Hunt for people to promote tourism

The city council has launched a new independent company called Visit Worcester which will have a board largely made up from members of the public.

The board will meet on a monthly basis to discuss tourism in the Faithful City and what can be done to improve it.

The company will be funder jointly by the city council and private business and is being hailed as an exciting development.

The city council is devoting money from its £290,000 tourism budget to the project.

The city centre forum, which a range of city businesses sits on, will also help finance the company.

It is searching for six directors who are prepared to sit on the board unpaid and contribute ideas.

They would have to be able to offer specific skills in areas such as tourism, catering, business and the law to be considered.

City council leader Coun Simon Geraghty said: "The vast majority of people on this board won't be councillors, but other people who can contribute to the city. "The positions are unpaid, so they won't get any money from it. We have approved £50,000 of costs towards setting up this body and it will be independent of us. We see it as a very exciting project which will build a link with the business community and get people who otherwise wouldn't get involved, in thinking about tourism."

The company, which will start trading next October, will manage the city centre and the tourist information centre at Guildhall.

It came about because the authority thinks people away from everyday council life could offer fresh ideas.

City centre manager Georgia Smith said: "The new organisation is a single body to carry out tourism and city centre management functions. The people we are looking for won't be just volunteers, they'll have to have a background in something like culture, legal matters, tourism or business."

For more information on the roles contact city council head of cultural services Alan Stuttard on 01905 722303.