East Devon District Council are launching the next phase of their campaign, for the destination market, under #EastDevonly to continue to support the recovery of the local and wider tourism industry by encouraging Brits within a 3hr travel time to take their next break in the area, by showcasing the breadth of experiences available.  

The destination campaign is set to go live on the 14th February, said to be when UK holiday searches begin to increase until the 26th February proving this is a key time to launch, via a newly created launched hub (eastdevonly.co.uk) and is to be supported by digital and social to drive visitors to the landing page, and is designed to attract day and overnight visits to East Devon throughout the seasons, to support the recovery of the visitor economy from Covid-19, across the district.

Next week (w/c 14th Feb) is one of the key dates in the staycation calendar, and with Valentine's Day at the helm, East Devon District Council would like to encourage all businesses in the region to celebrate their love for the area by posting a favourite image of East Devon on social accounts using #EastDevonly and these will be captured on our signposting site.

Want to get involved?

• Join the #EastDevonly Facebook Group – If you're a local resident or business owner, why not join our group, facebook.com/groups/eastdevonly/ to share events, opportunities & activities amongst tourism businesses in the district.
• Share & Suggest Content - Share any events and activities that we can include in our PR and Influencer activity, by emailing Communications@eastdevon.gov.uk
• Download The Toolkit - Head to our East Devon page to download our toolkit & to find out more. gov.uk/eastdevonly)

Further to the above, the next phase will also introduce 3 key ambassadors, Michael Caine, Steph Bridge & Clare Mackenny, all of whom will be visiting many #EastDevonly attractions and experiences on offer.

Michael Caines, Chef Patron Lympstone Manor & Mickeys Beach Bar and Restaurant, said: “If you're after fresh, wild and atmospheric breaks – you will find visiting East Devon outside of the summer months a life affirming experience. Whilst summer in East Devon is unarguably great, there are many things it can't offer that the other months can, and unless you're a dedicated sun worshipper, you might just find it makes for a better time to visit.'

This campaign is funded by the Welcome Back European Regional Development Funding and there will also be another phase of the campaign launching in the New Year, promoting East Devon as a destination region to attract tourism to this diverse and beautiful part of Devon.  

The campaign strapline is #EastDevonly which is being introduced within the Christmas campaign and will be carried through to the tourism campaign.  East Devonly has been derived from adverb words that help to describe the attributes of East Devon such as enticingly, surprisingly, deliciously, wildly, beautifully, culturally and these will be developed further with supporting imagery. 

The area has a unique opportunity to come together and shout with one voice about the wonderful district, if everyone works together, it is hoped that it will create a much larger footprint to enable greater traction.  

Appendix

March-April Key Events

March

• Tuesday 1 March 2022 – 5k Exmouth seafront run, organised by City Runs
• Sunday 6 March 2022, The Grizzly and Cub (runs) in Seaton
• Sunday 6 March 2022, Bradleys 10km in Exmouth, organised by LMEvents

April

• Sunday 24 April 2022 – The Maer 10km and Half Marathon, Exmouth – Organised by Lizzie from LMEvents
• Saturday 30 April 2022 – REORG Beach Assault, Exmouth – Organised by Tom from RVONE
• Saturday 30 April 2022 (until 12/06/2022) – Jubilee Beacon Trail, Exmouth

Notes To Editor

This campaign is funded by the European Regional Development Fund's Welcome Back Fund. This campaign promotes East Devon as a destination to attract tourism to this diverse and beautiful part of Devon.

The campaign strapline is #EastDevonly which was introduced within the Christmas campaign and is carried through to the tourism campaign. East Devon has been derived from adverb words that help to describe the attributes of East Devon such as enticingly, surprisingly, sustainably, deliciously, wildly, beautifully, culturally and these will be developed further with supporting imagery.

East Devon District Council has procured marketing and communications support to deliver creative, innovative, and engaging visitor campaigns for Christmas 2021 and spring 2022.  The focus of the spring campaign is to promote opportunities for day and overnight visits to East Devon to support the recovery of the visitor economy from Covid-19. The Christmas campaign encouraged residents to 'shop local' in their local towns and villages.

European Regional Development Fund

East Devon has been allocated up to £361,983 through the Reopening High Streets Safely Fund and Welcome Back Fund. These programmes have received funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit https://www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding.