VisitBritain will welcome 120+ buyers at Showcase Britain 2024
VisitBritain is gearing up to welcome more than 120 international travel buyers for a series of educational visits across Britain, as part of its ‘Showcase Britain 2024’ trade event.
The educational visits, under way from Jan. 27, are a mix of three-to-five-day itineraries to destinations across England, Wales and Scotland, showcasing to buyers the latest tourism products across Britain and the fresh and exciting experiences for visitors to come and enjoy this year.
Canadian buyers will be joined by buyers from 18 international markets including Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries, India, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Nordic countries, South Korea Switzerland and the USA. As part of their educational for Showcase, the Canadian buyers will be exploring Scotland.
“We are delighted to be showcasing Britain’s outstanding destinations, tourism products and experiences to international buyers and travel press, highlighting the very best of our nations and regions to broaden travel itineraries and drive bookings,” said VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates. “I know that the international buyers and media will return home in no doubt about the outstanding quality of tourism products and experiences available right across Britain.”
“Working closely with travel trade in Canada is crucial to selling travel to Britain. This event is a great opportunity to bring together many of our industry partners to strengthen connections and share first-hand experience of the outstanding and varied tourism products on offer,” added VisitBritain’s executive vice president, The Americas, Australia & New Zealand Paul Gauger. “We want to showcase a modern and dynamic Britain inspiring our travel trade partners and our visitors to ‘See Things Differently’.”
International campaigns for 2024
VisitBritain’s in-country teams have worked in partnership with destination management organizations and destination management companies across England, Scotland and Wales to develop tailored itineraries for each inbound market.
VisitBritain is also set to highlight its international campaigns for 2024, to drive inspiration to visit. Its GREAT Britain marketing campaigns will be running in Australia, France, Germany, the GCC and the USA, inspiring visitors to ‘See Things Differently’ by showing fresh and exciting experiences, alongside a warm British welcome.
Its global campaigns in 2024 are also harnessing the power of screen tourism to showcase Britain’s regional diversity, highlighting film and TV locations, destinations and visitor experiences.
Before heading off on their educational tours, the buyers will also attend the ‘Britain & Ireland Marketplace’ (BIM) trade event on Jan. 26, held at the Intercontinental London – The O2, with a full day of business appointments and networking with tourism suppliers and destinations across Britain.
VisitBritain’s latest inbound tourism forecast predicts 39.5 million inbound visits to the UK in 2024, up 5% on the 37.8 million that were expected in 2023 although still 3% shy of 2019’s record levels.
Its forecast for overseas visitor spending this year is £34.1 billion, up 7% on the spending predicted in 2023 and up 20% on 2019, although 96% of 2019 levels when adjusted for inflation.
