National tourism agency VisitBritain is gearing up to host more than 120 international travel trade on educational visits across the UK as part of its flagship ‘Showcase Britain’ event.
With VisitBritain set to launch its global screen tourism campaign ‘Starring GREAT Britain’, many of the educational visits include film-and-tv inspired experiences, showing international travel buyers and media the real destinations at the heart of the on-screen action.
Travel trade from across 17 international markets will be undertaking tailored visits to destinations across England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. The educational trips shine the spotlight on the latest products and experiences on offer, getting those sold in international markets and on to the itineraries of future visitors, driving growth from tourism across the nations and regions.
Buyers set to attend ‘Showcase Britain’ include travel trade from the USA, the UK’s largest and most valuable inbound visitor market, as well as from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Nordic countries and South Korea.
Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant said:
“Thanks to our stunning scenery, heritage and world-class screen industries, many of the unforgettable moments that have taken our breath away at the cinema were filmed in the UK.
“We want more visitors from home and abroad to immerse themselves in British destinations made famous thanks to film and TV, and events like this will help drive growth in our £74 billion tourism industry.
“Through our Plan for Change we want to welcome 50 million international visitors a year by 2030, while creating opportunity in local communities and setting the scene for the UK’s thriving visitor economy for years to come.”
VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said:
“With the upcoming launch of our ‘Starring GREAT Britain campaign, now is the perfect time to roll out the red carpet and welcome international buyers to Britain. Building product and destination knowledge broadens travel itineraries so visitors explore more, including through our regional gateways, driving visitor spending into local economies.
“From exploring our vibrant cities, world-class attractions and stunning countryside, to enjoying our exciting contemporary culture and hospitality, international buyers will have a front row seat experiencing first hand why Britain is the real star of the show. I know that they will return home inspired to sell more British destinations this year.”
VisitBritain’s in-country teams have worked in partnership with Tourism Northern Ireland, VisitEngland, VisitScotland and Visit Wales to develop tailored itineraries* for each inbound market.
The three-to-five-day hosted visits are part of the national tourism agency’s ‘Showcase Britain’ trade mission, which gets underway with a networking event for international buyers and travel media hosted at Hampton Court Palace in Surrey, on 23 January.
The buyers are set to be officially welcomed by Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant, VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois CBE and its CEO Patricia Yates. VisitBritain’s trade teams will be updating delegates on its latest market research and insights with presentations also from VisitEngland, London & Partners, VisitScotland and Visit Wales on the latest products, experiences, hospitality and accommodation on offer across the nations and regions. Before heading off on their educational tours, the buyers are attending the ‘Britain & Ireland Marketplace’ (BIM) trade event on 24 January, held at the Intercontinental London – The O2, with a full day of business appointments and networking with tourism suppliers and destinations.
Inbound tourism is one of the UK’s most valuable service exports, worth an estimated £32.5 billion to the economy in 2024 in visitor spending, showing an annual growth of 5 percent.
Notes to Editors:
· All buyers will visit London with individual markets also visiting the following destinations across the UK:
o Australia and New Zealand – Cumbria, Liverpool
o Brazil – Scotland
o Canada – Oxfordshire
o China – Cumbria, Liverpool, Manchester and Northern Ireland
o France – Bristol, Bath and Wales
o Germany and Austria – Kent and Sussex
o Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries – Scotland
o India – North East of England and Scotland
o Japan – Cornwall, Cotswolds and Devon
o Italy – North East of England
o Netherlands and Belgium – Derbyshire, the Peak District and the West Midlands
o Nordics – Wales
o South Korea – Bristol and the West Midlands
o USA – North East of England
· For more information about VisitBritain’s ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ upcoming campaign and destination inspiration to come see the real star of the show in 2025 see: https://www.visitbritain.org/starring-great-britain
· For VisitBritain’s 2025 annual events calendar please see: https://www.visitbritain.com/en/annual-events-britain
Media Schedule for Thursday 23 January
Morning – Media with respective market groups
Afternoon – Market groups to Hampton Court Palace
12:00 – 12:30 Arrival
12:30 – 14:15 Lunch (including entertainment and welcome speeches)
14:15 – 15:15 Session 1:
15:15 – 15:35 Networking and coffee break
Between 15.30 and 17.30 – Media interviews with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates and VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois to take place
15:35 – 16:20 Session 2:
16:20 – 16:35 Networking and coffee break
16:35 – 17:20 Session 3:
17:20 – 18:00 Farewell reception with drinks and canapes and speech from
VisitBritain CEO, Patricia Yates
Interviews with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates and VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois
Schedule – Interviews are 15 mins in length with a 5-minute changeover time. In addition, two AUS journalists and one USA journalist have 5-minute meetings as well.
