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| Welcome to the Exmoor Tourism Update | |
Apologies to those contacts that erroneously received a draft version of this email earlier this afternoon. This contained a few broken links and a couple of drafting errors and was sent in error due to a technical glitch.
What a busy time! There is a vast amount of information relevant to Exmoor tourism providers this issue and some great opportunities - do take the time to read through to make sure you don't miss out!
This e-update is produced by the Exmoor National Park Authority as part of the Exmoor Tourism Partnership to keep tourism providers updated with the latest news and to encourage the development of Sustainable Tourism on Exmoor.
Please do let us know if there is any relevant sustainable tourism information that you would like us to cover in future issues.
Dan James Sustainable Economy Officer, Exmoor National Park Authority. |
| Dark Sky Bid - your support needed! |
 Work is currently being completed on the application for our bid for Exmoor to be recognised as an International Dark Sky Reserve. As well as ensuring this asset is conserved in future years the designation will help support tourism, particularly in the shoulder seasons.
We would love to be able to count on your support and demonstrate this in our bid - if you are in favour please could you spare a couple of minutes to complete a very short questionnaire to demonstrate your support of the idea. If you have taken any actions yourselves to either promote dark skies, or to protect them (e.g. ensuring lights are pointed where they're needed and not spilling light into the sky) or if you've had any examples of guests coming for the dark skies please do let us know also.
Show your support today! |
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| MoorRover & Future Transport investment |
 The MoorRover is now available for individual, small and large group bookings, picking up and dropping off passengers at any pre arranged point within Exmoor National Park where public transport isn't otherwise available. The buses can carry 6-16 passengers and can also carry wheelchairs, luggage, bikes and dogs.
Exmoor National Park Authority has been working with Devon and Somerset County councils, Dartmoor National Park Authority and the South West Tourism Alliance to submit an expression of interest for significant funding from the Department for Transport's 'Local Sustainable Transport Fund'.
The bid aims to support the development of better integrated, co-ordinated and branded travel options to and within the National Parks with clear information presented in a variety of ways to offer visitors a viable alternative to the car increasing the quality of their experience, supporting the local economy and decreasing carbon emissions. As we develop the full bid we will be looking for a small sample of accommodation providers to help us collect some important data over the summer. If you are interested in further details please contact me, Dan James, on 01398 322234 or email DTJames@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk. |
| Cycling investment funding |
 Exmoor National Park Authority has an opportunity to bid for a limited pot of funding to invest in cycle hubs at strategic locations across the National Park. This is part of the 1 South West cycle project funded through the Rural Development Programme for England to develop off-road cycling in the area.
Community cycling hubs will focus on providing a quality welcome and the facilities required by cyclists wishing to ride off-road in the locality. A bike hub would usually be hosted by a local business and include items such as bike wash, secure storage, tools / spares, and hire of maps / GPS units.
If you are interested in potentially hosting a hub please send through a proposal (no more than 1 side of A4) outlining what you can offer and what finance you would need to provide a hub, available to the public. For further details please contact Dan James or Dan Barnett at Exmoor House. |
| Exmoor 2012 - book now for earlybird discount | |
 Bookings are now being taken for the 2012 Exmoor 2012 brochure covering the Naitonal Park, the Coast and the Quantock Hills. Pre VAT prices have been frozen for the second year running at 2010 levels. A 25% deposit is required to book your advert with the balance payable by mid-September and as an incetive a 10% early bird reduction is offered for adverts booked by the 29 July 2011.
For full details, downloadable rate card and booking forms please visit the Exmoor Tourism Partnership website. |
| 2nd tramper site for Exmoor |
 With funding from the Exmoor National Park Sustainable Development Fund Wimbleball is set to host a 2nd all terrain mobility scooter within the National Park. Trampers allow those with limited mobility to access the superb landscape of the National Park. The scheme is run by Countryside Mobility South West who will post details of the new Wimbleball facility on their website as soon as its available - hopefully later this month.
The other tramper available for hire on Exmoor through the scheme is based with the National Trust at Hunters Inn allowing visitors of all abilities to access Heddon's Mouth or the old coastal carraigeway towards Woody Bay. |
| How has your business been affected by recent extreme weather? |
 Snow, floods, prolonged dry spells, heatwaves - the South West has seen them all over the last 18 months! How has your business been effected?
Climate SouthWest are running an online survey to find out how extreme weather has impacted upon business across the region, and how resilient they are to future events. The results will help inform future programmes of advice and support on the theme of business resilience, so please tell us your views to help us identify what is needed. The aggregated results will also be shared with our partners and may help influence wider preparations and responses to extreme weather across the South West.
