Double boost – A Red Letter Day for Kent

Visit Kent is celebrating a double-boost to the county’s economy with the announcement of two successful Regional Growth Fund bids both of which promise to boost business and create jobs.

The county council’s successful Expansion East Kent £40 million bid is aiming to grow East Kent businesses and leverage £320m of private sector investment.

Meanwhile, Kent is also set to benefit directly from the £20 million awarded to Visit England today (Monday, October 31) from the Coalition Government’s Regional Growth Fund.

Visit Kent, the county’s tourism champion, is a named partner in Visit England’s successful bid for funding for a three-year tourism campaign – Growing Tourism Locally.

The nationwide campaign is aiming to encourage Britons to explore more of their country and stimulate local economic growth and jobs.

Sandra Matthews-Marsh, Chief Executive at Visit Kent, said: “This is a real red-letter day for our county. The teams at Kent County Council and Visit England both put forward very strong, compelling bids.

“Tourism already contributes more than £3.2 billion to our economy every year. Our research shows that our leisure, tourism and hospitality businesses are ready to grow their markets and create more jobs.

“Expansion East Kent and the Visit England funding will enable them to gain the additional support they need to develop their businesses, take on more staff and take their product to market.

“At Visit Kent, working closely with the industry and other partners, we have the expertise to deliver the training, the marketing partnerships, the quality accreditation and the business advice tourism businesses need to succeed.

“The Visit England’s Growing Tourism Locally campaign, and further support through East Kent Expansion, will help us all not only maximise themany opportunities of 2012 but strengthen the legacy which will boost our tourism sector and the Kent economy for many years to come.”