Airbnb, the online platform which lets property owners rent out their houses and apartments, is backing Birmingham and the West Midland to enjoy a post-Commonwealth Games tourism boom. The US company has earmarked £500,000 in new funding which it hopes will "preserve, celebrate and showcase" the West Midlands' cultural assets and attract visitors from across the world.
The tech firm, which was the official hosting provider for Birmingham 2022, said the new capital would be invested in community-led tourism projects in partnership with the inward investment agency West Midlands Growth Company.
The funding will be used for a series of different initiatives including developing a marketing plan, launching a campaign in partnership with Visit Birmingham to increase visitor numbers and investing in training for Airbnb 'hosts'.
A project to create a piece of public art, called the Ribbons' Birmingham AIDS & HIV Memorial, will also receive £30,000 of funding. The artwork is aiming to remember those lost, educate those living and celebrate those having healthier and longer lives while living with HIV.
This announcement builds on the financial opportunity that hosting has created for people across the West Midlands during the games to rent out their properties to domestic and international visitors keen to try staying somewhere different to the ubiquitous hotel chains peppered across the region.
Airbnb said it hoped the funding would create a positive legacy to attract more visitors, create new earnings potential for families and preserve what makes communities across the region special for years to come.
General manager for northern Europe Amanda Cupples said: "The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games showed to the world, and the rest of the UK, just how much Birmingham and the West Midlands has to offer. At the same time, the games unlocked new economic opportunities for local families battling a difficult cost of living crisis who were able to boost their income by hosting visitors from across the globe.
"As we look to the future, creating a lasting legacy will be as important as the games itself and we look forward to working with the West Midlands Growth Company to boost tourism in the region and highlight the value of community led tourism as an integral part of the visitor economy."
West Midlands Mayor Andy Street added: "I have always been clear that the Commonwealth Games would be about so much more than the sport - it has to be about the legacy we leave behind for generations to come. This is why I fought so hard for Birmingham and the wider West Midlands to win the games in the first place and why I'm so delighted to see Airbnb committing this substantial sum.
"It is another vote of confidence from a major firm in our region but more significantly this commitment will help preserve the cultural legacy of the games - something that is mission critical after the success of the last 11 days."
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