VisitEngland Chief Executive James Berresford welcomes the Prime Minister’s five point plan to support tourism growth across the UK

LONDON, 2015-7-17 — /Travel PR News/ — VisitEngland Chief Executive James Berresford today welcomed the Prime Minister’s visit to Cornwall to announce a five point plan to support tourism growth across the UK.

VisitEngland’s Chief Executive James Berresford said: “The commitment by the Prime Minister today to grow tourism across the UK is further recognition of the enormous value and contribution of this industry, one of the decade’s biggest drivers of economic growth. Placing tourism at the heart of Government will do much to support plans to rebalance the economy. We will work closely with the new inter-ministerial group and our partners across the country to deliver on these commitments and drive growth across the regions by showcasing and developing the standout product on offer in this country to key domestic and international markets, improving connectivity, ensuring England remains globally competitive and providing world-class experiences for all visitors.”

“We have invested £57m of Government funds in English tourism over the past five years which has to date generated over £1.5 billion growth in visitor spending and created over 28,000 jobs. We aim to build on this success with both the Northern and South West Tourism Growth Funds, and the proposed Product Development Fund recommended in the Triennial Review of VisitEngland.”

As part of a £5m South West Tourism Growth Fund announced by Government, a range of activity will take place to grow tourism; deliver economic growth and boost export earnings in the South West of England.

James Berresford continues: “Our ambition for the South West Tourism Growth Fund is to work closely with VisitBritain and partner destinations to create an additional visitor spend of £60m, supporting the creation of 1,000 jobs to boost the South West visitor economy.”

In addition, VisitEngland is also delivering a £10m Northern Tourism Growth Fund, working closely with VisitBritain and partner destinations from across the region to put the assets of the North firmly on the international map. The programme aims to deliver an additional 2m visitor nights to the North of England equating to £177m in international visitor expenditure and create 3,280 jobs.

ENDS

Press enquiries:

For more information, please contact Angelah Sparg, Head of Corporate Communications Tel: T: 0207 578 1482 | M: 07917 183 668 Email:angelah.sparg@visitengland.org or Kaye Woodhouse, Senior PR Consultant. Tel: 0207 578 1452 Email: Kaye.woodhouse@visitengland.org M: 07855 962 940 or website: www.visitengland.com/biz

Notes to Editors:

Over the last five years VisitEngland has invested over £57m of Government funding in English tourism, including through Regional Growth Fund support and The Holidays at Home are GREAT campaign both matched by private and public sector funding; and the Government’s core Grant in Aid. These investments have generated over £1.5 billion growth in visitor spending and to date have created over 28,000 jobs.

A £10m Northern Tourism Growth Fund for tourism investment was announced by Government on the 6th November 2014. The total programme expenditure will be £20m, consisting of the core £10m funding from Central Government and £10m estimated match funding from partners in the public and private sectors. Match funding will be both cash funding and in-kind. This fund will be managed by VisitEngland, working closely with international delivery partner VisitBritain and partner organisations from across the North of England.

A £5m South West Tourism Growth Fund for tourism investment was announced by Government on the 5th March 2015 to grow tourism, deliver economic growth and boost export earnings in the South West of England. The total programme expenditure will be £10m, consisting of the core £5m funding from Central Government and £5m estimated match funding from partners in the public and private sectors. Match funding will be both cash funding and in-kind. This fund will be managed by VisitEngland, working closely with international delivery partner VisitBritain and partner organisations from across the South West of England.

About VisitEngland

• VisitEngland is the country’s national tourist board. We work in partnership with the industry to develop the visitor experience across England, plan national tourism strategy, grow the value of tourism in England and provide advocacy for the industry and our visitors.  Our work is underpinned by robust research and customer insights.
• Over the last five years VisitEngland has invested over £57m of Government funding in English tourism. These investments have generated over £1.5 billion growth in visitor spending and to date have created over 28,000 jobs.
• England is a unique destination and a real powerhouse in global tourism. It represents 84 per cent of the total UK visitor economy, is worth £106 billion, and supports 2.6 million jobs.
• For further information and to access the latest in-depth market intelligence and statistics visit www.visitengland.com/biz  or www.visitengland.com  for consumer information.

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