Marketing Lancashire appoints interim chair

The board of Marketing Lancashire has appointed Andrea Challis as its interim chair following the departure of Tony Attard late last year.

The search for a permanent chair is currently on hold until the government announces its response to the Destination Management Organisation review, as this could potentially inform future governance arrangements.

Andrea Challis is the joint owner of the holiday park operator The Partington Group and has served on the board of Marketing Lancashire since 2019.  She is also a member of the Blackpool Business Leaders Recovery Group and is a director of Blackpool Tourism Bid.

Andrea said: "As a Lancastrian who has worked in tourism, travel and the hospitality industry for most of my life, I’m really proud to take on the role of interim chair of the Board of Marketing Lancashire. I’m also grateful to my fellow board directors for their support and for the confidence they have shown in me.

“Over the last couple of years the tourism sector, in particular, has suffered greatly from the impact of the pandemic. Partingtons, like so many others, endured great challenges and had to dig deep, calling on all the expertise, skill and creativity of our teams to pull through.

“I believe it is that resilience and innovation, across every sector, that will be at the forefront of our recovery and in my role at Marketing Lancashire, I’ll do all I can to help Lancashire to continue to grow and thrive.”

Rachel McQueen, chief executive of Marketing Lancashire, said: “We are so pleased that Andrea has agreed to become interim chair, she is a fantastic advocate for the county and for the tourism and hospitality sector and we look forward to working closely with her over these critical next few months as we work with stakeholders to set future ambitions for the promotion of Lancashire.”