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A new survey obtained by Drift has shown that surfing is worth £52 million annually to North Devon and supports around 1,500 jobs in the area
by George Mojo
07/07/2008:// The survey was commissioned by Trisurf, a European community surfing project based in the area.
Trisurf, part of the North West Devon Leader+ programme, decided to undertake the survey to find out how important surfing at such popular beachbreaks as Croyde, Woolacombe, Puttsborough and Saunton was to the local economy .
Project coordinator Chris Farris commented “It is generally accepted that surfing is an important economic driver in North 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," he added.
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," she added.
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 what we do, 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. We 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," he said.
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.
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