RICHMOND Council is launching a new website to encourage more visitors to come to the borough.

The site will be launched on Monday at Orleans House Gallery in Twickenham. Richmond is the first London borough to use a separate website to promote itself for the tourist industry.

Councillor John Ross, cabinet member for community and business on Richmond Council, said: "I am delighted that we are now using the World Wide Web to promote our borough, the garden of London, in this way. The ‘net has become such an integral part of our daily lives – very often it is the first place we go when planning a trip or a holiday. This site really makes sense.

"Richmond is London’s most beautiful borough. We are also rich with historic attractions and wonders of the modern world such as Kew Gardens.

“Tourism contributes £217million to the local economy. This site will encourage more people to visit us and help them make the best of what we have to offer when they get here."

The new site allows visitors to search for and book accommodation online and find out about all visitor attractions in the area such as Kew Gardens, Hampton Court Palace and lesser-known Garrick’s Temple. It also gives ideas of things to do depending what mood you’re in, has a comprehensive travel section and an extensive list of events that are happening in the area.

The council hopes that the site will be more appealing to visitors and encourage them to stay longer and explore the area. The site will also act as a great source of information for local people who want new ideas for things to do or for when friends and relatives come to stay, which has recently been recognised by the English Tourism Council (now VisitBritain) as a growing sector in tourism.

The site can be found at: www. visitrichmond.co.uk.