Tourism is worth more than £8 billion annually to the South West economy – that’s 26 million visitors bringing employment for over 300,000 people. The bald statistics make impressive reading and in the coming years analysts predict those numbers will continue to rise. But what they also predict is that without careful management and direction, such growth could threaten the long-term stability of the industry itself:

• while there will be more new jobs, they would be seasonal and of low quality;
• while there will be more new visitors, they would be in parts of the region and at times of the year which are already at capacity; and
• where now the local community supports tourism, increased traffic and damage to the environment would cause growing feelings of alienation.

Today, the challenge is to ensure that does not happen – to shape the future. It is with this aim that over the last two years South West Tourism and the South West of England Regional Development Agency have come together to carry out a comprehensive review on behalf of the region. Working with specialists, partners and tourism businesses they have developed a new and radical strategy with which the South West can face the
challenges of the coming decade and beyond. Called Towards 2015, the strategy will use the South West’s existing strengths as the foundation stones on
which to build an enduring edge over domestic and international tourism competitors.

Towards 2015 is not just a strategic framework; it will drive the creation of detailed annual and three year delivery plans – bringing leadership and direction to the development of a truly sustainable, valuable tourism industry for the South West. It is vital to stress that this is a strategy for the whole region, its industry and all those organisations that support this key economic driver.

By adopting this new strategic approach tourism will:

• protect the environment;
• improve the quality of life of local people;
• take advantage of the region’s existing strengths; and create a long-term and sustainable industry.

And, of course, the region will also benefit financially. Experts estimate that the annual income from tourism could potentially increase by £1.2 billion.

The cornerstone of Towards 2015 is the focus it places on anticipating and then exceeding customers’ needs. Rather than just sticking to the traditional approach of promoting individual destinations – a seaside resort or city – the emphasis will be on complementing destination marketing through developing and promoting high quality ‘customer experiences’. This shift in focus is a reflection of the fact that today’s customers increasingly choose their holiday according to the experience they want rather than its location. For example, our customers are now more likely to decide they want a ‘weekend of sheer indulgence’ or an ‘adventure activity break’. Only once they have decided the type of experience that they want do they choose the location – according to which best caters for their needs.

In South West England we are in a great position to take advantage of this trend as so many of our strengths and natural assets can help deliver world-beating experiences. The South West is the premium tourism region in the UK, with premier destinations and experiences. We need to promote these destinations and experiences more effectively.

To capitalise on this, Towards 2015 will concentrate on the development and promotion of what are known as ‘Brand Clusters’. These clusters define the sort of holiday our customers want in terms of the experience they are looking for. For example, there is the ‘sheer indulgence’ cluster which is characterised by fine dining, pampering, treats, luxury and celebration. Then, there is the ‘close to nature’ cluster which trades on the ‘wow’ factor of the South West’s uniquely diverse landscape, the fresh air, the wildlife and the stunning views.

By focussing on these experiences, Towards 2015 will bring relevant businesses and organisations together across the region to build and shape their particular cluster. This will happen in many ways – through shared market intelligence, identification and development of new initiatives to drive up quality, shared promotion and collaboration on product development and opportunities facing the cluster. Brand Clusters will bring together not only mainstream tourism businesses, but also those from the food and drink, retail and activity sectors.

Development of the Brand Clusters will be led by a new ‘Brand’ team within South West Tourism, whose role will be to engage with industry and coordinate a package of product development, research, business support, skills, quality enhancement and promotion appropriate to the needs of each cluster and its customers.

Today in the South West, the responsibility for delivering what visitors want is divided amongst many organisations – county, district and local area tourism organisations, marketing bureaux and tourism associations. The result is a degree of overlap and waste, at a time when Local Authority budgets are, and likely to remain, under increasing pressure.

Towards 2015 envisages the creation of a leaner, more cost-effective and efficient structure across the region, with bodies working together more closely under the umbrella of Destination Management Organisations (DMOs) which will merge and streamline many of the activities currently undertaken by individual organisations. The DMO activities will include building development strategies for destinations, providing a point of contact and support for the private sector at sub-regional level, marketing, research, and providing ICT and e-tourism services. Marketing activity will be focused on key destination “attack brands” – those destination brands that are recognised by potential visitors and have the greatest potential for generating a response, enquiries and bookings from non-visitors and long lapsed visitors. There will be complementary strategies and plans to retain existing customers and recent lapsed customers.

This will be a fresh approach to tourism in the South West, leading to a substantial realignment of structures at a sub-regional level. To undertake the promotion of these principles, South West Tourism will create a team of specialists in destination management and sustainable tourism, under a Head of Partnerships, whose specific role will be to encourage and facilitate the development of DMOs throughout the region, assist in the creation of customised business models, and ensure liaison between Local Authorities, industry bodies, key partners and relevant regional support agencies.

Towards 2015 puts a new and sorely-needed emphasis on sustainability in all its forms. By placing this at the heart of the strategy, it is anticipated that within a decade South West England will be recognised as a model tourism destination. It will be defined by the unique balance achieved between its communities, its tourism industry, the natural environment and its customers – so achieving long-term economic, environmental and social benefits for the region.

Towards 2015 also breaks with traditional tourism strategies in its prioritisation of quality over quantity.
Again, it’s all about sustainability. We want to:

• grow the value of visitors to the region rather than just the volume of visitors;
• create quality jobs with career progression and prospects - not just quantity jobs;
• unite businesses into Brand Clusters and destinations to enable them to exceed customer expectations;
• move the industry into a new era of technology supported customer relations marketing;
• include local people in key decisions about the future of tourism in the South West;
• protect the natural and built environment;
• be responsible for, and work to alleviate, the environmental and social impact of tourism; and
• provide a focus and unity within the industry.

If these aims are achieved, Towards 2015 will dramatically change the South West’s tourism industry. Together, we can make it happen.

Underpinning and supporting the Brand Clusters, DMOs and the development of sustainability and quality will be a realigned structure within South West Tourism, charged with offering to partners the skills and services needed to deliver Towards 2015.

In addition to the brand and destination management support teams, units within the ‘new SWT’ will cover marketing, product data and information, quality development, sustainable tourism, research and intelligence, e-tourism and information, skills and business support.