VisitEngland director: heritage highlights in 2024 for groups

As we look ahead to a new year it is timely to highlight just how important tourism is to our economy. Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, supporting hundreds of thousands of businesses, employing about 2.6 million people and generating about £66 billion in domestic visitor spending in 2022.

These statistics represent the many millions of people who enjoy our world class attractions and destinations.

Our annual VisitEngland Awards for Excellence illustrate the sheer depth and quality of England’s tourism offer with 20 Gold Awards handed out in 2023, a testament to the outstanding innovation, quality products and customer service excellence thriving across our tourism landscape.

Outdoor lovers will be able to enjoy new sections of the King Charles III England Coast Path; wine connoisseurs can take on new tours from Kent to Yorkshire and there’s a wealth of new places to rest your head on the horizon.

A key priority for VisitEngland is the creation of the Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) programme, following the implementation of the recommendations of the de Bois review of Destination Management Organisations in England. The LVEP scheme is reducing fragmentation and bringing coherence to our tourism landscape, ensuring we have the right infrastructure to enable England to continue to be a compelling destination for visitors.

VisitEngland’s focus is also on providing targeted support to the industry through its Business Advice Hub, from guidance and tools on accessibility and sustainability to its new Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkits. Free trade initiatives including the ‘Taking England to the World’ trade programme continue with educational webinars and in-person seminars, supporting businesses to reach new customers and grow their revenue.

The Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB) network is now connected to 100 Destination Management Organisations, 150 distributors and about 3,000 suppliers as well as to 450 booking systems. This business-to-business platform is a one-stop shop for English tourism suppliers to link to distributors with international reach and sell their products overseas.

Looking ahead, we will again be supporting English Tourism Week, running from 15th-24th March, 2024, highlighting tourism’s economic importance and promoting businesses and destinations to boost domestic breaks.

Tourism is one of England’s largest and most valuable industries, supporting hundreds of thousands of businesses, employing about 2.6 million people and generating about £66 billion in domestic visitor spending in 2022.

There really is something for everyone in England in 2024. From new world-class music venue the Co-Op Live Arena, set to open in Manchester in April, to the redevelopment of some of our great heritage sites including Norwich Castle; Durham’s Raby Castle and the Black Country Living Museum.

Outdoor lovers will be able to enjoy new sections of the King Charles III England Coast Path; wine connoisseurs can take on new tours from Kent to Yorkshire and there’s a wealth of new places to rest your head on the horizon, from Oxford’s newest boutique hotel, The Store, to Northumberland’s Bailiffgate Hotel, opening in spring overlooking Alnwick Castle.

We also continue to deliver our statutory role to provide expert advice and insights to industry and to the UK Government, and to making the strongest possible case for tourism, one of England’s greatest industries.

Andrew Stokes,
Director, VisitEngland

For more information head to www.visitengland.com.