Growth Plan (2025-2028)

Updated as of August 2025

The Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) will provide strong leadership and influence, giving Devon’s visitor economy a more powerful voice at national, regional, and local levels. By working closely with partners, the LVEP will drive policy change, secure funding, and strengthen the county’s tourism offer.

Our shared goal is to foster closer collaboration on visitor economy development, guided by the Destination Management Framework (DMF) over the next three years.

Core Early Priorities

• Advocacy & Leadership – Build strategic partnerships and strengthen organisational capacity.
• Data & Insight – Improve the quality, accessibility, and use of tourism data.
• Partnership Building – Enhance collaboration and coordinated delivery.
• Position & Profile – Strengthen branding, marketing, and promotion.
• Skills Development – Grow and support the tourism workforce.
• Sustainable Tourism – Promote low-carbon travel, infrastructure, and accessibility.

By extending the season, promoting lesser-known areas, and developing new leisure products, Devon has the potential to grow its visitor economy by £300m annually by 2030.

With the support of our partners in VisitEngland, we have produced and agreed a detailed Growth Plan setting out the key steps for delivery over the next three years.

Core Priority – Destination Management Framework (DMF)

The current DMF, agreed by all partners, establishes a new approach to working across the LVEP area. In 2025/26, it will be updated to:

• Reflect the destination management plans and priorities of individual areas.
• Incorporate overarching LVEP priorities that unite partners and maximise impact.

This work is underpinned by five shared principles aimed at reducing fragmentation, duplication, and silo working — challenges that arose in the absence of a county-level strategic tourism body.

Key Priorities
a) Focus and communicate – We are Devon & Partners.
b) Implement the agreed DMF core principles.
c) Develop shared KPIs and reporting measures to track impact.
d) Strengthen connections between the LVEP Board stakeholder group and all constituencies.

Autumn 2025 Progress Update

a) Focus and Communicate – We are Devon & Partners

• Created an online hub for Devon & Partners LVEP:
  🔗 LVEP Online Home
• Established official LVEP social media channels:
  🔗 LinkedIn
  🔗 Instagram

d) Strengthening Governance and Representation

• Established a Steering Committee and Advisory Board, ensuring representation across all constituencies in the county.
• Agreed Terms of Reference for both groups.
• Membership lists available for the Steering Group and Advisory Board.