Cheshire’s leading hoteliers met on the banks of the River Dee for Cheshire Hoteliers Association’s inaugural meeting which took place on board a sightseeing cruiser privately chartered from the ChesterBoat Company.

Representing hotels all over Cheshire, guests on the boat experienced the best of what the region has to offer taking in the beautiful scenery of the River Dee, through the suspension bridge, past Grosvenor Park and the Earl’s Eye while discussing the industry’s most important issues.

New skipper of the CHA, Paul Bayliss MBE, is committed to supporting Cheshire’s marketing arm to enhance and improve the tourism offering so that visitor numbers continue to increase.

Paul said: “It is important that we step outside of our businesses from time to time and sample the rich variety of activities our visitors can enjoy such as the cruises provided by ChesterBoat who have been operating in Cheshire for over 30 years and regularly attract five star reviews for friendliness.”

Also discussed by the newly appointed chair of the association was Paul’s keenness to recognise and reward the hardworking hospitality professionals that work across the area.

Paul said: “Health and well-being is becoming more and more important in industries such as hospitality in regard to employee happiness and retention and what better place to consider the importance of this, than on the water.”

The benefits of a relaxing cruise down the river are acknowledged by the owner of ChesterBoat Brian Clarke who said: “Only this week experts have been discussing the benefits of so called ‘blue health’ and how water offers the chance to escape the hyper-connected modern world for a while.”

Wallace J Nichols, a marine biologist, has discussed and published the different ways bodies of water can have a positive affect and many psychologists have researched how just having blue space in front of you can boost your mental health.

Brian from ChesterBoat added: “We have been aware of the relaxing benefits of time on the river for years and we enjoyed welcoming the members of Cheshire’s Hoteliers Association to experience this with us.”