Tourism Minister, Michael Ellis MP, has trodden the path of the Great West Way, a new touring route from London to Bristol, which aims to attract 1.5 million new visitors to the region over 10 years.
As part of his tour (22 November), the Tourism Minister visited some of the iconic locations along the route, including: Highclere Castle (AKA Downton Abbey); Avebury, Europe’s largest stone circle; Lacock, the National Trust village that is one of the most filmed in the country; and the Roman Baths, home to the UK’s only natural hot springs.
Michael Ellis MP also visited Bristol Airport, a key gateway to the route, to unveil new imagery of the Great West Way, depicting four ways that the multi-modal route can be explored – on foot, bike, train and canal boat – and bearing the message: “Curious Travellers Start Here”.
The airport already serves more than eight million passengers a year and expects its inbound traffic to increase following the launch of the route, which is being marketed internationally and has secured £1m funding from UK Government’s Discover England Fund, designed to boost inbound tourism.
