West Country Tourism Conference
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West Country Tourism Conference

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February 4 and 5 2025 saw a welcome return to Westpoint Arena of the West Country Tourism Conference with a great range of national and regional speakers covering topics to help guide your business through a fast-changing world.

Confirmed speakers and topics include the following (in alphabetic order of business):

TUESDAY 4 FEBRUARY - TOURISM PRIORITIES, EXCELLENCE, ACCESSIBILITY AND SUSTAINABILITY

  • Viki Carpenter, Access Cornwall “Becoming autism and neurodivergent friendly”
  • Hannah Bushby & Mark Durber, Clockwork Marketing – “How to Thrive: Why guest experience starts with the first click”
  • Brett Sinclair, DCW / Suez – “Understanding & Embracing the new food waste reforms”
  • Lex Thornely, Owens – “Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Savvy Sourcing”
  • Alistair Handyside, Chair, Professional Association of Self-Caterers (PASC) - "Regulatory Changes looming"
  • Ellie Hibberd and Steve Panton, Stephens Scown - "What the new Employment Rights Bill means for employers in Tourism” and “Are you prepared for Martyn’s Law?”
  • Richard Toomer, Director, The Tourism Alliance - "2025, The Changes We Seek"
  • Kevin Millington, T-Stats Solutions – “Tourism in Numbers: West Country Insights”
  • Sally Wigg & Charlotte Wade, TTW Recruitment – “Top tips for recruitment and retention in the hospitality & tourism sector”
  • Mike Easton, Vickery Holman – “Hospitality Property update”
  • Robin Tjolle, VisitEngland – “VisitEngland / VisitBritain update”
  • Amanda Ringelberg and Dan Howson, HMP Exeter Employment Advisory Board - "Accessing the prison leaver pool"

WEDNESDAY 5 FEBRUARY - MARKETING, SOCIAL AND AI

  • Tony Wilson, Anytime Booking - "Creating Connections & Building Communities"         
  • Dom Hine & Mark Durber, Clockwork Marketing – “How to Thrive: Revenue you didn’t know you lost”
  • Lesley Anderson, Hedgerow Marketing – “Converting Clicks to Check-Ins – LinkedIn Leverage for Hospitality”
  • Paul Zimmerman, INV Group – “AI Innovations for tourism”
  • Neil Warren, Living Options Devon - “Don’t tell me what I want, tell me what you have” – What to Say to Attract the Purple Pound
  • Mark Worden, Director, MiHi Digital - "Encouraging repeat bookers, creating advocates and building your brand for 2025"
  • Beth Mayman, St Austell Printing Co – “Sustainable Print & Packaging”
  • Thomas Chartres-Moore, Stephens Scown - "HospitAIity: integrating AI into your business will become a necessary evil, so do it right”
  • Josh Castree, Seaton Tramway & Jurassic Discovery - "Tourism Awards and what they mean to us"
  • Anand Patel, NFU Mutual - "Cybersecurity Challenges"

The full programme can be found here, biographies of speakers can be found here.