business Tourism chief Jeremy Brinkworth paid a fact-finding visit to Hampshire to look at some of the county's top conference venues.

He also met with representatives from the business tourism sector to find out about the forthcoming development of a national strategy to attract more conferences and business meetings to the UK.

The tour included visits to the residential centre of The Elvetham in Hartley Wintney and Dolce Norton Manor near Sutton Scotney.

Mr Brinksworth also viewed Milestones museum in Basingstoke and Lainston House Hotel in Sparsholt, near Winchester.

The head of the Government initiative visited Hampshire to see how the county council and other agencies and authorities try to encourage business tourism, and met individuals in the local conference and meetings industry.

Julian Tomlin, general manager of Lainston House, said: "It was exciting for us to discuss future opportunities to work with Visit Britain, particularly to expand the UK market and replace the decreasing in-bound overseas visitors."

Simon Richard, who heads up Conference Hampshire, which provides a free venue-finding service for conference business, said: "Every area of the UK is competing for a share of the business tourism market.

"It is important that Hampshire is flagged up at a national level as one of the leading providers of prestige conference destinations.

"This visit by the head of Business Tourism in the UK will hopefully have planted Hampshire near the top of the list."

Visit Britain was formed last April as a result of a merger between the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council and, after consultations with key stake-holders, is in the process of producing an England Domestic Tourism Marketing Strategy.