HEREFORD'S stricken tourism industry has been given a £1.9m boost in a bid to bring it back to life after last year's foot-and-mouth crisis.

The money, which will be administered via a three-year funding programme, is part of Tourism Enterprise in Herefordshire, which is supported by the EU, the Rural Regeneration Zone, Business Link, Herefordshire Council and the Countryside Agency.

Funding has also come from the private sector.

The initiative will include new programmes as well as building on current schemes.

It will include the promotion of the black and white villages, the Flavours of the Countryside and Cider Route and training schemes to develop business and IT skills.

The initiative will also have a "sustainable" theme, encouraging visitors to travel through the county using environmentally friendly means, such as public transport, riding bicycles or walking.

Natalia Silver, cultural services manager for Herefordshire Council, said the funding would help the county get back on its feet after last year's epidemic.

"It has been a long road, but this new investment will make a tremendous difference in attracting visitors to the area and in dertermining what we can offer when they are here," she said.