British Tourism Week
Take part in a host of events up and down the country
This week we’re celebrating British Tourism Week, eight days of activities aimed at promoting British tourism to get more people enjoying days out and holidays up and down the country.
The week was officially launched on the Grand Pier at Weston-super-Mare on Saturday (12 March) and continues this week with events ranging from vineyard tours in Hastings, themed walks in London and a photographic exhibition of British Piers in Redcar.
The tourism and hospitality industry generates around £90 billion of direct business for the UK economy each year and employs over 1.3 million people.
Putting customers first
Speaking in Cambridge earlier today at the VisitEngland conference, Tourism and Heritage Minister John Penrose explained how the Government’s Tourism Strategy aims to put the customer first, with more emphasis on independent local tourism boards based around destinations and attractions rather than regions, better reflecting the needs of customers and tourism businesses.
“We want a new way of doing things. Bottom-up, and customer focused, with strong independent local bodies whose zones of interest and influence are defined by a genuine sense of place, not an arbitrary line on an electoral boundary map,” said Mr Penrose.