2026 provisional speakers and topics
Conference Programme
Provisional speakers and topics for the 2026 West Country Tourism Conference include the following, subject to confirmation and with more still being added (currently in sponsor and alphabetical order of business). The full programme and timings will follow:
| SPEAKER | BUSINESS | TOPIC / THEME |
| TUESDAY 3 FEBRUARY | ||
| Mark Durber | Clockwork Marketing | How authentic brands win in the age of AI generated content |
| Thomas Chartres-Moore | Stephens Scown | Legal Landscape 2025: Key Updates |
| Neil Warren | Disability Together | 5* Access |
| Kevin Millington | T Stats Solutions | Tourism in the South West – Performance in Numbers |
| Jennifer Young | Calvert Trust Devon | Story from Recent Award Winner |
| Lindsay Lucas | Cosmic | Small Teams, Big Impact: Tech That Lightens the Load |
| Prof Peter Jones | Crumbs Project | The CRUMBS Project – and finding a valuable workforce |
| Vince Flower | Devon and Partners LVEP | The Devon and Partners LVEP |
| Natalie Semley | Falmouth Business School | Regenerative Tourism – Going to the next level |
| Fraser Browning | Kurb Carbon | Empowering your business for a Low Carbon Future |
| Amanda Winwood | Made for Life Organics | Wellbeing for growth: The transformative power of Wellness tourism |
| Tahlia Waller | ||
| Alistair Handyside, MBE | PASC UK | Self Catering Priorities |
| Pete Woodward | Securious | One Hack, One Holiday Park, One Reputation Gone |
| Phil Trevett | Somerset Larder | Building Talent Pipelines for a Sustainable Future |
| Eddy Leviten | The Tourism Alliance | Making Our Voice Heard |
| Kate Nicholls, OBE | UK Hospitality | Tourism and Growth |
| Robin Tjolle | VisitEngland | Update from VisitEngland / VisitBritain |
| WEDNESDAY 4 FEBRUARY | ||
| Tony Wilson & Vanessa Glossop | Anytime Booking | 7 myths still costing you bookings in 2026 (and what to do instead) |
| Dom Hine & Mark Durber | Clockwork Marketing | Smoke, mirrors & search: what really matters for AI visibility |
| Emily Smith | Stephens Scown | Websites, advertising and reviews – legal changes you need to know |
| Aisling Magill | Aisling Magill | Capturing Excellence: The Visual Standard of Award-Winning Hospitality |
| Vicky Liggins | Booking.com | Success stories from the world |
| Florence Bate | Florence and Fable | Organic PR and how to make the most out of press trips |
| Lesley Anderson | Hedgerow Marketing | Five Hidden Marketing Wins You Already Have but Aren’t Using |
| Mark Worden | MiHi Digital | What you still need to be doing when you’re not thinking or talking about AI |
| Joe Caley | Optix | From Keywords to Conversations: Marketing Strategies for AI Search |
| Jamie Carroll | Outdooractive | Making our outdoors more inclusive |
| John Doyle | Raceworld | Story from recent Award Winner |
| Dan Frost | Prodigy Escapes | Story from recent Award Winner |
| Andy Lennox | The Fired Up Collective | The challenges of running a successful pub in the current economic climate |
| Susan Briggs | Tourism Network | Passionate Persuaders & Micro Marketing: making an impact on a shoestring budget |
