 |
Tourist Board |
| Torbay Council | |
| Vaughan Parade Torquay TQ2 5EG | |
 |
tourist.board @torbay.gov.uk |
 | 01803 211211 |
 | 01803 214885 |
| Additional Contact Information | |
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The English Riviera Tourist Board is part of the Torbay Development Agency, the public private partnership supported by Torbay Council and responsible for tourism, regeneration and marine services. Tourism represents over £400million of income into the Bay every year and is estimated to represent nearly one third of all local jobs.
Strategy & Policy
The TDA has published a Tourism Strategy 2005-2015 that clarifies the where we are now, where we want to be in 10 years time and how the TDA and the local tourism community can work together to get there.
Key areas of TDA responsibility are:
- Working with other local, regional and national tourism bodies
- Working with Torbay Council
- Developing annual operating plans to deliver results
The TDA has a number of Tourism Champions within the business community that support the Strategy and also work closely with TDA staff on action planning.
The English Riviera Tourism Strategy is available to download below.
Research
The English Riviera Tourist Board runs a number of regular business and consumer surveys. The resulting information is available for the wider sector and in most cases the service is free of charge. Businesses are also invited to participate in regular “How’s Business” surveys.
Product & Infrastructure Development
Tourist Information Centres (TICs) : The English Riviera Tourist Board operates three Tourist Information Centres in Torquay, Paignton and Brixham. The three centres are open all year round and welcome 450,000 visitors per annum. Accommodation providers will be automatically listed in the TICs when they participate in the core campaigns above. Attractions and visitor services will be eligible for leaflet display if they support the above campaigns. Additional information can be stocked but display space will be dependent on availability and at the discretion of the Centre. A number of commercial opportunities are also available for promoting attractions or events within these centre including:
- commissionable sales of goods and event tickets
- display space within the TIC
- poster space available around the resort
English Riviera Call Centre: The mini-call centre, based in Torquay, operates the central tourism number of 01803 211 211 which received 31,500 calls in 2006. The calls include general information enquiries, accommodation enquiries and accommodation bookings.
Product Development: Advice and research is offered to encourage businesses to consider their product in relation to growing markets that have been identified as essential to the long term sustainability of the sector. There have been defined as follows and are listed in order of priority based on the market potential they offer for the English Riviera.
| Title | Segment | Interest |
| Finally Free | 50+ age range, "empty -nesters" | Kids have gone and adults can have a holiday where everything they could possibly want is there in the palm of their hand - relaxation, countryside, and good food. |
| Family Fun | Families with pre-school children | Safe beaches, child-friendly accommodation, choice of all weather facilities and attractions. |
| Riviera Rush | 20-50 age range | Watersports, activities, countryside, "having a go" at something |
| Seaside Chic | Young Adults | Activities, shopping, good food, entertainment and culture. |
Developing “Attractors”: The English Riviera is not an event organisation body, however, there is a clear remit to support the development of events aimed at satisfying the needs of the above growth market. There is also a specific remit within the local Community Plan to develop maritime events in particular.
Local Produce: Promoting local produce enhances the local distinctiveness of the tourism experience and also supports the economic wellbeing of the wider economy of Torbay. The TDA supports this through proactive promotion and stocking local produce in the three Tourist Information Centres.
Promotion
Core Market and Generic Campaigns: For over 20 years the English Riviera Tourist Board has been running award-winning campaigns aimed at the UK domestic market. Tourism businesses in the Bay often report that advertisements in these campaigns represent their best source of business after repeat business and personal recommendation. The campaign activity includes:
- www.englishriviera.co.uk: During 2006 the site attracted over 400,000 unique visitors. In 2007 a brand new and improved website was launched to incorporate online accommodation bookings. Banner advertising promoting the website can be found on many top websites, some of which includes the Radio Times, Manchester online, the AA and the Guardian online to name just a few. Podcasts and on-line shop are planned for the site.
