Councillor Saxon Spence

Devon County Council

www.devon.gov.uk

Promoting Cultural Tourism in Devon

Devon – Key Facts

• Located in the South West of England• England’s 3rd largest county• Population: 731,000 • Roads: 12,800 kms • Capital: Roman City of Exeter• Voted ‘top UK place to live’ (readers of

Country Life’)

Devon’s Cultural Assets• 19,000 listed buildings

• 2 World Heritage Sites

• More thatched buildings than anywhere else in the UK

• 4,500 scheduled ancient monuments

• More organic food and drink businesses than any other county

• 270 historic conservation areas

• Busy calendar of cultural events and festivals

How DCC Supports Devon’s Cultural Assets

• Promoting cultural tourism• Supporting arts and creative industries • Archives• Libraries • Supporting the food and drink sector• Helping to manage our World Heritage Sites

Promoting Cultural TourismAs part of the Discover Devon Naturally sustainable tourism project, DCC have created a cultural mircro-site on the county’s main tourism website www.culturaldevon.com which lists:• Cultural attractions (museums, art galleries, cathedrals etc)• Cultural events (literature festivals, music festivals, historic festivals)• Gardens• Information on Devon’s history and heritage• Accommodation of cultural importance • Cultural holiday itinerary planner

www.culturaldevon.com

How culturaldevon.com is Promoted

• Discover Devon promoted nationally and receives over 1 million visitors per year • Advertise in specialist magazines• Promote festivals and events in national press• Free for any organisation to list their event or festival on the site • Promote key festivals through DCC publications to residents (such as Devon Talk which goes to every household)

Supporting and Promoting Devon’s Food and Drink

Devon’s has rich larder of products that reflect the landscape and culture of the area they come from which include:

• Ruby Red Beef

• Cider/Apple Juice

• Wine

• Cheese and dairy products

Popularity of Devon’s products helps to maintain traditional production methods and farming communities

How DCC Supports Food Sector • www.foodiedevon.com

• Sponsor major food festivals

• Promote Devon’s food and drink in national press

• Running major project to improve IT skills in the sector

• Working to get more local produce in Devon public sector organisations (hospitals, schools, care homes etc)

World Class Devon

Jurassic Coast - stretching along the East Devon and Dorset coast, 195 million years of the earth’s history are recorded in the rocks

Cornwall and West Devon Mining – Components of mines from 1700 to 1914.This cultural landscape is a testament to the profoundly important process of pioneering metal mining and its influence on the mining world at large during the nineteenth century

North Devon Biosphere Reserve – Where sustainable Development and conservation go hand in hand

Devon has 2 World Heritage Sites and one UNESCO Biosphere Reserve

World Class Devon• DCC gives £125,000 to support the Jurassic Coast

Team manage the coast and £95,000 to Cornish Mining (in particular the Tamar Mining Heritage Project)

• Both WHSs are improving facilities to increase visitors understanding and awareness of the Sites.

• Culture and the arts play a major role in the work programmes of both World Heritage Sites.

Cultural Olympiad• DCC is committed to showcasing Devon culture through the cultural Olympiad which will run from 2008 until the London games in 2012.

• In the south west the cultural Olympiad will be based around the theme of ‘Extraordinary Journeys’ through the unique environment of the south west. In these journeys we hope to explore;

Extraordinary People Extraordinary Places Extraordinary Spaces Extraordinary Events Extraordinary ChallengesExtraordinary Commitment to minimising the carbon footprint

of every project we present.

A Brand for Devon

• Developed following research in 2005 amongst non visitors which showed that perceptions of Devon were of a traditional, remote, slow, sleepy place

• These perceptions are contributing to decline in tourism in Devon and the number of companies wishing to relocate to the county

• New brand developed to celebrate Devon’s qualities and will be used by private and public sector organisations across the county