Plans & Strategy Documents
We have a range of plans and strategy documents available for you to download, including our Tourism Recovery Plan.
The Peak District, Derbyshire and Derby Destination Management Plan (2025–2035) sets out a bold, collaborative vision to strengthen our visitor economy, enhance the quality of life for local communities and protect the natural and cultural assets that make our destination unique.
Tourism already contributes £2.9 billion to the local economy and supports almost 30,000 jobs, yet significant untapped potential remains. With strong backing from the Mayor and the East Midlands Combined County Authority, the Plan positions the visitor economy as a key driver of sustainable growth, inward investment, skills development and place transformation.
Over the next decade, our priorities focus on:
- Sustainable growth – increasing international and domestic overnight stays, raising productivity, and delivering an additional £1 billion GVA by 2035.
- Enhanced experiences – improving transport, digital connectivity, public realm, and visitor services to strengthen our appeal year-round.
- Partnership-led development – uniting local authorities, businesses, cultural organisations, and communities through our accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP).
- Investment in people – widening career pathways through initiatives like the Hospitality Charter and ensuring the sector continues to create flexible, high-quality employment.
- Destination innovation – supporting transformative projects such as PEAK Resort, Buxton Reboot, Smedley's Hydro, Great Wolf Resort, and major public realm improvements across the county and Derby.
Underpinned by the principles of sustainability, inclusivity, collaboration, and stewardship, the DMP provides a clear roadmap to elevate the destination’s profile, attract new visitors and deliver benefits that are felt widely across our towns, rural communities, and businesses.
Together, we aim to ensure the Peak District, Derbyshire and Derby not only remain remarkable places to visit, but exceptional places to live, work, and invest.
The visitor economy is incredibly important to Derbyshire and the Peak District, attracting millions of visitors every year. It is a catalyst for growth in the local economy, providing good quality jobs, opportunities for investment and funds for infrastructure and conservation.
Although the tourism sector faces many challenges, the future holds great opportunities, and we stand proud of our world-class visitor offer. Derbyshire and the Peak District is home to Britain’s original National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and England’s first forest to be created at scale in over 1,000 years.
It has breath-taking countryside, vibrant market towns and villages, a quality food and drink scene, unique places to stay, award-winning attractions, iconic walking and cycling routes and an abundance of annual events, ranging from those that celebrate our unique heritage to those that help us re-examine our relationship with the natural world. All of these, together with excellent transport links from major cities, make it one of England’s most desirable tourism destinations.
However, we all have a responsibility to help care for and protect the very assets that attract people here in the first place. This Sustainable Tourism Action Plan marks the culmination of consultation and surveys with both residents and stakeholders, underpinned by a tourism asset audit.
Download our Peak District & Derbyshire Tourism Action Plan.
Peak District National Park Management Plan (2023-2028)
The Peak District National Park Authority have highlighted their aspirational long-term vision outlining where they collectively want the Peak District to be in 20 years’ time.
This is a pivotal moment for national parks across the UK. There has never been a greater need for the crucial role our protected landscapes can play in nature recovery, meeting net-zero ambitions, delivering thriving communities and helping with the nation’s wellbeing.
At the same time, an almost unprecedented set of global circumstances means that many of those who play a part in caring for national parks are increasingly having to do the same, or more, with far fewer resources. Despite these challenges, the determination for the Peak District to continue with its pioneering approach at the heart of the country, remains undiminished.
Growing and Developing the Visitor Economy within Derbyshire: The Final Summative Assessment of the Business Support Programme (2016-2023)
Visit Peak District and Derbyshire have commissioned this evaluation and
Summative Assessment to review the likely impacts of the Growing and Developing
the Visitor Economy within Derbyshire project across a range of economic, social and
environmental outcomes and impacts. The study also identifies key lessons learned
from the project that can be incorporated into the remainder of the delivery and
inform future approaches to support the visitor economy.
D2N2 Visitor Accommodation Strategy (2016)
Written in 2016, the D2N2 Visitor Accommodation Strategy is still relevant today. The research undertook a review of the visitor accommodation provision across the D2N2 area; assessing accommodation business performance and market demand, including the inter-relationship between urban and rural locations; assessed business that was being lost due to accommodation shortages; assessed the potential for visitor accommodation development across the two counties; identified key sites for accommodation development and developed a strategy and action plan for public sector intervention to secure the necessary accommodation improvement and development.
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