Visit Dartmoor has been appointed to help spearhead a campaign to drive more foreign visitors to Devon as part of the Government’s £40 million Discover England Fund.

The official tourism organisation for Dartmoor National Park, Visit Dartmoor has secured funding to help local businesses attract international visitors under the Make Great Memories in England’s National Parks project. The £1 million, two-year collaboration between the UK’s national parks will deliver a joined-up, branded collection of signature experiences along with a business support and trade marketing strategy to develop bookable tourism product. Initially, the project will work with the travel trade to target the Australian and German markets.

Under the campaign Visit Dartmoor will work as Business Engagement Facilitator supporting Dartmoor National Park, setting up workshops and training sessions for local businesses. The new role will involve working in partnership with Jo Butler of Jo Butler Consulting, who successfully bid to deliver the project’s training and business support for both Dartmoor and Exmoor national parks.

“We are absolutely delighted, this is the first time that we have won anything on such a big scale and it’s fantastic to see Dartmoor getting the recognition it deserves as one of England’s key attractions,” said Jenny How, Director of Visit Dartmoor. “As a small member organisation with finite resources this will make a massive difference, providing a significant boost to both Dartmoor and Devon tourism.”

Jo Butler added: “This is fantastic news and I’m excited to be working in partnership with both Dartmoor and Exmoor to help deliver the project. We are lucky to live in such a beautiful part of the world and I’m looking forward to helping local businesses compete on a global scale.”

England’s National Parks attract over 94 million visitors a year. They are major contributors to the tourism economy, currently accounting for more than £4bn of visitor spending, almost a quarter of spending on rural tourism.

About the Discover England Fund

In November 2015 the Government announced a £40 million Discover England Fund to deliver world-class bookable tourism products, joined up across geographies and/or themes; including integrated transport solutions to provide an end-to-end customer experience. The Fund supports the growth of one of England’s most valuable export industries, inbound tourism, ensuring the UK stays competitive in the rapidly growing global tourism industry.