A Heart of Devon branding reflects commitment to tourism by Tourism Partnership

Monday 27 September 2010 A local Tourism Partnership covering the areas of East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon and parts of Teignbridge has launched its new marketing name and brand to much applaud from the local tourism industry. The area will now be marketed as Heart of Devon. Derek Phillips, chair of the Tourism Partnership said: “To ensure the area is marketed effectively we appointed ‘The Marketing Department’, an Exeter based full service marketing agency, to undertake research on previous visitors to the area. The results of the research has also helped develop and inform 3 national marketing campaigns which are planned for the next 12 months and will focus on cultural, activity and family holidays. A regional campaign is also planned, which is hoped to encourage people from the West Country to holiday within the Heart of Devon”. Of the appointment, Richard Marsh of The Marketing Department said, "The Heart of Devon represents the rich diversity of the area's tourism offerings. We are therefore extremely proud to be working with the Heart of Devon team and its members and excited at the prospect of boosting tourism through effective marketing campaign delivery over the next 2 years”. The results of the visitor research indicated people visit the Heart of Devon because of the overall cost of the holiday and wanting to spend time outdoors. Once they are here, they like to experience local food and drink and enjoy the varied walking routes. The Tourism Partnership surveyed and held workshops with their members, over 290 local businesses. Both sets of research indicated that it was clear that the name ‘Exeter & Essential Devon’ was not the most recognisable name and should be changed to Heart of Devon. Future marketing campaigns will highlight the newly named website www.heartofdevon.com as the main call to action, which includes a full page entry for all members of Heart of Devon. One member, Sandy Tilke of Treasure Trails, says: “Treasure Trails are excited by the launch of the new Heart of Devon brand for promoting tourism. The new brand name is fresh, easy to remember and sums up the endearing affection that visitors have for the area.” www.treasuretrails.co.uk The focus of the Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership is on the promotion of the area locally, regionally and nationally with the aim of increasing the amount of people who visit the area for day visits, short breaks, longer holidays and business trips. Heart of Devon works closely with neighbouring tourism partnership in particular South Devon, Dartmoor and North Devon, as well as Visit Devon, to promote the area nationally and internationally. With the recent announcement of the future closure of South West Tourism, the Heart of Devon Tourism Partnership is keen to develop these links further to support the local tourist industry. For 2008, the most recent year for which information is available, there were approximately 1,720,000 overseas trips and 7,606,000 day visits. Visitor spend within the Heart of Devon is worth £719 million, this spend supports 19,235 jobs. The Heart of Devon Tourism partnership is keen to work with businesses to increase visitor spend within each sector, to ensure that employment is less seasonal. For more information about Heart of Devon, including events, places to stay, visit and eat please visit www.heartofdevon.com Ends (see additional notes for editors section) Notes for editors Copies of the brand guidelines can be viewed and downloaded from www.heartofdevon.com/membership Visitor spend within the Heart of Devon is worth £719 million, this is broken down to: • food & Drink - £212 million • shopping - £180 million • accommodation - £121 million • travel - £94 million • attractions - £74 million • visiting, friends & relatives - £35 million • other - £3 million © Cambridge Economic Activity Model About the Heart of Devon Heart of Devon is the area tourism partnership promoting East Devon, Exeter, Mid Devon and parts of Teignbridge to regional and national audiences. The main aim of the company is to increase the number of day visits, short breaks, longer holidays and business trips to the Heart of Devon for the benefit of the local tourism economy. Heart of Devon works with Visit Devon, the Destination Management Organisation for Devon, in the national promotion of Heart of Devon. Heart of Devon is run and guided by a Board of Directors, which includes 6 non-elected and 5 elected board directors, it is a private-public company limited by guarantee and not for profit. Heart of Devon is a membership organisation and income received goes 100% into marketing activity – ensuring all revenue is put back into marketing initiatives to promote Heart of Devon. Other funding sources are through advertising income and a local authority grant.