A recent survey has shown that surfing is worth £52 million annually to Northern Devon, and supports around 1,500 jobs in the area.
The survey was commissioned by TRISURF, a European community surfing project based in Northern Devon. TRISURF, part of the North West Devon LEADER+ programme, decided to undertake the survey to find out how important surfing was to Northern Devon’s economy. TRISURF project coordinator Chris Farris commented “It is generally accepted that surfing is an important economic driver in Northern Devon, but nobody knew to what extent. Surfing surveys in the past have concentrated on Cornwall or the South West as a whole, so no figures at all existed for Northern Devon. I think that the results of this survey will highlight how important surfing is to this region and dispel the widely held myths about surfers contributing little to the economy”.
Devon Renaissance were commissioned by TRISURF to undertake the research, in conjunction with Masters student and local resident Isabelle Bromham. Isabelle has an interest in sustainable development and as part of her degree was already conducting a study into the social and economic impact of surfing on Northern Devon. Isabelle said “This research highlights one aspect of coastal tourism in this area and gives people an insight into the impact that it has on the local economy. What we have to do now is look at what impact it has on the local environment and put in measures to counter any negative effects. This research has thrown up more questions than answers and we are planning to undertake more research to give us a baseline to work from”.
General Manager of North Devon+, Martin Wickham added “This is obviously an important finding, and goes some way to reinforcing the value of surf tourism in the region. Businesses have obviously been doing things right for a long time, and it would be great to build on this by adding a sustainable edge and making Northern Devon a pinnacle of green watersports tourism. This fits perfectly with one of the objectives of North Devon+; to promote our area as a fantastic holiday destination with a multitude of things to do, in the heart of an outstanding environment – the North Devon Biosphere. ‘’
Chris Farris said “TRISURF is one of the biggest surf development projects in the country and has been supporting grass roots surfing in North Devon for the last 3 years. There are some extremely good young surfers in the area and it is about time that there was a support structure from beginner surfer to top athlete”. TRISURF will be looking at continuing to support local surfers in a variety of ways by working in partnership with businesses, district councils and other interested organisations to carry this forward.
A funding application to the European programme INTERREG 4 for a new research project to answer some of the questions thrown up in the survey and to work towards a sustainable watersports strategy for the region has been submitted and will hopefully begin in November 2008.
If you have any queries regarding the survey, how to get involved in future research or how you can support TRISURF, please email chris@leaderplus.co.uk or ibromham@northdevonplus.co.uk, or through the contact page on this website.
Notes to Editor:
TRISURF is a European surfing project which is coordinated by Chris Farris and runs under the LEADER+ programme.
Funding for North West Devon LEADER+ comes from the European Agriculture Guidance and Guarantee Fund (EAGGF) and Defra. North West Devon LEADER+ has been operating since May 2002, and has distributed £3.3million of grants to a variety of projects, community groups, businesses and individuals in Torridge and North Devon districts excluding the centre of Barnstaple. For more information on North West Devon LEADER+ visit http://www.leaderplus.co.uk or contact Marie Brompton on 01237 424121 or marie@leaderplus.co.uk.
North West Devon LEADER+ was part of the North Devon and Exmoor Regeneration Company. This has now merged with other organisation to become North Devon+ (http://www.northdevonplus.co.uk). North Devon+ is a Private Sector led Public/Private Sector Company charged by North Devon and Torridge District Councils with driving economic and social regeneration across their areas.
The survey report and some research was conducted by Liz Abell and Simon Mallett from Devon Renaissance. Devon Renaissance is a not for profit organisation which is steered by a partnership between the private sector, local authorities and community organisations. The key people who worked on the report have broad and comprehensive knowledge and experience of market research, the rural economy and report writing.
Isabelle Bromham lives in North Devon and is a masters student of Greenwich University studying Tourism, Conservation and Sustainable Development.
The TRISURF project has also been supported by financial contributions from Torridge District, North Devon and Devon County Councils as well as Awards for All and the North Devon PEDPASS school sports partnership. In addition, there have been numerous donations of time, equipment and prizes from individuals and businesses involved in the surf industry, which have been gratefully received and have helped to make TRISURF such a success.
Sections of the report will be available on this website. Hard copies are available to be viewed on site at the North Devon+ offices.
For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact Chris Farris on 01237 424648 or 07854 330823.
