April 4, 2011 4.20 pm This story is over 163 months old

Council takes over Visit Lincolnshire website

Takeover: After cutting Visit Lincolnshire funding, the County Council will take over and update the agency’s website.

The Visit Lincolnshire website will now be overseen and updated by Lincolnshire County Council.

As Visit Lincolnshire folded due to a lack of funding, Lincolnshire County Council said it will take over the tourism board’s website.

Visit Lincolnshire folded last month after Lincolnshire County Council and the East Midlands Development Agency (EMDA) cut their funding.

The agency promoted the entire county and had £650,000 of annual funding.

The Lincolnshire County Council and EMDA funding represented over 70% of Visit Lincolnshire’s budget

Visit Lincolnshire said it has cut operational costs by 46% in the last year, yet the board’s website was estimated to cost £100,000 per year to run.

Following the collapse of Visit Lincolnshire, businesses in Lincoln created a spin-off partnership to promote the city to tourists called Visit Lincoln.

County Councillor Eddy Poll, Executive Member for Economic Development, said: “By taking over the Visit Lincolnshire website, we’ve ensured that this will be the case for years to come.

“However, this is just one part of a wider strategy for boosting tourism in the county.

“Following the launch of the new Chamber of Hospitality and Tourism, we’ll continue working with colleagues in the private sector to develop this approach.

“This new organisation, along with other similar bodies, could provide a strong foundation for the type of highly-focused, industry-led partnership that the Government believes is essential for driving growth.

“We’ll shortly be meeting with tourism officers from around the county to establish ways of co-ordinating tourism promotion,” Poll added.

Source: Lincolnshire County Council