Nicky van der Drift has spent over 20 years working with projects and events connected to national and international tourism and is currently the CEO of the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC).

In January this year she was awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours list for her dedication to heritage through her work with the IBCC. 

As Chair of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP’s Visitor Economy Board, she wrote this blog about the strengths of Lincolnshire and the focus on skills in the sector. 

The visitor economy encompasses more than just tourism; it also includes hospitality, events, arts, retail and even sport. 

The main purpose of the Visitor Economy Board is to attract visitors to the area, which boosts the local economy, and to influence place, making Lincolnshire a better place for people to work and live. This helps bring in funding for the area and encourages more people to settle in the county. 

This year the board is specifically focusing on skills and is committed to making people more aware of the jobs available in the visitor economy sector.  

When people think of visitor economy jobs, they immediately think of hospitality, but actually there’s a wide range of jobs available in the sector including site management, accounting, event management and even marketing.  

This is a really inclusive sector and there are jobs available for every skillset, which is something we really want to promote in Lincolnshire. 

Our new skills campaign is aimed at two key demographics. The first is those aged 18 to 25 who may be looking for their first job or wanting to start a career; the second is over 40s who may be returning to work or looking for a change in career. 

These groups could bring valuable skills and experience to the sector and have been identified as a gap in the visitor economy workforce. 

In a bid to encourage more people to consider a job in the sector, we are working alongside the Greater Lincolnshire LEP on a new campaign that allows people to discover their skills matrix and see how this matches current vacancies in the industry. 

The board is also committed to working with local businesses and organisations to continue to promote Lincolnshire. 

Lincolnshire is really lucky as there are many organisations that really recognise the power of a strong visitor economy and are excited to deliver that. 

The recent LVEP accreditation awarded to Destination Lincolnshire is a great example of the hard work going on in the county to boost the visitor economy. 

The Visitor Economy Board has got a great mix of members and there’s representation from a wide range of sectors. Together we’ll continue to shine a light on the wonder that is Lincolnshire, both as a tourist destination as well as a desirable place to work, live and study. 

Find out more about the visitor economy here.