A range of businesses gathered together to explore ways to develop their offer to visitors to the county.

West Sussex County Council staged the event for firms to discuss ideas on how to encourage new and repeat visitors into and for them to stay longer.

Businesses who attended included Gatwick Airport, Tinwood Estate Wines, Chichester Festival Theatre and the South Downs National Park Authority.

Guests at Edes House in West Street, Chichester, also had the opportunity to hear from former Olympian Jon Ridgeon about Velo South – the new 100-mile closed road cycling event taking place in West Sussex on Sunday, September 23.

Louise Goldsmith, leader of the county council, hosted the event to enable local businesses to come together and work collaboratively to develop the visitor offer.

She said: “West Sussex is such an amazing county with a wide and diverse range of places to visit and things to do.

“But it is a ‘best kept secret’ so we need to open up the West Sussex box of delights for visitors to come and try and to help our businesses grow.

“The reception was a fantastic opportunity to explore how we can work collaboratively to grow the visitor economy.

“Those of us who live and work in this beautiful county know how many treasures we have here and the warm welcome visitors receive.

“We need to encourage more people from right across the country to experience the wonderful county of West Sussex.”

To find out more about what the county has to offer, visit www.experiencewestsussex.com

The Experience West Sussex Campaign is a visitor economy initiative led by West Sussex County Council, working in partnership to support businesses and the local economy.

The visitor economy is a major contributor to the county’s economy, supporting around 56,000 jobs and 4,400 businesses in the local area.

The campaigns are working to develop the visitor economy and to attract new visitors.

Find out more at www.experiencewestsussex.com or following @experiencewestsussex on Facebook and @expwestsussex on Twitter.