THE new chairman of the county’s tourism body wants to put Herefordshire on the map.

Alan Curless took over the role at Visit Herefordshire in November following the death of Sir Ben Gill, who served as chairman from 2010 until he died last May.

While involved in the county’s university project, Mr Curless, who lives in Ross-on-Wye, was approached about the possibility of joining Visit Herefordshire.

And after presenting the team with ideas he believed could make Herefordshire a desirable destination to visitors, he was appointed chairman.

He’s ready to take on the challenge and is already thinking of ways to tackle the biggest one – funding.

He said: “I wanted to put something back in after retirement. It’s my way of doing voluntary work. I decided I would give it my best shot.

“This is the first year since 1969 the government has not invested in regional tourism.

"The council has had to make major cuts. Three years ago they said they would have to reduce the funding but said Visit Herefordshire could go away and find alternative sources.

“The priority for me is funding – when the council was running it, it received about £300,000 and next year it’s down to £88,000."

Tourism, Mr Curless said, is ‘vital’ to Herefordshire.

“We have around 5.1 million visitors to Herefordshire but 4.3 million stay for only one day. That’s one of the lowest in the country,” he said.

“We need to get people to stay here for an extra half a day and then if you can get them to spend to an average of £33 it would bring in £105 million and 1,500 jobs. Imagine the impact that could have.”

Mr Curless, who helped develop a tourism strategy in the North West, said he wants to raise the profile of ‘the Herefordshire story’, encouraging people to spend money here and also seek inward investment.

He is aiming to speak to groups and speak to in order to triangulate ideas and form a clear idea of what people agree is best for the county, and will be seeking sponsorship, looking at funding from other sources such as the EU, enterprise partnerships and the regional development fund.

Other ideas include restoring the membership board, and looking at ways to get income from events like the city’s popular food festival.

“I also want to increase the use of social media and look to get more volunteers working in tourism,” he said.

Priorities include local tourist information centres and making local information – such as leaflets and notice boards – more area specific.

“It’s an exciting challenge,” he said.

“I want to give myself the year to make this work and if we can make it work then we can generate not only income but jobs too.”