VisitEngland has named 11 regional tourism projects which will each receive up to £250,000 of funding from the Discover England Fund.

The initiatives to receive financial support through the grant include Marketing Lancashire’s "Discover more than just a holiday" initiative. The project seeks to inspire exploration of the North West of England, targeting young travellers (18-34 year olds) from the Nordic countries (Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Iceland).

Other projects to benefit from the latest round of the Discover England Fund include Uncover the Cotswolds, led by Cotswolds Tourism on behalf of the wider region, and "The Northern World Heritage Collection", led by Cumbria Tourism and targeting the US and Irish markets to visit the region's UNESCO World Heritage sites.

The winners also feature five amplification projects, which build on previous year’s ‘test and learn’ pilots.

One of these is Marketing Cheshire’s 2017 endeavour - ‘Sport of Kings’, which promotes English horse racing to foreign tourists.

Launched in 2015, the £40m Discover England Fund was set up to stimulate a flow of international tourism into the regions – away from London – and boost the domestic tourism economy.

Successful projects can receive up to £250,000 from the project, which is now in its third year.

“The Discover England Fund helps to promote our brilliant tourist destinations to visitors all over the world," said tourism Minister Michael Ellis.

“This round of funding will focus on the North West and North East of England, including its beautiful scenery, historic places and dynamic cultural scene”.

“It will also expand tourist products in the Midlands, South and South West so that communities across the country can share the benefits of our booming tourism industry."