Council unveils plans to boost tourism

Priorities in the council’s new Tourism Strategy include attracting more overnight visitors, helping tourism businesses to reach a wider audience via social media and to help businesses make the most of smart technology.

The plans have been revealed as part of the borough council’s new Tourism Strategy, which has been published to coincide with English Tourism Week.

Residents across the borough and visitors coming to the area can already enjoy a thriving tourism industry, with renowned attractions including the Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre, Twycross Zoo, the Triumph Visitor Centre, and the towns of Hinckley and Market Bosworth.

Tourism is an important part of Hinckley and Bosworth’s economy, with the local area forming a unique offering which is steeped in rich history and heritage. 

In 2022, the borough attracted 4.15m tourist days, which created £226m in the local economy and supported 2,281 jobs in the area.

Highlights of the area’s tourism industry include: 

• More than 20 places to visit, including historic sites, areas of natural beauty and water attractions and parklands
• 22 accommodation providers offering more than 1,600 bed spaces, as well as a growing number of privately managed Airbnbs
• More than 160 pubs, restaurants, bars, tearooms, coffee houses and farm shops, as well as a wide range of supporting facilities and services
• Twycross Zoo, including the Zoo’s pioneering World Primate Centre. Twycross is dedicated to preserving threatened species whilst providing education and opportunities for study and wonder for visitors  
• Bosworth Battlefield Visitor Centre, an important landmark which commemorates a significant change in England’s history as the birthplace of the Tudor Dynasty. This has been given further prominence by the reinterment of King Richard III in Leicester
• Hinckley & District Museum, which attracts visitors from across the country and overseas. Many visitors are those who are looking to find out more about their ancestral roots

Councillor Mark Bools, Deputy Leader, said:

We are proud to have an extremely vibrant tourism sector in our borough. There is so much to do and see, and we want to help our tourism industry to thrive and grow even more in the coming years. We truly believe that there’s something for everyone to see and do here – whether you want to visit the renowned primate centre at Twycross Zoo, see the birthplace of Tudor England, or visit one of the many areas of natural beauty.

Looking forward, there are several exciting new projects underway, all of which will be delivered in 2024. These include the exciting Bosworth 1485 sculpture trail, a Great Food Club trail called Taste the Place and additional short breaks opportunities. This new strategy will boost the borough’s visitor economy, enriching and expanding on the variety of business, leisure and hospitality opportunities we already have to offer. 

I am also pleased to say that we have completed our first podcast focussing on the theme of travel and tourism – a very personal view of what I consider to be some of the highlights of the borough. I hope people will have a listen or watch via the council’s YouTube channel 

For more information or to read the strategy, plus lots of information on local tourism (richardiiicountry.com)