Visit Dorset, Dorset Council’s tourism team and Destination Management Organisation responsible for supporting and promoting Dorset’s visitor economy, successfully delivered an exclusive event for Dorset’s tourism businesses on 28th February.

The first large scale, free and in person event hosted by Visit Dorset since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, saw almost 100 businesses get together to network, gain support, share best practice and find ways to innovate to help their businesses thrive.

The event, held at The Shire Hall Museum in Dorchester, also provided an opportunity to visit the historic Dorset museum courtroom famous for the trial of the Tolpuddle Martyrs in 1834 and the inspiration for Thomas Hardy’s novel ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’.

Visit Dorset updated on their plans to support Dorset’s visitor economy, ways to get involved in their seasonal marketing campaigns and how important it is for businesses to complete the How’s Business Surveys which provides vital evidence on the issues affecting tourism businesses in Dorset and the support that businesses need for future survival and growth.

Visit Dorset also introduced support agencies they partner with who can directly help businesses with grants, skills training and mentoring including Dorset Business Mentors, Dorset Growth Hub, Low Carbon Dorset and Dorset Tourism Awards.

Amanda Park, on behalf of the Visit Dorset, said: “We were pleased that so many businesses were keen to get together to learn from one another and it was great to find out more about the innovative ways that businesses are operating.  We felt the timing was right to get back together to discuss the future of our visitor economy.   We hope to offer similar events in other venues across Dorset in the future.”

Visit Dorset manages the official tourism website for Dorset, www.visit-dorset.com, which receives over 2.1 million visits each year and includes a dedicated industry section for members with all of the latest up-to-date information and resources to support Dorset’s tourism businesses.