doesn't seem to be any plan of what we can do in the short, medium and long term.

JF: Do you think it's an issue of self-confidence? Is it difficult for local people to see Derby as a destination like York? One of the hooks for Derby is that it is the real ale capital. I have to admit I wasn't all that enthusiastic to start off with. Then a few weeks ago in the Toronto Globe I saw a three-page special on Derby as real ale capital of the UK. It said if you want to experience real pub culture go to Derby not London. I spoke to the Canadian journalists who wrote the piece and they said Derby was a real jewel. Is it about being brave enough to talk about Derby as a destination?

MJ: I think it's about leadership. Thanks to the work you've done, John, Derby is now known as a place to do business. The same needs to be done for tourism.

RF: I don't think we do enough to promote what we have in the city to local people. At the end of one of my ghost walks, which includes a lot about Derby's history, someone at the end said "You've just made all that stuff up,".

JF: Don't tell me someone was questioning the reality of ghosts?

RF: (LAUGHS) He wouldn't believe the history either.

DJ: A major asset for the city is that it is in a World Heritage Site. The Silk Mill was the site of the world's first factory 250 years ago. What we need in Derby is something with the wow factor to celebrate this. If the Industrial Museum is the embodiment of that, then I'm sorry, but that is not a great asset.

RF: Other places that have World Heritage Status include the pyramids, the Grand Canyon and the Taj Mahal. You'd need a set of binoculars if you want to see the World Heritage plaque on the side of the Silk Mill.

JO: World Heritage Status does not necessarily mean more visitors. But from having the first factory to being a high-tech engineering city is an incredible story unique to Derby. You could celebrate it as a visitor attraction.

VF: But it would have to be viable. I was once involved in a project in Sheffield, the National Centre for Popular Music. Just a week after it opened I knew it was going to be a disaster.

JF: One of Derby's jewels is Joseph Wright. His work is very popular at the National Gallery in London. We have some of his best stuff here in Derby, but it is so difficult to find. It might not be a silver bullet, but it is just one of the assets we have. But it's how we package it.

GEOFFREY SHIRT (GS): We've got to learn from the successes of things like Feste. The university has taken over the Playhouse and intends to build on its reputation, and it is going to be key to the city's offer. Things are happening. We just all need to pull together.

SM: The question is who will be the person to glue it all together?

JO: The city council would have to be part of it, but I wouldn't look to the city council to make it happen.

SH: The situation with the Industrial Museum sums it up. It fell at the first hurdle when it applied for lottery funding.

JF: It was certainly an opportunity missed. But I think another plan is being cooked up. But I don't think Jim is saying that once Derby has a "super attraction" then everything's sorted. It is about how we package and promote things.

DS: I don't think the name Visit Peak District and Derbyshire helps the city.

DJ: We're doing an awful lot to promote the city. We definitely need more resources to do this. We're probably the worst-funded tourism body, yet we have the biggest assets.

MJ: One thing that annoyed me was that I was on a BMI Baby flight the other week and I picked up a brochure which outlined things to do. Guess what was under East Midlands?

DJ: Go to Nottingham.

MJ: Yes. I was really disappointed. It didn't say anything about the Peak District. Derby should be included in these things.

SH: What is worrying is that if people do want to get tourist information, the website is absolute rubbish.

RS: I have to agree. It is only since I've been in Derby that I've realised what it really has to offer. It also seems to me that a lot of the packages are aimed at local people; real ale, ghosts and Derby County. It's not very imaginative.

DJ: We have to bat with whatever we are given. You can't invent the product.

RF: I think they should get away from saying visit historic Nottingham and see the Peak District. It should be visit Derby and visit the Peak District. The good thing is we're waking up to this.

JF: So, to conclude, it would seem that the development of Derby's tourism sector is in the early stages of transition. But we have identified important issues that need some serious looking at. There seems to be a great sense that there is an opportunity for Derby to punch much better. Tourism can be an important part of our economy. We need to step up our game. The question is how we bring together all the elements; vision, ambition and resources. If we carry on the way we are we will get better but it will not be enough to make a big change. But the fact that the city has improved tremendously in the last 15 months shows that anything is possible.