Natasha Woollard is the new chair of Visit Cambridge and Beyond (VCB) which also markets Bury St Edmunds as a tourist location.

She is currently the assistant director operations for the National Trust’s East of England region, leading over 20 properties in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Essex in their delivery of the Trust’s strategic objections, and is based in the Suffolk market town.

She said: “Cambridge and its surrounding areas have a fantastic tourism proposition.

“We need to build working partnerships right across the region in order to work together to maximise the opportunities and tackle the challenges – because everyone will benefit when we get it right.”

Prior to working for the National Trust she worked for Historic Royal Palaces, most recently as Head of Kensington Palace and Kew Palace, the senior leader accountable for the operational management and business performance of five internationally significant buildings open to visitors at the two sites.

She led the operational teams at both venues in evolving their customer service into a five-star visitor experience, transforming visitor numbers through a £12 million capital project and strong stakeholder relationships and evolving income generation from visitors and commercial activities.

VCB currently employs 19 staff and has around 300 members across a broad range of sectors.

Since 2016, the organisation has successfully bid – with a range of other DMOs partner across England – for £1.5m from VisitBritain’s Discover England Fund, to attract more staying visitors from US market.