I have been invited to join a new group to advise Visit Kent on attracting new visitors to the county and promoting tourism. This new group includes the Chief Executive of Visit Kent, Sandra Matthews-Marsh and Mike Bedingfield the Chief Executive of Tourism South East.
I was delighted to be invited to join and I hope to bring my experience working in advertising and communications, as well as speaking up for tourism in Folkestone, Hythe, Romney Marsh and the North Downs.
I know how important it is that as an area you have a story to tell -something that makes you different, and appealing to a broad group of people.
The Creative Quarter in Folkestone, Triennial, Literary Festival, the work of groups like the Folkestone Arts Committee and new projects, like the 'Last of England' at Dungeness give us a strong offering.
I would add to that local food as well, which is also a creative offering. We have local businesses which have reached national prominence, like M&M Richardson in Dungeness and Griggs in Hythe. Romney Marsh lamb is world famous and we have excellent sea food from the Channel. I think it would be an excellent idea if we could promote an annual food festival for Romney Marsh and Hythe.
Heritage is also important and I think we could do more to make our local sites more accessible to visitors. I know from my work as Chairman of the Step Short project in Folkestone, that promoting the town’s vital role in the First World War as the major port for troops to make the journey to and from the front line, could give us a great opportunity. 500,000 people every year make the journey from the UK to the First World War battlefields in France and Belgium, so that they can walk in the footsteps of the soldiers. Yet they can also do that by visiting Folkestone, on their way to France, and making the journey on foot down the Road of Remembrance to the harbour.
Overall, we need to bang a drum for Kent, and Folkestone and Hythe. Some people have talked about eco-tourism in Romney Marsh, and this has a role to play, but I believe the opportunity is much greater than that.
Last year I invited Tobias Ellwood MP, the Shadow Tourism Minister, to visit Folkestone for a meeting at the Creative Foundation's offices in Tontine Street, Folkestone (this meeting is pictured above). We were joined by Sandra Matthews-Marsh from Visit Kent, Mike Bedingfield from Tourism South East and Chris Kirkham from Discover Folkestone. Tourism has a vital role to play in our local economy, and is part of the story of the regeneration of our communities. But we also need a strong offering to attract visitors all year round, and also investment from individuals, institutions and businesses