David Smith

The Lichfield Garrick set the scene to launch Lichfield District Council’s visitor guide – Visit Lichfield 2010. A handbag-sized booklet, it gives visitors a taste of what the district has to offer when planning a day out or a longer stay.

The guide is split into useful sections, including: heritage & culture, festivals, leisure, food, shopping, accommodation and wedding & conference venues.

I had great pleasure in launching Visit Lichfield 2010 in front of tourist providers, contributors and special guests on Tuesday 9 February.

From the recent Staffordshire Hoard find, to the stunning Lichfield Cathedral and National Memorial Arboretum, through to the thrills and spills of Drayton Manor Park, now in its sixtieth year, Lichfield district is a fantastic visitor destination.

Tourism is an important part of our local economy. More than three million visitors travel to our district each year, spending around £90 million and supporting 3,000 local jobs. In today's financial climate, it is even more important that we encourage visitors to our district, so I am delighted to launch Visit Lichfield 2010.

The council’s Tourism team has already distributed 73,000 copies of the guide to tourist attractions and tourist information centres all over the country, and even further a field.

Visit Lichfield 2010 is now available at Lichfield's award winning Tourist Information Centre in the Lichfield Garrick. So, if local people are looking for something exciting to do on their doorstep, or just want to know what events are coming up, they can pop into the Garrick and pick up their free copy.

To find out more about Lichfield district’s tourist attractions log onto www.visitlichfield.co.uk

Photo: Here is am posing with the Visit Lichfield 2010 guide with Colin Bryan (Managing Director of Drayton Manor)