VisitBritain has once again joined forces with the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) to deliver what is now the largest ever business-to-business tourism event promoting Britain internationally.
2013-03-19 — /travelprnews.com/ — The Hosted Buyers Marketplace (HBM), which gets underway today at the iconic Wembley Stadium, is an exclusive opportunity for British tourism suppliers and destinations to meet and do business with over 200 specially selected international buyers(1)from some 22 countries.
HBM gives the tourism industry even greater opportunity to reach key buyers through a programme of pre-scheduled and open appointments with additional networking at a gala dinner. The range of markets hosted by the tourist board this year includes record numbers from China, Germany and India.
Not only is HBM 2013 a record year for international buyer attendance, but it’s also a pioneering year for the accompanying hosted famil trips. The sheer variety of itineraries has never before been seen, with 16 trips in total taking place. These range from the Scottish Highlands to the southern reaches of Cornwall, with activities such as coasteering on the Welsh coast to driving vintage cars at Goodwood on offer.
All the famil trips are bespoke to the specific needs of each market and are based upon VisitBritain’s extensive market research and insights. They are focused upon introducing new and inspiring bookable product to the overseas trade with the objective of increasing British experiences into operator’s programmes and helping increase visitor numbers to some 40 million a year by 2020.
Latest research shows that not only the 2012 Games, but also VisitBritain’s biggest ever marketing campaign, have significantly increased interest in visiting the UK and exploring different parts of the country.(2)
Chief Executive of VisitBritain Sandie Dawe said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for British tourism businesses to sell themselves to international buyers from all our key markets.
“Britain has enjoyed a fantastic image boost over the past year – millions visited us and millions more saw us on TV. Our job now is to convert that interest into visits and to get more of Britain into tour operators’ progammes and sold by travel agents around the world.”
ETOA’s Executive Director, Tom Jenkins said: “International trade missions sell Britain to the world. Hosted Buyers Market brings major inbound tour operators to see all the wonderful things the UK has to offer. That this second year is showing a 20% growth of attendees shows how a partnership between the public and private sector can work. This is an extremely valuable export industry and it is good news for Britain that the network is flourishing.”
Notes to Editors:
- For the full list of suppliers and buyers contact: david.leslie@visitbritain.org
- To see a report on Britain’s image post-Olympics, go to: http://bit.ly/XbKrzW
- The contribution of inbound tourism to the UK economy continues to grow. Around 31 million international visitors enjoyed a trip across Britain in 2012, the best year for inbound visits since 2008. Figures also show a record £19bn in was spent last year, a 4% rise on 2011.
For more information contact:
- David Leslie.
- e: david.leslie@visitbritain.org
About VisitBritain
VisitBritain is Britain’s national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain overseas. We work with thousands of organisations in the UK and overseas to market Britain successfully to visitors from around the world. We also work to promote the tourism industry within the UK itself.
We work in partnership with the Government, the industry and our strategic partners in London, England, Scotland and Wales to promote Britain in 35 key overseas markets.
Our network of international offices is supported by our London-based marketing, commercial, research and policy teams, who in turn are backed up by experts in IT, financial management and other essential disciplines.
We also provide UK government with advice on tourism policy and raise awareness of the significance of tourism to the UK economy. We are particularly working towards showcasing Britain and maximising the tourism benefits in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.
Our grant in aid received from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is approximately £32.6 million for 2010/11.
View our film to find out more about our work.
Please read more about please visit www.visitbritain.org