The head of the county's tourism agency has called on the Government to help mitigate against any disruption on the industry as a result of Brexit.

Deirdre Wells took over as CEO of Visit Kent last month. And in one of her first moves she has written to Jeremy Wright MP, secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport to outline plans and appeal for funding for a Brexit resilience fund for Kent tourism businesses.

In particular, she is concerned over the impact on the entry point at Dover and the Channel Tunnel.

A spokesman for Visit Kent explained: "Delays at the port and resultant traffic congestion would not only have a negative impact on Kent businesses but also on businesses across the UK for whom Kent is a key access point for goods and services. It would also run counter to the message that the UK is a welcoming destination for international business and visitors."

Mrs Wells says she is concerned the replacement to Operation Stack - Operation Brock - may be insufficient to manage traffic flows. It would see a contraflow put in place on part of the M20 to allow cars to use the road in the event of lorries backing up onto it.

She said: "Visit Kent is keen to ensure that businesses are aware of the need to prepare for delays and congestion.

"There is concern the disruption will coincide with the beginning of the tourism season and the important Easter holiday period - and the impact that this will have on the thousands of Kent SMEs, many of whom lack the resources to manage major external disruption of this scale.”

To minimise this impact, and to ensure the return to business as usual as quickly as possible, Visit Kent is proposing a substantial tourism business resilience fund and strategy.

This would include a communications strategy to co-ordinate and cascade up to the minute traffic news from KCC, Highways England, Kent Police, Port of Dover and Eurotunnel to ensure clear information to tourists and businesses alike; a 'rail-first' strategy to encourage visitors to switch to rail and minimise the impact on the roads; a recruitment and retention campaign – encouraging businesses to grow their own talent and recruit locally to build capacity for the future; and a major Welcome to Kent campaign, linked to the Great campaign [the Government's international promotion campaign], launched next summer to press home the message to domestic and international visitors that Kent, and the UK, is an open and welcoming destination

It proposes the fund would be supported by major tourism partners in Kent, including KCC, Eurotunnel and Southeastern trains as well as major tourist attractions and hospitality businesses. Led by Visit Kent, the fund would not only support Kent tourism, estimated to be worth in excess of £2 billion, but also the wider UK tourism economy.