KENT County Council spent more than £35,000 sending a 17-strong delegation to America last month as part of its sponsorship of a high-profile festival held in Washington.

The bill for the group's 10-day trip for the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in July and to attend a trade mission taking place at the same time was £35,485, figures released to the Kent Messenger under the Freedom of Information Act show.

The delegation of council officers was spearheaded by the Conservative county council deputy leader Cllr Alex King.

Opposition parties have questioned why it was necessary to send such a large party, but KCC, which invested £250,000 as a festival sponsor, has defended its decision.

Council chiefs said their presence was likely to produce "substantial benefits" for tourism. Around 40 people representing different aspects of Kent culture, including local crafts, music and food had their work showcased at the festival.

Cllr King said: "I do not think it was excessive in the context of looking after the 40 participants and the need to man a Kent Information Centre, which was absolutely packed with people throughout the event.

"All those who went worked their socks off, often in hot and humid conditions."

KCC estimates the value of media coverage during the event was worth at least £125,000.

Twelve officers were sent to Washington for the festival at a cost of £27,837. This included nearly £6,500 for flights and £17,500 for accommodation. A further £1,382 was spent on expenses and hospitality.

During the visit, Cllr King and three other officers also represented KCC at Trade Force 2007 - an event the county council described as an "innovative business trade mission" that would forge transatlantic trade links for the future.

The overall costs for this part of the trip were £5,865, including £2,448 on flights and £2,368 on hotel accommodation.

Opposition Labour leader Cllr Mike Eddy questioned the need to send such a large party.

He said: "You do have to question whether it was sensible to send that many people out. It seems excessive.

"We need to know if we are getting a clear return on our investment but we do not know what KCC wanted to achieve and whether it met its objectives."

The Kent Messenger Group's business editor, Trevor Sturgess, was a Trade Force delegate. Most of his costs were met by the KM but some of the accommodation expenses were covered by KCC.