A Message from the Chief Executive

Welcome to the last newsletter I will introduce as Chief Executive for Visit Lincolnshire.

After 12 years in the post I have decided to pass over the reins, but looking back it’s been an honour and a pleasure working with tourism businesses throughout the years.

I have met some wonderful characters and truly inspirational people on my journey, and enjoyed leading the Visit Lincolnshire team in raising the profile of Lincolnshire as a quality visitor destination.

Looking back we’ve seen nearly £200 million of investment towards new and fabulous tourism facilities in Lincolnshire over the last 10 years, and together we’ve helped boost the overall value of the industry to £958 million – this is a massive achievement and something we should celebrate together.

However, the time has come for me to pass over the baton and let the company get a fresh perspective for future growth. And I feel this is just the beginning, the Directors have appointed my replacement who has the experience and passion to built on Lincolnshire’s already impressive growth in the visitor economy. I’d like to take this opportunity to introduce you to Marc Etches, the newly appointed interim Chief Executive for Visit Lincolnshire. I am sure Marc will be writing to you soon.

Once again I would like to thank you all for your continued support throughout my years at Visit Lincolnshire and to wish you every success for the future.

I’m now looking forward to my new found leisure time and plan to visit the wonderful attractions I have been working alongside for over 10 years. So perhaps our paths will cross again sometime soon…

All good wishes,

Penny Baker,
Chief Executive, Visit Lincolnshire

Useful Link:
- Press release announcing Penny Baker leaving Visit Lincolnshire
- Bio for Marc Etches

Visit Lincolnshire’s new interim Chief Executive

After a competitive recruitment process the Board of Directors and Visit Lincolnshire are pleased to announce that Marc Etches has been appointed interim Chief Executive for Visit Lincolnshire.

Marc brings a wealth of experience to the role. He has spent much of his career managing and developing national and international tourism and entertainment businesses, including five years as the managing director of Windsor Safari Park followed by six years with Center Parcs; a company that set new standards for domestic tourism in the UK during the 1990s.

Having accepted a move to join the Walt Disney Company in Paris in the summer of 1998, he was persuaded to instead take up the role of managing director of Leisure Parcs Limited, owners of Blackpool Tower, and to lead the campaign for resort casino development as a catalyst for the economic regeneration of Blackpool.

In 2004, Marc left Leisure Parcs to set up his own international consultancy Insight, which provides public affairs, advocacy and strategic advice to public and private sector clients with an interest in leisure, hospitality, tourism, gambling and the creative industries.

Marc’s strong strategic background has grown from his experience of being a board member to Culture Northwest (2003-09), a body jointly responsible to the UK Government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Northwest Development Agency (NWDA). Its objective was to champion England’s Northwest with a special focus on tourism, heritage, sport, performing art and leisure.

In 2005-06, Marc chaired the management board of a research project investigating ‘Climate Change and its Impact on Tourism’ managed by Sustainability Northwest and funded by the UK Government’s Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

When asked about his new post Marc said, “I am looking forward to working with Visit Lincolnshire and contributing to the team’s skills, knowledge and determination to highlight the county as a leading visitor destination against stiff competition elsewhere in the UK. The quality of the staff at Visit Lincolnshire, combined with the expertise of the Board of Directors was one of many things that attracted me to the role.”

Marc’s first task as Chief Executive will be introducing himself to Visit Lincolnshire’s members and tourism businesses. However, if in the meantime you have any questions please email Sharon@visitlincolnshire.com.

Visit England’s Chairman comes to Lincolnshire

Lady Cobham, Chairman of VisitEngland, visited Lincolnshire on Wednesday 24 March for VisitEngland’s Board of Directors meeting at De Vere Belton Woods Hotel.

VisitEngland's newly launched Strategic Framework for Tourism 2010-2020 was the main topic for the meeting. The strategy outlines the work to be done by public and private sectors to grow the UK’s £97 billion visitor economy.

Hosting such an influential person is a great achievement for Lincolnshire. We arranged a mini tour of the county for Lady Cobham so she could see what great visitor assets we have to offer. In the long run this first-hand experience of Lincolnshire could help reap rewards for the county and place Lincolnshire in the fore mind of our national partners.