Media are requested to meet in the Cartoon Gallery at Hampton Court Palace 10 minutes before their interview time to meet with VisitBritain Partnerships Executive Jane Chapman and VisitBritain Canada Country Manager Cathy Stapells who will escort them to the interviews. Full schedule Media interviews timeblocks.xlsx
Please add specific timings into a copy of this document for each of your media. Any questions, please reach out to Jane and Cathy.
Media interview schedule
Australia Arvind Hickman * 15.30 – 15.45 – interview with VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois * 15.50 – 15.55 – interview with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates
Matthew Lennon * 15.50 – 16.05 – interview with VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois * 16.20 – 16.25 – interview with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates
Brazil Beatriz Do Vale * 16.40 – 16.55 – interview with VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois
Canada Michael Baginski * 16.10 – 16.25 – interview with VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois
China Bin Wang * 15.30 – 15.45 – interview with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates
India Sheldon Santwan * 16.35 – 16.50 – interview with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates
Italy Giovanna Patane * 17.00 – 17.15 – interview with VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois
USA James Shillinglaw * 16.00 – 16.15 – interview with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates
Samantha Davis-Friedman * 16.55 – 17.10 – interview with VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates * 17.20 – 17.25 – interview with VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois
Bio: Patricia Yates, VisitBritain/VisitEngland CEO Patricia became CEO of VisitBritain/VisitEngland in 2022, having been Director of Strategy & Communications since 2005.
Patricia is responsible for the day-to-day running of VisitBritain/VisitEngland overseas and its global network of offices. She is focused on building partnerships to grow the value of tourism across Britain and supporting and developing tourism businesses. She works to ensure that overseas tourism is high on the political and economic agenda, and oversees the Media and Tourism Affairs teams. Patricia is also the Accounting Officer for the organisation.
Starting her career as a journalist working on research and technical publications, Patricia moved to edit Holiday Which? where she led on all of its research, campaigning and public affairs work in tourism, travel and transport. She launched and edited the Which? Guide to Hotels for many years.
Patricia is the Chair of the Tourism Industry Emergency Response group (TIER) which coordinates the tourism industry, developing plans and responses during specific crises. She is an observer on the board of the Tourism Alliance for VisitBritain/VisitEngland.
Bio: Nick de Bois, VisitBritain Chairman Nick de Bois was Chairman of the VisitEngland Advisory Board for three years from 1 June 2020 until his appointment as Chair of the British Tourist Authority in November 2022. During this time and acting in an independent capacity, he led the governments review into the funding and structures of England’s Destination Management Organisations.
Nick de Bois was Member of Parliament for Enfield North from 2010 – 2015. Prior to his election he was founder and Managing Director of Rapiergroup, an international events and exhibitions management agency that he set up in 1988 delivering conferences, exhibitions and digital content for U.K. and International based clients.
In 2016, he was appointed Chairman of the UK Government’s first U.K. Events Industry Board, bringing together industry and government agencies to advise the government on the implementation of its Business Events Strategy launched in 2015. This strategy set about securing an increase of inbound international visitors by winning new international events hosted at U.K. destinations. In addition, the board advised on securing growth of international visitors to established domestic events.
Nick resigned as Chair of the U.K. Events Industry Board in July 2018 to join DExEU as Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State Dominic Raab MP.
Nick lives with his wife Helen in Hertfordshire. He is also an author of “Confessions of a Recovering MP” and his first novel Fatal Ambition as well as being a contributory program host and broadcaster.
Nick was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2022.
