BUSINESSES across Wirral are being invited to join a scheme which aims to help boost tourism.
More than 100 businesses have so far signed up to be part of the Wirral Visitor Economy Network.
Members can apply for up to £1,000 in funding support for events to attract new visitors to Wirral.
Among those signed up are restaurants, hotels, golf clubs, bars and cafes as well as heritage and environmental groups.
Events already awarded grant funding include the Port Sunlight River Park Birthday event on August 14, Wirral Arts Festival, taking place from October 1 - 15, and Wirral Wader Festival on October 1 and 2.
Wirral's tourism visitor economy is currently worth more than £385.5m, employs over 5,000 people and attracts 8.2 million day and short break visitors every year.
Lorna Tyson MBE, Chair of the WVEN and proprietor of Mere Brook House, 2016 winner of the Wirral and Liverpool City Region tourism awards for accommodation said: "Events are an essential part of any tourism strategy and this new events grant is a great addition to the portfolio of benefits to becoming a WVEN member.
"This grant will support both new and existing events and the organisers will work with our members in order to attract even more day and short break visitors.
"It will also help them to grow and become self-sustaining in the future."
Wirral Council leader, Cllr Phil Davies, said: "We are committed to increasing the value of Wirral's tourism visitor economy to £450 million by 2020.
"As well as major, international events like the proposed visit of the Giants in 2018, and building world-renowned venues like the international golf resort, this means working with small and medium-sized businesses to ensure we have a coherent, ambitious tourism strategy that secures benefits for them.
"We want Wirral to be the destination of choice not just for businesses, but for holiday-makers as well.
Dr Karen Leeming, organiser of Wirral Wader Festival, with Wirral Council leader Phil Davies
"We already get 7.5 million visitors every year, all spending money in the borough and making a valuable contribution to our economy.
"The network helps our businesses to grab a bigger slice of that investment.
"We already support large scale events like the Three Queens but local groups and communities can now benefit from these awards too."
More details from www.visitwirral.com/information/wirral-visitor-economy-network
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