Tourism across the region has gained a new voice with the launch of a new body of top industry leaders. The South West Tourism Alliance, made up of major names across the regional tourism industry, will work to ensure South West England continues growing and improving as the country's top destination for visitors and holiday-makers.
Picking up the baton following the closure earlier this year of South West Tourism, the private-sector led Alliance will oversee services deemed critical to tourism industry success, such as training and research.
The South West Tourism Alliance formally launched on 13 May 2011.
"This is good news for the tourism industry of South West England," said Jamie Christon, SWTA spokesman and Managing Director of Exeter Airport. "Thousands of businesses across the region, recognising that there is still a clear need for the £9.4 billion tourism industry to work together, are represented through the Alliance."
"By working together, we have been able to secure a regional partnership so that decades of good work on issues such as research, training and sustainability will not be lost and can continue through 2011. We now need to ensure we work together to plan how we, the tourism industry of the South West, can continue to make this work happen from 2012 onwards."
The South West Tourism Alliance is a consortium and will have no offices and no core staff - key projects will be independently run, through a virtual project team, and will report to and be co-ordinated by the Alliance. For example: valuable market research, once produced by South West Tourism, will be carried out by an independent research company and made available to Alliance members.
More than 30 Key industry players have offered their unanimous support for the alliance, signing up to be FOUNDER members. Among others, these include: Bath Tourism Plus, Devon and Cornwall Business Council, Plymouth University, Cornwall Association of Tourist Attractions, Visit Dorset, the Eden Project and Somerset County Council. Full list of Founder Members
Management Committee members of SWTA are:
Andy Jasper (Eden Project), Christine Marshall (South West Food and Drink), Duncan Currall (Visit Devon), Jeremy Pope (Destination Dorset), Mark Smith (Chair of SW DMO forum), Mary Lynch (Bath Tourism Plus), Michael Smith (Venus Café), Leslie Watson (Sustainability South West), Alistair Handyside (Chair of SW Excellence Awards), and Paul Brunt (University of Plymouth).
In addition to launching the South West Tourism Alliance, the leadership group has also launched the ‘Principles for Success': a guidance on the sustainable development of tourism in South West England.
Jamie added "‘Principles for Success' is the beacon for tourism development for South West England; it will provide direction for those who will lead tourism development, marketing and investment in the future. It builds on the work of South West Tourism (the former regional tourist board for South West England) and maintains the focus provided by the regional tourism strategy ‘Towards 2015'.
Founder Members:
There are 30 FOUNDER members of The South West Tourism Alliance. South West Food and Drink, Bath Tourism Plus, SW Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Exeter Airport, Devon and Cornwall Business Council, University of Exeter Business School, National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth University, Taste of the West, Tourism for All, Bournemouth and Poole DMO, Visit Devon, VisitWiltshire Tourism Partnership, Cotswold DMO, Cornwall Association of Tourist Attractions, The Bed & Breakfast Association, Sustainability South West, The Venus Company, Dartmoor and Exmoor National Park Authorities, Blue Chip Holidays, Arts Council SW, EASCO, Premier Cottages, Visit Cornwall, Museums, Libraries and Archives Council, Visit Dorset, BH&HPA, Somerset County Council, The English Riviera Tourism Company, the Eden Project
Spokesperson: Jamie Christon (Exeter Airport).
Tourism in the South West of England:
The tourism industry is worth £9.4 billion to the South West region and employs over a quarter of a million people (Value of Tourism 2008).
Date added: Monday 9th May 2011
Latest updated: Thursday 8th March 2012
