Tourism officials from Kent and its nearest European neighbours have vowed to work together to help rebuild an industry worth nearly £4billion a year to the county's economy.

With lockdown measures in place across Europe and travel restrictions in place, the tourism sector has been one of the hardest hit as a result of the pandemic.

But a recent cross-Channel meeting looked to capitalise on an expected surge in demand for holidays and short-breaks closer to home as restrictions are slowly lifted.

The Straits Committee is a collaboration which aims to support business and economic development on both sides of the Channel.

And at a meeting this month, directors and senior managers from Kent, Pas-de-Calais, Department du Nord, West Flanders, East Flanders, and the internationally renowned Coastal Tourism Knowledge Institute in Zeeland met to discuss how to rebuild after lockdown.

Kent County Council cabinet member for economic development, Mike Whiting, said: “The tourism sector closed down almost completely across the Straits area in March.

“In Kent the sector has estimated a 95-98% loss in revenue, while in West Flanders losses have been put at some 750 million euros.

“The emphasis for us now is towards recovery and preparing businesses for reopening, and the Straits partners are using online tools and webinars to offer training and guidance on hygiene and adaptation.

“While our focus is on rebuilding the domestic tourism market right here in Kent, and we are engaging with the government on that, there is a tradition of tourism from near and neighbouring markets and we are keen to work together through the Straits Committee to rebuild these markets by promoting each other’s areas.”

UK tourists form the largest percentage of foreign visitors to Bruges while British and Belgian visitors are the top two foreign visitor groups in the Pas-de-Calais.

West Flanders and Pas-de-Calais receive many visitors from the UK who visit the First World War battlefields. There are 313,000 tourism businesses in France, and it faces an estimated 150,000 job losses in the tourism sector.

Deirdre Wells, chief executive officer at Visit Kent, which champions the county's tourism industry, added: “The excellent collaboration which we have established over many years means our ability to share best practice and support for our tourism businesses is strong.

“Now, more than ever, we need to continue to work closely to support our sector to recover and thrive.”

A webinar takes place tomorrow (Thursday) for the Kent hospitality and tourism industry to discuss the best way it can recover following the health crisis.

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