People living in the Euro-zone are set to flock to the UK in 2009, giving Kent�s tourism industry a much-needed boost, says the owner of two award-winning hotels in the county.

Gavin Oakley says the continued strength of the Euro makes the UK a popular choice of destination for European visitors. He has already noticed a sharp increase in enquiries and bookings from across the English Channel for his two hotels, Wallett�s Court Country House Hotel and Spa in Westcliffe, and The White Cliffs Hotel in St Margaret�s-at-Cliffe near Dover.

European guests at Wallett's Court in 2008 were up around 10% on 2007.

Gavin said: �Being on the doorstep of Europe we find that the hotels are a great barometer to judge the effects of sways in the balance between Euro and Sterling. There is without doubt a strong correlation between the number of European guests visiting our hotels and the relative strength or weakness of the pound.

�We are already receiving increased levels of enquiries and booking requests and I�m sure that in the spring and summer we will welcome increased levels of visitors from France, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany. To this end we are planning on focusing our marketing campaigns for 2009 toward Northern France and the Low Countries.

�Kent offers great value for money in 2009 for both Euro-zone travellers and domestic tourists,� he adds.

Wallett�s Court Hotel is an exclusive independently owned 4-star country house hotel, restaurant and spa in a stunning cliff top location four miles east of Dover. Its restaurant has developed an excellent reputation for fine dining and has won plaudits throughout the hospitality sector. The hotel has attracted a host of celebrity guests, including Little Britain star David Walliams, Ryder Cup golfer Colin Montgomery, and TV presenters Richard Madeley and Judy Finnegan.

Gavin invested �1.5m in opening The White Cliffs Hotel in May 2007. It centres around a traditional Kentish weather-boarded inn, parts of which date back to Elizabethan times. Many of the hotel�s 15 bedrooms have been refurbished and restyled to give them a contemporary �New England� twist, while the loft has been converted into a luxury micro spa offering �his and hers� treatments using organic, hand-made products. For more information visit www.wallettscourt.com or www.thewhitecliffs.com.

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