Value of tourism in Teignbridge increases to £262m

New figures released by Visit South Devon reveal that the value of tourism to Teignbridge is rising. In 2015 alone, tourism contributed £9.8 million more to the local economy than it did in 2014, bringing the total amount brought in to Teignbridge by tourism to £262 million.

The figures come from an annual report provided to Visit South Devon and the Devon Tourism Partnership, which analyses trends in tourism year-on-year. The latest findings show that UK originated and overseas trips to Teignbridge increased 4% in 2015 compared to 2014. The average number of nights per Teignbridge trip rose by 8%, equivalent to an additional 209,600 nights spent in the local area.

Associated spend by tourists visiting from outside the local area leapt by £10.5 million to £131.8 million in 2015, however income from day trips fell by £2 million to just over £121.6 million, equivalent to a 1% drop. Other tourism related spend rose £1.39 million to £8.9 million.

Commenting on the findings, Sarah Stride, Acting General Manager for Visit South Devon said: “The latest economic impact figures for tourism in Teignbridge show a positive trend with growing visitor numbers, increasing spend and a rise in the average number of nights per trip, which was almost 50% higher than the national average. These findings echo the growth in traffic to www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk in 2015, which increased more than 20% on 2014.

“A number of factors contributed to this rise including long spells of warm weather in April, May and June 2015, which boosted bookings for the early summer season. In July, Hollywood came to town when James Marsh filmed the story of Donald Crowhurst featuring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz. This placed Teignmouth in the international spotlight, making Teignmouth the most searched for location on www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk that month. On top of that, in the Autumn BBC1 aired The Coroner, which showcased South Devon and caused a huge surge in traffic to the website. On the first day of airing alone we witnessed a 44% increase in site traffic helping November to achieve a 28% increase in visitor numbers compared to November 2014.”

Looking forward, Visit South Devon is positive about future tourism figures for Teignbridge in 2016, which are due to be released in October 2017.

“2016 has been a solid year for tourism with record demand for Visit South Devon’s visitor guide, the launch of the new South Devon Holiday Offers app, and growing numbers of people using www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk to plan their break in the local area,” added Sarah Stride.

“Aided by the positive impact of major events such as the Radio 1 Big Weekend at Powderham, the long Indian summer and the growth in demand for staycations following Brexit, we hope to see a continued upward trend in both the number of tourist visits to Teignbridge and average spend once the figures for 2016 are released next year.”

For more information on Visit South Devon visit: www.visitsouthdevon.co.uk