- ER.i.go: This is a new destination management system (which replaces the old VISIT system), enables the English Riviera Tourist Board to have accurate and up to date information for accommodation providers, this includes accommodation availability. This database holds information on nearly 500 tourism businesses in the Bay. It is used as the Tourist Information Service’s key resource in responding to the enquiries of 120,000 telephone callers and 475,000 personal callers coming into the Tourist Information Centres. Accommodation establishments who have eviivo Frontdesk/Frontdoor can link in seamlessly with www.englishriviera.co.uk and many other channels allowing them to have online bookability with 'real time' availability.
- English Riviera Holiday Guide: Between 150,000 - 200,000 copies of the guide are printed every year and these are distributed through a number of promotional routes. 45% of customers receiving a guide will then go on to book a holiday on the English Riviera (UK benchmark is 40%)..
- Email subscribers : Through the website and other promotions a database of email subscribers has been built and now numbers 26,000 which is used to promote events and drive bookings.
New Market Development: The English Riviera Tourist Board has received funding from Government Office South West for 3 years to support the development of new campaigns aimed at key market segments as defined above. These new campaigns aim to build year round tourism and build the value of tourism to the local economy.
International Campaigns: The English Riviera Tourist Board wholly supports the Devon And Cornwall Overseas Marketing (DACOM) initiative. DACOM promotes the two counties in markets in France, Germany, Holland, Scandinavia and North America. Details of partner opportunities within these campaigns are available from the English Riviera Tourist Board. The Tourist Board is also an active partner in the Destination SW initiative which aims to attract visits from international cruise ships.
Group Travel Campaigns: The English Riviera Tourist Board produces a group travel handbook, which is promoted through exhibitions, and trade press to coach companies and group travel organisers across the UK and abroad. It offers an advisory service for group enquiries and liaises with the local industry to ensure that the needs of group and coach travellers are met.
The English Riviera Tourist Board regularly promotes the resort to top travel writers in regional, national and international newspapers, magazines and broadcast and new media. The Tourist Board hosts a number of familiarisation visits throughout the year. Promotion of events, new products and key themes such as Agatha Christie and Food and Drink are at the heart of this activity. This activity has achieved a value of over £8 million since Aug 2004.
Brand Development: The English Riviera name and its associated palm tree imagery are at the core of the resort brand. The TDA is the guardian of this brand. Photographic imagery is critical in developing the brand and the TDA photo library has hundreds of stunning images of the area and is available for a variety of uses. In most cases this service is free of charge.
Business Support & Communication
Torbay Business Bureau: The TBB is an umbrella term that describes an informal partnership between the TDA and other organisations operating in Torbay. They offer a range of services aimed at supporting businesses to achieve their objectives and support the sustainable development of the sector. All of these organisations can be contacted through the TDA:
- Enterprise South Devon (training and business support)
- Business Link (business development)
- Job Centre Plus (recruitment and people)
- South Devon College (training and skills)
Trade Communication: The TDA holds and annual Tourism Forum, produced two Update Newsletters in print and sends regular update emails to the all tourism related businesses in Torbay.
Quality & Service Delivery
The English Riviera Tourist Board has, with the support of the local tourism sector, made a commitment to promote only quality assured businesses as a means of building a sustainable and profitable future for the sector. This is achieved by a strict ruling that only accommodation graded under the National Quality Assurance Schemes run by the AA, RAC and VisitBritain can benefit from the activities of the Tourist Board. (Details of the inspection bodies are in the current English Riviera Campaign information booklet.) The tourist board also runs the annual English Riviera Quality Awards. The entry deadline is in June each year and the winners are announced in November.
Membership
The TDA does not run a membership scheme. Tourism businesses participate in those elements of the TDA’s work that are relevant to their business. All tourism businesses kept on the trade database will receive regular update emails and trade newsletters detailing industry news, offers and opportunities.
English Riviera Tourist Board Campaigns
For an overview of our exciting and creative campaigns, please contact the Tourist Board on 01803 296296.