Visit South Devon
The Process
What
Raise profile of South Devon as a destination of choice
How
Broadcast, online and traditional media relations
Where
Regional, national and international media
When
Sept 2015-2019
The Challenge
To raise the profile of South Devon as a destination of choice among domestic and international travellers lifting visitor numbers and spend
To build the profile and reputation of Visit South Devon and its website as the leading source of information on what’s on, things to do, attractions to visit and places to stay in South Devon
To raise Visit South Devon’s profile as a key source of bookings and a generator of income for tourism businesses advertising on its website
To increase numbers of visiting empty nesters, DINKS/SINKS and families with pre-school children
Our Solution
Absolute works with Visit South Devon to develop a constant flow of news stories promoting the rich range of destinations, events and attractions to enjoy in the South Devon area. Press trips are arranged for online, regional, national and international journalists, showing off the very best of the area’s food, accommodation and destinations.
In addition to proactive pieces such as round-ups on what’s new and survey-based stories, Absolute’s press office monitors the media and liaises with travel journalists on a daily basis, enabling Visit South Devon and its members to respond swiftly and effectively to media requests and enquiries.
New services are regularly launched, such as the Visit South Devon visitor app, and Absolute has led on the creation of new attractions, such as the Taste of the Teign food trail, giving journalists new reasons to write about South Devon. Combined with festivals, TV series’ and films featuring South Devon, which have all been used to leverage coverage, Absolute has achieved impressive results for Visit South Devon.
What We Achieved
Absolute dramatically increased coverage for Visit South Devon regionally and nationally with notable pieces in The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, The Sun and The Daily Telegraph as well as multiple pieces written and published by influential, domestic and international bloggers. Radio coverage has also been secured on a regular basis alongside TV.
International pieces were secured in a number of titles including The Financial Times China, and through the promotion of The Mercy, a new film starring Colin Firth, Absolute catapulted Teignmouth into the limelight with a place in the Guardian’s top 40 places to visit in 2017, a top 5 place in the i-newspaper’s roundup of UK destinations to visit in 2017 and a top spot in The Daily Star’s places to visit in 2017.
Combined, this activity contributed to a direct rise in demand for Visit South Devon’s 2016 Guide, up 40% on 2015*, a 17% increase in the number of advertisers joining Visit South Devon, and an increase in traffic to its website, up 8% year on year (2015 v 2016).
In January 2017 alone, promotional activity linked to Teignmouth has resulted in a 38% lift in traffic to Visit South Devon’s website, 50% of which are new visitors to the site.
Over the past 12 months, in excess of 330 pieces of media coverage has been secured worth in excess of £2million with an audience of over 100 million.