Selaine Saxby, Member of Parliament for North Devon, celebrated English Tourism Week by showing continued support for local hospitality businesses here in North Devon and attended the English Tourism Week reception in Westminster.
English Tourism Week is an annual celebration of the tourism industry. The week is coordinated by VisitEngland, taking place from Friday 15 - Sunday 24 March, a time to highlight the importance of tourism to local economies, whilst promoting innovation, the great quality and range of products and services on offer encouraging more domestic breaks to lovely North Devon.
This year’s theme is ‘supporting tourism, the heart of our community’ to celebrate the amazing people, places, businesses, attractions, experiences, and destinations at the heart of England’s tourism sector.
Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, supporting hundreds of thousands of small to medium sized businesses, employing 2.6 million people and, in 2022, generating £66 billion for the economy in domestic visitor spending. Figures from UKHospitality show that hospitality is a significant part of the local economy in North Devon, delivering £229 million to the economy as a whole and employing over 8,000 people.
Local MP, Selaine Saxby said:
“English Tourism Week is critical for us to both celebrate and support Tourism and Hospitality industries in North Devon. North Devon offers diverse landscapes, activities and attractions, and home to the best surf beaches in the UK, and the only coldwater surf reserve in the world! It is a lovely place to live and visit and this is linked to the incredible hard work put in by so many local businesses to welcome visitors to North Devon.
“I continue to work at Westminster as well as locally to support the tourism and hospitality industry and frequently meet with the Chief Executive of UK Hospitality, Kate Nicholls, who has also visited North Devon to see for herself some of these great venues. I worked with Kate most recently on a pre-budget debate and was like the industry somewhat disappointed that more support was not forthcoming, but will continue to champion our fantastic local tourist and hospitality businesses, as well as lobby ministers for more support.
“As the one woman tourist board for North Devon, I would encourage everyone this 2024 to continue supporting all our fantastic local businesses and attractions. It was a pleasure to pop into Watermouth Castle this Tourism Week and hear about all their exciting new plans at their 17-acre site. The site is more than a castle with its recently renovated apartments, the sprawling gardens hide a vast holiday park and with over 50 employees in the summer and up to 85,000 visitors expected this year they are investing in a bright future. North Devon is the perfect place to both visit and live, all year round.”
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“As the weather turns warmer and with Easter up ahead, now is the time to put tourism centre stage and showcase this wonderful industry which supports millions of jobs and communities across England.
“England’s tourism industry has something for everyone and ETW sets the scene with season openings, resident festivals and free events showcasing our contemporary culture, heritage, stunning coastline, rolling countryside and vibrant cities, available to all at every budget.”
