New chairman to lead tourism in Herefordshire

Peter Hands, a former Wales Tourist Board director, has been appointed as the new Chairman of Visit Herefordshire, the tourism organisation for the county, tasked with making Herefordshire a better place to work, live and visit.

Peter Hands lives in Herefordshire but has a wide range of experience in the tourism industry both in Herefordshire and over the border in Wales.

His 21 years of experience in the tourism industry ranges from hotel and self catering ownership; developing a tourist association in the South Wales valleys and being appointed as a Director to the Wales Tourist Board by the First Minister of Wales.

"I'm looking forward to taking on this exciting challenge and to establishing Visit Herefordshire as the voice for the tourism industry in Herefordshire both in a local, regional and national context.

"My experience within the tourism industry in Herefordshire and latterly in Wales will enable me to share some of that knowledge with the tourism operators in Herefordshire," he added.

"During the next three years there are many exciting opportunities and challenges for the tourism industry in the county including The Ryder Cup in Newport, which businesses in Herefordshire should be capitalizing on.

"Visitors do not understand boundaries and it's essential that we work cross border not only with our neighbouring counties in England but also in Wales".

Visit Herefordshire is a private/public partnership with more than 350 members in its first year of operation.

The partnership was formed in April 2006 following a comprehensive consultation period with the tourism operators in the county.

Jane Lewis, the council's cultural services manager, said: "The position of chairman is key to the continuing success of the partnership. The partnership has already developed many exciting projects and is working on a plan for the next three years to ensure that Herefordshire is high on the agenda for visitors to the West Midlands".