Exmoor Tourism Update - December 2017

Read the latest news and updates for tourism providers in Exmoor National Park

Keeping tourism businesses up to date with the work of Exmoor National Park

Welcome to the Exmoor National Park Tourism Update. This is published every two months to keep tourism providers up to date with the latest news, resources and information in support of developing sustainable tourism on Exmoor.

Don't forget to check our website for useful information from the latest research to business toolkits Here

Eat Exmoor Food and Drink Trade Show - Wednesday 7 February 2018

The event will be held at the Beach Hotel, Minehead and is designed for hospitality / experience providers, chefs, retailers and food buyers to meet face-to-face with local producers and to learn how to use the local food message to promote business and help Exmoor become known as a great food destination.

There will be a range of cooking demonstrations and practical talks for hospitality providers and producers running throughout the day, alongside plenty of trade stands from local producers. The FREE day runs from 10am to 4pm so you can drop in any time or come for the whole day.

If you are a food or drink producer or experience provider and would like a stand for just £5 you will need to book this in advance. We are grateful to the Beach Hotel, West Somerset Council and the West Coast 360 Hospitality Academy for their support of this event.

During the day Visit Exmoor will also be launching their new Eat Exmoor Food and Drinkguide which will be available free and distributed widely and also available free from our National Park Centres from February 2018.

Don't forget we have a growing Local Suppliers Database of local producers which can be accessed here. See who is producing great food and drinks in Greater Exmoor and how to contact them.

Eat Exmoor is a partnership initiative between the National Park Authority and Visit Exmoor with support from West Somerset Council to encourage more visitors to enjoy the area's delicious local produce and the landscape it comes from.

February Training sessions for Exmoor Tourism Businesses, Lynmouth

Following positive feedback from our first sell out Exmoor Awareness sessions we're offering further opportunities to join our new training programme designed to help tourism businesses get the most from the National Park.

The programme comprises 3 days in total and you can do whichever days are most relevant to your needs.

Day 1 - 20th Feb (11am - 4pm) - Moor Discovery - Designed to introduce businesses to the National Park, its management and its special qualities; ideal if you're a new business here or you've not attended any of our previous Exmoor Awareness training sessions.

Day 2 - 27th Feb (11am - 4pm) - Moor Connections - An interactive day to help improve your tourism business skills and increase your confidence, knowledge and understanding of the National Park, and equip you to benefit from your association with the National Park.

Booking for days 1 and 2, both held at Lynmouth National Park Centre is now open. £15 per person (includes refreshments and light buffet lunch) or both days can be booked for just £25. Book Here!

Day 3 -13th March - A pre season update day at Lynmouth National Park Centre suitable for all businesses to learn about the latest initiatives and goings on within Exmoor and an optional field trip. - full booking details will be published next year.

CareMoor Dining Club

The first dates in a series of Dining Club events at venues around Greater Exmoor have just been released.

Enjoy a special meal prepared with the best Exmoor produce, meet the chefs and hear a local food story. Each event includes a contribution to CareMoor for Exmoor, which raises funds for nature, heritage and access projects across the National Park.

The first dates for 2018 include:

SOLD OUT! Friday 26 January at The Swan, Bampton. An evening meal with owner / chef Paul Berry preparing a 5-course tasting menu in conjunction with Wicked Wolf Gin and Exmoor Ales
Sunday 4 February with Claire's Kitchen at Wootton Courtenay Village Hall preparing a 2-course Sunday Lunch in partnership with Little Oak Farm.
Saturday 10 February with Claire's Kitchen at Dulverton Town Hall for a three course oriental evening in conjunction with Secret Orchard Cider
Saturday 3 March a four course evening meal presented by Head Chef Barrie Tucker Chef at Psalters Restaurant, at the Luttrell Arms, Dunster.
Thursday 29 March with Chef John Bradley at the Coleridge Restaurant, Dunkery Beacon Country House Hotel with a 'Taste of the Moor' tasting menu

Full details and booking info.

The events will provide publicity for the venues involved and will be key to pushing out the local food message whilst also raising money for CareMoor. Read more about holding a Dining Club event here. There's no cost to you and we'll help support and market your event.

Discover England Funding success to put English National Parks on the map for international visits

Exmoor is one of nine English National Parks that will benefit from a £1.4mproject to encourage more overseas visitors. The project 'Make Great Memories in England's National Parks has successfully won £1m funding from the UK Government's Discover England Fund, administered by VisitEngland.

The two year project will specifically target visitors from Australia and Germany - making it easier for them to plan visits, find experiences and book their trips to England's National Parks. This will include developing inspiring branding; showing off the world-class experiences on offer; getting local businesses involved in enhancing the experiences available to visitors; and building partnerships with the travel trade in these countries.

At its core the project will develop and introduce a collection of National Park Experiences; A collection of memorable, once-in-a-lifetime experiences available within our National Park landscapes and which will help visitors to delve deeper into rural English life and connect them with local people, history, culture and cuisine.

Further details will be provided in the new year including opportunities for your business to develop new experiences and participate in this exciting project.

Dark Sky Tourism Development

Building on our success as Europe's first International Dark Sky Reserve we are working with partners on a range of projects to further develop dark sky tourism opportunities.

AtlanticSkyNet

The EU Interreg funded AtlanticSkyNet project sees us collaborating with other dark sky destinations in the UK, Ireland, Span, France and Portugal to develop a European Network of Astro-Tourism destinations.

In addition to raising awareness of Dark Sky sites across Europe, the project will enable us to train local guides and businesses to benefit from astro tourism. Businesses will also be able to participate in exchanges to visit other leading destinations to learn and share experiences. Through the project we will also develop a Dark sky Discovery Hub on Exmoor to provide a focal point for astronomy activities.

If you are interested in developing Astro-Tourism and would be interested in getting further involved in this project please contact us to register your interest and we will provide further details once the project is up and running.

2018 Dark Skies Festival dates

Following the huge success of this year's festival we are pleased to announce the dates for the 2018 festival. Encompassing both Devon and Somerset's October half terms the festival will run from Saturday 20th October to Sunday 4th November 2018.

Once again the National Park will be running several events but businesses and groups are also invited to take advantage of the publicity and interest that the festival brings, so start having a think now about how you can benefit. Virtually every event organised last year sold out!

We'll be starting to compile a list of events early next year so do drop a line to Katrina Munro with your dates and ideas to [email protected]

www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/darkskiesfestival

Exmoor: Gateway to the cosmos

During the 2017 festival launch we released a brand new short film introducing people to Exmoor as a Dark Sky Reserve.