The Member of Parliament for Eastleigh, and Minister at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Mims Davies, last week visited Eastleigh pub The Good Companions in Leigh Road, and the Gleneagles Equestrian Centre in Allington Lane to mark English Tourism Week.
Taking place in spring each year, English Tourism Week - which took place from the 30th March – 7th April 2019 - campaigns to raise the profile of the industry and celebrate the value and quality of tourism in England.
Reflecting on Fridays visit, Eastleigh MP and DCMS Minister Mims Davies said:
“I really enjoyed marking English Tourism Week locally last Friday. Our area has plenty for people to enjoy when they visit, from the Royal Victoria Country Park in Netley, to the stunning woodland and scenery around the nationally renowned angling hotspot that is the River Itchen, and on to the local shopping experience, with Hedge End home to Europe’s biggest M&S!
“Every good tourist attraction needs a decent watering hole, and last week it was great to pop in to The Good Companions in Leigh Road to meet with Chief Executive of the British Beer & Pub Association, Brigid Simmonds OBE, and this lovely pubs managers Dan & Claire.
“Pubs are hubs within our communities, and so it was great to hear from Dan and Claire about how they’re getting involved in the Eastleigh BID, Pubwatch and also working to tackle loneliness in our area by hosting a group from Mencap on a Monday evening.
“Afterwards, I met with Debbie and Lucy at Gleneagles Equestrian Centre, based in Allington Lane in West End. Having been involved with my local riding school as a child, I loved being around the horses on the yard, and was really pleased to hear about how Debbie and Lucy work with the Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA) by offering weekly one to one sessions for disabled children and adults, while also offering plenty for both locals and tourists to get involved in.”
As Eastleigh’s MP, Mims has always looked to support local businesses, regularly meeting with businesses across the constituency, representing their views in Westminster, and supporting initiatives such as Small Business Saturday, held in December each year. If you would like Mims to come and visit your business, please email mims.davies.mp@parliament.uk