“We know that Brexit may impact some of our most crucial economic areas, such as agriculture, and we need to ensure that tourism contributes more to the local economy. Herefordshire alone currently attracts around 5 million visitors a year. I’d like to see us double that number in the next decade but it will require a great deal of aspiration, inspiration, perspiration and, most importantly, collaboration to make that happen. We urgently need more significant discussion to develop a short, medium and long-term strategy which will deliver tangible economic benefits for the region. The average expenditure of day visitors to the Marches is around £23 per head, compared to a national average of around £35. If we could close that gap, it would add several hundred million pounds a year to the region’s economy - and that’s before we add to the actual number of visitors. We really need to start joining some dots.”