TENNYSON's anniversary could help Lincolnshire ride the recession, according to a travel expert.

TV presenter and travel writer for the Independent Simon Calder talked tourism at the Petwood Hotel in Woodhall Spa last week.

He addressed Lincolnshire businesses on the role tourism will play in the recession.

"Tourism is the best way to fight a recession, it's very labour-intensive and not very capital-intensive," he said.

"It creates an awful lot of jobs and it's a very straightforward thing I think for a county like Lincolnshire.

"The opportunity is presented by things like the Tennyson anniversary which is going to be huge, we have seen how Charles Darwin has done fantastically well for Shrewsbury."

With its lush greenery, historic gems and fine foods on offer, Lincolnshire may be in a position to actually benefit from the recession, he said.

In fact, he felt there would be huge benefits during the economic downturn with people being more strapped for cash than usual and staying in the UK.

But he pointed out that Lincolnshire did not always market itself in the best way and was surprised by attractions in Woodhall Spa such as Kinema in the Woods.

"It is not automatic that the opposite of not being off for outbound places is in-bound tourism, not least because if you look at where people go they do not go to Lincolnshire.

"What I think people need are the beginnings of answers, how you inspire people to travel to Lincolnshire rather than anywhere else.

"You come to Woodhall Spa and you are in this beautiful English town with some amazing sights but what you don't see is 'welcome to Woodhall Spa, we have a cinema in the woods'. What we see is 'twinned with somewhere I have never heard of in France'.

"If it was 'twinned with LA' I would think 'wow'. So fix the basics and then people who are driving through will want to have a look," he added.

The conference, organised by Lincolnshire Tourism, focused on quality as the key to a business boost.

Lincolnshire Tourism chief executive Penny Baker said: "This is our fourth conference in which the driver has been success through quality.

"I believe if the focus is on quality rather than price, businesses will be more resilient.

"Research shows that we need to help people understand what's on offer. For example, the Wash is a site of international significance but some people are not quite sure what they are looking at."

Have you visited or rediscovered a part of Lincolnshire? E-mail news@targetseries.co.uk