IT was reported in the Standard today that Wiltshire saw a 17 per cent growth in tourism to the region last year.

A total of 287,000 tourists visited the county in 2014, bringing in an incredible £97 million to the area.

These figures look set to continue rising, with promises from the government that they are trying to grow the UK’s tourism sector beyond London.

While the capital offers a tourist just about everything they could want from a city, you can’t help but feel they’ll be missing out on what this country is really about if they don’t look beyond the big smoke.

Wiltshire’s rolling countryside, cultural heritage and picturesque villages are enough to entertain and educate even the most apathetic tourist.

WOMAD festival drew over 30,000 people to the county last week and locals relished the opportunity to welcome visitors with open arms. It’s a testament to what this county has to offer.

How the sector will be grown out towards Wiltshire is not yet clear. The plans to do so are still very much in the rhetoric stage it would seem, with suggestions of forging ‘innovative links between transport and tourism’, however the Prime Minister is certainly talking the right language.