One lucky cruise ship visitor - Elaine Williams from Stourbridge in the West Midlands - has won a three-night break to the New Inn on Tresco for two, and return tickets on the Scillonian III, after entering our “Return to Scilly” competition.

The competition was offered to all cruise ship passengers to Scilly last season, of which there were 18,000, who simply had to go online to visitislesofscilly.com and enter a few details before submitting the form. Everyone who entered is eligible for a discount code to travel to Scilly this year on the Scillonian III, courtesy of Isles of Scilly Travel.

Elaine visited Scilly on the cruise ship Adonia on her first cruise. “I had never been to the Isles of Scilly before, but I instantly fell in love,” she says. “It was a really beautiful day and, even though I only made it to St. Mary’s, it was obvious that Scilly is special - so peaceful and quiet; a throwback to the 1940s. I walked to the Garrison as well as through Hugh Town to the beaches.”

Elaine is planning to come back to Scilly this September. “It will be a perfect celebration on my 60th birthday,” she says. “I am looking forward to visiting the Tresco Abbey Garden and to walk the beautiful beaches.”

“The cruise ship market is very important to Scilly, giving these day visitors a lovely taste of the islands,” says Executive Director David Jackson. “It’s in our interest to look after them really well when they are here to encourage them to want to come back for a longer holiday or short break.”

The Islands’ Partnership, the non-profit-making official Destination Management Organisation and business lead for the Isles of Scilly, is seeking an independent non-Executive Chairman to help its Board and Executive Director drive forward the continued recovery and growth of the visitor economy on the Isles of Scilly.

The position is voluntary although travel expenses will be paid on the commitment that the Chair will attend a minimum of four board meetings a year together with additional strategic input appropriate to the role.

The new Chair will be expected to provide overall leadership in governance and strategic direction. He or she will help the Islands’ Partnership to look ahead and identify key issues and opportunities for the economic prosperity of the islands. He or she will also possess strong business acumen, previous experience at Board level, but above all, energy, enthusiasm and a passion for Scilly that will help drive the future direction of the islands.

Tourism is vitally important to Scilly’s economy and the work of the Partnership is crucial in enabling the renaissance of the industry. More recently, the Partnership has started to broaden its remit to encompass a wider, almost Chamber of Commerce function as well as working more pro-actively with key service providers across the south-west region and at a national level.

“The Islands’ Partnership has achieved much in the last three years, galvanising the islands’ business community behind a clear vision and a shared commitment to support, improve and grow Scilly’s visitor economy,” says David Jackson, Executive Director. “It is vital that we now build on these foundations, which is why we are seeking to appoint a new independent non-executive Chairman to help steer the company through our next phase of development.”

“This is a very exciting time to be seeking a new non-executive Chair,” adds Islands’ Partnership Vice Chair, Robert Francis. “In a very short time frame, the Partnership has a proven track record in delivering improved visitor numbers and raising business standards across Scilly, but there is still a lot of work to be done. The islands continue to face many challenges and it’s time that we seek external, impartial and strong leadership that will enable us to build a confident and secure long-term future for Scilly’s visitor economy.”

For an informal chat, please contact David Jackson on 01720 424036 or you can email David at [email protected]

Closing date for applications is 12 noon on Monday 25th January.

See here for more information