Tourism generates more revenue and provides more employment for the rural sector than farming, property consultants Bidwells has said.
At a special rural seminar John Hoy, who was chief executive of Blenheim Palace for 14 years before joining Bidwells, said the value of tourism is 'very poorly understood.'
During the presentation, he talked through the potential key areas that must be addressed in order to ensure that the tourism industry continues to thrive post-Brexit, such as reinstating tourism planning guidance, developing a skilled workforce, reducing red tape and improving public transport.
"If we look for example at the numbers around tourism and agriculture there are 365 million trips to rural destinations each year, generating £18.6bn for the rural economy and providing 340,000 full-time jobs.
"So tourism actually generates more revenue and provides more employment for the rural sector than farming, which might surprise many who work in this industry."
He told the audience that Britain's Events Industry is alone worth over £41bn to the economy through direct visitor spend.
"There are huge opportunities in all of these areas and the rural sector needs to look creatively in the post-Brexit market that we are in," he said.
"It needs to be more entrepreneurial, find other things to do and discover just what opportunities are out there."
