VisitEngland chair tours city and county

The Chair of VisitEngland’s Advisory Board, Lady Victoria Borwick, has visited Derby and Derbyshire, as part of the celebrations for English Tourism Week.

The three-day visit was organised by the Visit Peak District, Derbyshire & Derby Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) as part of VisitEngland’s annual English Tourism Week campaign.

Victoria was greeted by Jo Dilley, managing director of Visit Peak District & Derbyshire and Stella Birks, visitor economy development manager for the Visit Derby team at Derby City Council.

In Derby, Victoria visited Derby Museums‘ Museum of Making and toured the newly transformed Derby Market Hall, which is set to reopen in May following a multi-million-pound refurbishment. She heard about the inspiring vision to make the city centre a vibrant place to live, work and visit.

Speaking of the visit, Rob Gorton, chair of the Derby Destination Development Board and senior manager at Toyota Manufacturing UK said: “Derby is undergoing a huge regeneration with numerous developments that will increase vibrancy, improve reputation and deliver increased footfall.

“It was a great opportunity to demonstrate the partnership working, and the energy and enthusiasm that is so characteristic of Derby as she toured the city and talked with business owners and city leaders.”

The aim of English Tourism Week is to emphasise the vital role of tourism in boosting local economies and strengthening communities, and the visit highlighted the sector’s valuable £2.89bn contribution to the local economy.

The theme for this year’s English Tourism Week was ‘supporting people and places to drive growth’, and the visit saw Victoria meeting businesses in the city and county to find out more about their successes, opportunities and challenges for the future, alongside ongoing work to boost growth across the visitor economy.

Jo Dilley of Visit Peak District & Derbyshire said: “A strong, sustainable visitor economy is integral not just to those who live, work and visit here, but for the fabric of our places and communities, and we are committed to working collaboratively on shared priorities to ensure the Peak District and Derbyshire continues to be a compelling destination, for both domestic and international visitors, for years to come.”

Rob Gorton added: “We look forward to an even closer working relationship with VisitEngland as part of the Visit Peak District, Derbyshire and Derby Local Visitor Economy Partnership.”

The tour also included Cromford Mills, a trip on the cable-car at The Heights of Abraham and a dinner which showcased the breadth and variety of the area’s tourism offer and provided opportunity for a ‘roundtable’ discussion.

Guests included Visit Peak District & Derbyshire chair Sir Richard FitzHerbert; Cllr Barry Lewis, leader of Derbyshire County Council; Sam Dennis, strategic director for place at Derby City Council; Rob Gorton of the Derby Destination Management Board and representatives from local businesses including Chatsworth, The Devonshire Group and The Heights of Abraham.

Commenting on her visit Lady Victoria Borwick, Chair of VisitEngland said: “I was delighted to visit tourism businesses in the Peak District, Derbyshire and Derby and see for myself the passionate local businesses and attractions that make this region an outstanding visitor destination.

“From spectacular natural landscapes to world-class heritage, welcoming accommodation and innovative new businesses, the region has so much to offer. “