Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what discussions his Department has had with Buckingham Palace on promoting the Mayflower 400 celebrations in September 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
The Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport has not had any direct discussions with Buckingham Palace regarding the Mayflower commemorations. The Mayflower 400 group are leading on the preparations and liaising with stakeholders.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he has made an estimate of the number of US tourists who will visit the UK in 2020 as part of the Mayflower celebrations in September 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
DCMS has provided £750,000 of funding for the Mayflower celebrations through VisitEngland. This funding was used to:
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether he plans to put in place a strategy to attract tourists to the UK during the Mayflower celebrations in 2020.
Answered by Michael Ellis
VisitBritain estimates that the UK will receive approximately 4m visitors from the United States in 2020 - we cannot identify if they will be here specifically for the Mayflower commemorations. Disney Cruises, with whom VisitBritain have a partnership, will also stop at Plymouth on the way from Southampton, Hampshire to Boston, Massachusetts. This is estimated to draw an additional 13,500 visitors for the event.
Asked by: Mark Garnier (Conservative - Wyre Forest)
Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to promote growth in tourism.
Answered by Tracey Crouch
The GREAT Britain campaign continues to promote great British holidays at home, through the 'Holidays at Home' are GREAT campaign, and overseas. In its first 3 years of operation, it is estimated that the campaign has now generated £520.6 million in incremental spend for the domestic tourism industry and over two million domestic overnight holiday trips. It is anticipated that Visit Britain's GREAT activity will help generate an extra £305 million in incremental spend by inbound visitors (2012/13-2013/14).
The £2 million GREAT UK Challenge Fund, administered by VisitEngland, will help promote cities, regions and nations across the UK overseas. We are also encouraging travel outside of London through an innovative financial incentive scheme for Chinese tourists (equivalent to the cost of a visit visa). Our £10 million tourism in the North and £5 million tourism in the South West funds, also aim to create joined-up strategies for promoting these areas as top holiday destinations for international travellers and aid stable job creation.