VisitEngland director: shining a spotlight on England’s highlights

With a new year just ahead it’s timely to reflect on the importance of our tourism industry. Tourism is one of England’s most valuable industries, supporting more than 200,000 businesses, employing about 2.6 million people and, in 2023, generating £70.5 billion in domestic visitor spending. Behind these statistics are the many millions of us who have been out exploring our fantastic destinations, attractions and visitor experiences.

Shining a spotlight on the variety and quality on offer, our VisitEngland Awards for Excellence in 2024 saw outstanding winners across 19 categories, from ethical, responsible and sustainable tourism to experience of the year. These annual awards are a show-stopping reminder of the innovation and excellence thriving across England’s tourism industry.

VisitEngland’s online business advice hub provides tourism businesses with free guidance and tools in areas from accessibility and sustainability to starting a business. It offers virtual and in-person training on marketing, staff development, and health and safety, supporting businesses to grow their revenue and provide outstanding experiences for visitors.

To attract the visitors of the future we also need a resilient, sustainable, world-class industry. Growing the visitor economy and generating better outcomes for visitors, the environment, communities and businesses, including through regenerative tourism, is at the heart of VisitEngland’s restructuring of England’s tourism landscape. Through the Local Visitor Economy Partnership programme destinations are developing their unique tourism and cultural offer for both domestic and international visitors, attracting inward investment and ensuring positive contributions to their communities.

The Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB) network continues to grow. More than 1,000 tourism businesses across England are using TXGB, sharing more than 6,000 products across 150 distribution channels. This business-to-business platform is a one-stop shop for tourism suppliers to link to distributors with international reach. From our world-class attractions to unique regional experiences, TXGB removes connectivity barriers. For example, a small B&B in Salisbury can connect with buyers in Shanghai!

Looking ahead to 2025, we will again be supporting English Tourism Week, running from 14-23 March, highlighting tourism’s economic importance and promoting businesses and destinations to boost domestic breaks.

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

Andrew Stokes,
Director, VisitEngland

For more information head to www.visitengland.com.