Please complete the quick, 10-question survey here by Friday 22nd July. For help in preparing your business for extreme weather, visit:www.climateprepared.com. |
| New PR firm appoitned for the ETP |
 Starfish PR has just been appointed by the Exmoor Tourism Partnership (ETP) to promote Exmoor, the coast and Quantock Hills as a great place to visit all year round. Specialising in travel, Starfish PR has a proven track record of marketing visitor destinations in national media including newspapers, magazines, TV and radio.
Jennette Baxter, the firm's Managing Director, said, "I am thrilled to be promoting such a beautiful part of the country. With more people holidaying at home this year, there is a great opportunity to increase UK visitors, and next year - with the 2012 Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee - we can showcase our area to overseas holidaymakers too." For further details please click here. |
| Big Adventure Days |
 Hundreds of people have so far joined the National Park Rangers and partners in the first two 'Big Adventure Days'. Two more are coming up over the summer holidays and they are free of charge to all! Family games and events lasting all day including treasure hunts, nature games and mini beast hunts.
Nutcombe Bottom (nr Dunster) 6 August 2011
North Hill (nr Minehead) 27 August 2011
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| Merrell back National Parks |
 The UK National Parks and Merrell, the outdoor footwear and apparel specialists have joined forces to promote National Parks - Britain's Breathing Spaces and inspire a new generation to get outdoors.
Merrell will be promoting accessibility to the National Parks and the range of activities on offer throughout their own marketing initiatives and will also be aiding conservation as National Parks become an even greater destination of choice for members of the public to experience the UK outdoors. For further information please click here. |
| National Parks Week |
 Figures recently compiled show that paying a visit to one of the UK's 15 National Parks is not only good for you but that visitors to National Parks contribute more than £4.5 billion to the economy with over 70 million visitors spending more than 160 million days enjoying National Parks.
National Parks Week is held every year to raise awareness and celebrate Britain's National Parks - dramatic and beautiful expanses of countryside in the United Kingdom free for everyone to visit and enjoy all year round. This year's National Parks Week is from 25 - 31 July with a wide range of events on offer across the UK. For details of Exmoor events please click here. |
| Exmoor Hawk & Owl Centre takes the lead |
 Following the Exmoor Tourism Partnership networking event at the Minehead Eye this year the Hawk and Owl Centre have taken the initiative to open up an information Centre to provide visitors with details of other attractions and activities in the area.
The old Linhay now displays information on the National Park, historic features of Dunster and the West Somerset Railway with further displays to come. For more information contact the Hawk and Owl Centre. |
| Visit England launches new Action Plans |
 The Strategic Framework for Tourism in England, launched last spring, provided a platform for England's diverse tourism industry to work in partnership to achieve 5% growth, year on year, over the next decade.
A series of Action Plans were launched at the Partners for England Forum on 16 June. The Action Plans were compiled by cross-industry groups, consulted on widely and amended to reflect industry feedback. Of particular relevance to this area are plans on rural tourism, coastal resorts, wise growth and destination management. |
| South West Tourism Alliance |
 The South West Tourism Alliance was officially launched in the Spring.
The 'How's Business? Survey' is designed to provide you with a monthly gauge of business levels in the South West region, allowing you to compare yourself to your peers and identify trends as they unfold. We would like to encourage as many busienesses in the Exmoor area to participate in the short surveys - the greater the number of participants the greater the accuracy and hence value of the work. for more details click here.
The annual excellence awards are recognised for their ability to raise the bar in terms of exceeding customer expectations and winners benefit enormously from the process and the ensuing publicity. The deadline for entries for the South West Regional Awards as well as the Devon Awards has been extended to 5pm 7 July 2011.30 June. Click on the links for categories and details of how to enter:Devon Tourism Awards; South West Tourism Excellence Awards.
Businesses can now benefit from trade prices at Crown Decorating Stores and every purchase will also help support the work of the alliance. For further details click here.
The Alliance aims to provide a shared voice for the tourism industry. Services identified by the industry are the initial focus of the Alliance and include research and intelligence, training, sustainability, Excellence awards and co-ordination. Exmoor National Park Authority is a joint founding member with the Dartmoor National Park Authority. For further details please click here. |
| New websites coming soon... |
Last but not least... Keep your eyes peeled for brand new websites soon to be unveiled in the coming weeks. The National Park Authority site (www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk) will be relaunched with greater interactivity, enhanced relevant information for key audiences and a fresh new look.
Visit Exmoor, the official tourism portal at www.visit-exmoor.co.uk is also being redeveloped with thanks to funding from LARC, West Somerset Council and the National Park Authority. The new site will include striking new images, fresh content and enhanced functionality to best promote the National Park, Coast and Quantock Hills. The new site will be managed in-house by the Exmoor Tourist Association. |
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