New Devon Tourism Partnership Unites at Devon County Show

Release Date: 30/05/2012

The new Devon Tourism Partnership showcased the first of its exciting marketing plans to promote Devon for 365 days of the year at the Devon County Show.

The new partnership which is responsible for protecting and promoting the Visit Devon brand has united to produce the first combined Visit Devon Events Calendar which will be distributed across the county this summer.



100,000 copies of the new leaflet have been printed highlighting key events across the county for visitors and residents to enjoy as a new marketing initiative to promote Devon as an inspirational all year round premier tourist destination.

The new Devon Tourism Partnership was formed recently and includes the six local Area Tourism Partnerships (ATP’s) supported by the Devon Association of Tourist Attractions (DATA) and Devon County Council. The Marketing Manager of North Devon+ Laura Holt is Chair of the new Devon Tourism Partnership and says that the Devon County Show was the perfect location to launch the first of many up and coming marketing initiatives being planned by the new partnership.

“The Devon County Show is an important event not just for the county but for the tourism industry as well and it has attracted record numbers of visitors this year. It was the ideal place to showcase how the new Devon Tourism Partnership is working and the perfect platform to launch the new Visit Devon Events Leaflet. With everyone across the tourism sector having to accommodate budget cuts all parties have pledged to work much more closely together to undertake shared projects such as this and North Devon+ was pleased to lead on this first project. Moving forwards we are planning to launch a new Visit Devon web site in the summer and will be investing in an ongoing PR campaign to help attract more visitors to the county all year round.’’

Visitors to the Visit Devon stand were entertained throughout the show with live entertainment from attractions such as the Milky Way, Exmoor Zoo, Pennywell Farm, Woodlands Family Theme Park and pirates from Brixham which all proved very popular.

Visitors to the stand were also invited to take part in a high value and unique competition to win a DATA Golden Ticket which will allow a family of four free access to all 40 tourist attractions that make up the Data Organisation which resulted in over a thousand entries.

For more information about the Devon Tourism Partnership, contact: Carolyn Custerson - Vice Chair of the Devon Tourism Partnership, M/: 07968 261845; E/: carolyn.custerson@englishriviera.co.uk

Notes to Editors

The Devon Tourism Partnership The Devon Tourism Partnership (DTP) comprises Devon County Council and the following Area Tourism Partnerships: North Devon Plus, English Riviera Tourism Company, Visit South Devon, Plymouth City Council, Dartmoor Partnership, Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership and also Devon Association of Tourism Attractions. The role of the DTP is to protect and promote the Visit Devon brand, enabling the growth of the Devon tourism sector. The key objectives of the partnership are; • The promotion of the Visit Devon brand through co-ordinated marketing and PR campaigns as well as the provision of a Visit Devon website. • Creating a Tourism Strategy for Devon which sets out the framework to develop Devon as a visitor destination. • Ensuring that there is a quality product on offer to visitors, through accreditation, skills and awards. • Monitoring the performance of Devon as a major tourism destination.