Sports and Tourism Minister visits South West
Hugh Robertson heads to the South West for his first visit as Tourism Minister
Robertson yesterday visited Destination Bristol, one of VisitEngland’s strategic partners. Destination Bristol has recently been awarded £500,000 from the Regional Growth Fund as part of the ‘Growing Tourism Locally’ programme. The funding will support its most ambitious marketing campaign ever in 2013 to encourage more UK residents to holiday at home.
During his visit he had a roundtable discussion with industry leaders from the area to discuss how Bristol can continue to grow its tourism sector. Bristol was the fourth most-visited English destination last year with 1.83 million trips. It is also the fifth most-visited English destination by overseas visitors, attracting 432,000 visitors who spend 2.6 million nights in the city each year.
Ahead of the trip to Bristol, Hugh Robertson visited Taunton to give a keynote speech at South West 2012 Games Legacy Conference. The event was to help the region look at how they can take forward the success of the summer, including helping to stage the sailing events in Weymouth. Robertson congratulated them on their success, saying that a legacy focused around sporting, economic and social benefits were a priority for Government.