VISIT England and Visit Wales have pledged their support for the first cross-border destination management organisation.

Tourism chiefs from England and Wales celebrated the birth of the UK's first cross-border tourism organisation with a symbolic and historic handshake, before pledging national support and funding for the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean to grow its tourism economy.

Lady Penelope Cobham, chair of Visit England and Manon Antoniazzi, chief executive of Visit Wales, came together at Wye Dean 2015, the region's first tourism forum, organised by the Forest of Dean and Wye Valley Tourism Association (WVFDTA).

Addressing more than 125 local tourism businesses at Chepstow Racecourse last Friday (16th January) the two leaders hailed 2015 a pivotal year for the area and highlighted the important opportunity presented by the Rugby World Cup.

Lady Cobham CBE, chairman of Visit England, said: "The Rugby World Cup is the third largest sporting event in the world, you are in the global spotlight and the opportunity is huge so make sure you make the most of it."

Manon Antoniazzi, chief executive of Visit Wales, said: "Tourism is more important to the Welsh economy than in England.  We have to capitalise on the Rugby World Cup and the Ashes because tourism brings real economic benefits to communities.

"Visitors to our area do not recognise or care about the boundaries between the two countries, they simply want to enjoy our Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty so we need to have soft boundaries and keep in mind the consumer's needs and expectations.

"Place Building is critical to achieving our 10 per cent growth target by 2020 as outlined in our tourism strategy for Wales – 'Partnership for growth'. A planned approach to destination management in Wales, such as the Wye Dean partnership allows local tourism communities to decide what is most important to put in place to maximise visitor satisfaction and to stimulate local support for tourism."

Maureen McAllister, executive director of the Wye Valley and Forest of Dean Tourism Association, said: "We are honoured that two high-profile industry leaders shared insight and pledged support to help boost tourism in this region. Tourism is worth more than £300 million to the local economy and 2015 presents many incredible opportunities from sporting and cultural events that will bring even more visitors to the region."

"The WVFDTA has worked really hard and the recent reorganisation has injected extra energy," said Mark Terry-Lush, Board member, "Tourism is one of the biggest earners for the Wye Valley, a joined up approach is really important to promote the area. We encourage all tourism based businesses to join the Tourism Association to create a bigger voice for our area."