Hertfordshire’s tourism industry has been boosted by membership of VisitEngland’s new Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP).
The county was one of 12 destinations nationwide awarded the status on Wednesday (April 12) as part of plans to grow the visitor economy, masterminded by England’s tourism boss and Bishop’s Stortford resident Nick de Bois.
He is chairman of the British Tourist Authority, and before he was appointed in November he was chairman of the VisitEngland Advisory Board.
During that tenure, Nick was asked to lead a Government review. His task was to examine and assess how national tourism was structured and funded to see if there was a more efficient and effective model for supporting the industry.
The Government’s response to his recommendations led to creation of the national portfolio of strategic and high-performing LVEPs, now including Visit Hertfordshire, which will work together on shared priorities and targets. Their support package includes expert advice, training programmes and a toolkit to help access Government funding.
Nick said: “This announcement of the first tranche of the new LVEPs, of which I am delighted Visit Herts is one, will help pioneer positive change across the all-important visitor economy in England.
“Before the pandemic, tourism was the country’s third largest export service sector. By developing this new national and local infrastructure, we will help ensure both Hertfordshire and England continue to be a key destination of choice for domestic and international visitors.
“My congratulations to the Visit Herts team for this achievement and I look forward to working with them and our great attractions and venues across the county in my role as chair of the British Tourist Authority.”
While Nick’s work for the tourism industry earned him a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in the late Queen’s last Birthday Honours in 2022, he is best known to Indie readers as a political pundit and presenter for talkRADIO and talkTV.
He served a term as Conservative MP for Enfield North from 2010 to 2015 and then became chairman of the Government’s first UK Events Industry Board to boost tourism in 2016.
He resigned in 2018 to join the Department for Exiting the European Union as chief of staff and special advisor to the then Secretary of State Dominic Raab, who is now Deputy Prime Minister.
Nick and his wife Helen have lived in Stortford for 17 years. In 2019, he was short-listed to be the Conservative candidate for the Hertford and Stortford seat in the December General Election, but the nomination went to Julie Marson.
As well as working on his tourism review, during the Covid-19 pandemic he penned his first novel, Fatal Ambition.
The thriller draws on his experiences in the corridors of power at Westminster and follows his acclaimed memoir, Confessions of a Recovering MP, about his time in Parliament.
