October 20, 2017 10.13 am This story is over 85 months old

Lincoln secures £1m investment to encourage more American tourists to visit city

A major investment.

Lincoln is one of 12 historic cities which have secured a £1 million investment from the Discover England Fund for a new project to encourage more US visitors to explore regional England.

The money will be spent on bringing history to life by telling stories via enhanced augmented reality and will feature itineraries that link the cities by rail, making it easy to plan and book a multi-destination trip.

Delivered through the historic cities app, it will act as a central point for local information that highlights places to eat and stay alongside trips, tours and travel options.

Lydia Rusling, head of Visit Lincoln, said: “This is a major investment which uses cutting-edge technology to attract international visitors to Lincoln and other leading historic cities.

“Heritage is a huge draw for US visitors to England.

“The project named as ‘The Collection’ will enable Lincoln to share our amazing stories through digital technology and will bring the city wider exposure to this important international market.”

This is the first time that England’s Historic Cities have collaborated in this way, The Collection is one of a number of successful projects to receive funding from the UK Government’s £40 million Discover England Fund.

The Discover England Fund is administered by VisitEngland and aims to ensure that England stays competitive in the rapidly growing global tourism industry.

VisitEngland chief executive Sally Balcombe said: “The successful projects will boost international and domestic visitor growth creating a step-change in the industry and spreading the economic benefits of tourism across England.”

The project is being managed by a board chaired by consortium member Ruth Connor, CEO of Marketing Lancashire.

Ruth said: “We are thrilled to have secured investment from the Discover England Fund.

“We are grateful for the support of our partners and look forward to showing the results of our work.”