Tourism: EU Countries

(asked on 21st November 2023) - View Source

Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, whether she has taken steps to promote tourism from the rest of Europe to (a) England and (b) Romford constituency.


Answered by
John Whittingdale Portrait
John Whittingdale
This question was answered on 29th November 2023

His Majesty’s Government works to promote the whole United Kingdom as a destination for tourists, both domestic and international, working with the devolved governments and administrations across the UK.

VisitBritain has in-market teams for Europe, including France, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the Nordics, where they promote Britain through various campaigns and marketing of Britain’s regional diversity. VisitBritain also has in-market teams for Australia, Canada and India for the Commonwealth.The latest figures from VisitBritain’s International Passenger Survey indicate there were 21 million visitors from Europe to the UK in 2022, accounting for 67% of total inbound visits to the UK and 44% of total inbound spend.

VisitBritain recently kicked off the next phase of our GREAT-funded international marketing campaign in France and Germany to showcase Britain as a dynamic, diverse and exciting destination and to drive tourism outside of London.

Each year, VisitBritain welcomes more than 120 international travel trade buyers for a series of educational visits across Britain. They showcase the latest tourism products to international buyers. Last year, we had buyers from 16 international markets taking part including France, Germany, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, the Nordic countries, Australia, India and Canada.

VisitBritain recently hosted ‘Destination Britain India’, its first trade mission to India since the pandemic. It saw dozens of British industry suppliers from across the nations and regions meet with 75 top buyers from India. The suppliers included hotels, retailers, visitor attractions, tour operators, transport providers and local destinations from across Britain.

VisitBritain is developing a new multi-million-pound GREAT Britain marketing campaign for the USA, the UK’s largest and most valuable visitor market, as well as Canada and Australia, with a focus on screen tourism.

VisitEngland is creating a portfolio of nationally supported, strategic and high-performing Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) to transform the English visitor economy landscape and appeal more strategically to domestic and inbound visitors. 26 LVEPs have now been accredited, including VisitEssex which covers the Romford area.

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