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Select Committee · Culture, Media and Sport Committee

Promoting Britain abroad

Status: Closed Opened: 8 Nov 2021 Closed: 2 Feb 2023 14 recommendations 12 conclusions 1 report

Tourism is an economic, cultural and social asset. Although it is a devolved matter—England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and London all have independent tourism bodies—all five organisations work closely with VisitBritain, the national tourism agency. VisitBritain is responsible for marketing Britain worldwide and developing Britain’s visitor economy. In 2019, inbound tourism to the UK was …

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Reports

1 report
Title HC No. Published Items Response
Second Report - Promoting Britain abroad HC 156 24 Oct 2022 26 Responded

Recommendations & Conclusions

3 items
4 Recommendation Second Report - Promoting Britain abroad Accepted in Part

VisitBritain should continue its work with tourism providers to identify how best to showcase all...

VisitBritain should continue its work with tourism providers to identify how best to showcase all regions of the UK, with a particular focus on addressing the travel barriers, both perceived and actual. The Government should expand VisitBritain’s Business Events Growth Programme and indicate in its response to our report the …

Government response. VisitBritain will prioritize regional dispersion through its GREAT international marketing campaign, and is working to increase domestic visitor numbers. The Department relaunched the Events Industry Board as a Tourism Industry Council Working Group to generate practical policy options, but gives …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
18 Recommendation Second Report - Promoting Britain abroad Accepted in Part

The de Bois review of Destination Management Organisations (DMO) received widespread support from across the...

The de Bois review of Destination Management Organisations (DMO) received widespread support from across the industry and it is unacceptable that the Government took 11 months to respond and in such a half-hearted fashion. The Comprehensive Spending Review and departmental business planning are standard annual events and so the Government …

Government response. The government announced a Destination Development Partnership (DDP) pilot with Visit Northumberland and Visit County Durham tourism boards receiving £2.25 million across three years to promote more strategic, consumer focused development of the visitor economy; the results of which will …
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
19 Recommendation Second Report - Promoting Britain abroad Accepted in Part

We recommend that the Government should complete the pilot to a swift timescale and commit...

We recommend that the Government should complete the pilot to a swift timescale and commit to implementing the de Bois recommendations in full.

Government response. The government is piloting the Destination Development Partnership (DDP) approach in the North East with £2.25 million in funding and will consider rolling it out to other regions if the pilot is successful.
Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Oral evidence sessions

5 sessions
Date Witnesses
5 Jul 2022 Ben Dean · Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Chris Philp MP · Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Nigel Huddleston MP · HM Treasury View ↗
21 Jun 2022 Nick de Bois CBE · VisitEngland Advisory Board, Patricia Yates · VisitBritain/VisitEngland View ↗
29 Mar 2022 Allen Simpson · London and Partners, Geoff Taylor · BPI, Gills Haigh · Cumbria Tourism, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin · UK Music, Jessica Koravos · Really Useful Group, Kash Bennett · National Theatre, Nick Brooks-Sykes · Marketing Manchester View ↗
8 Mar 2022 Joss Croft · UKinbound, Kate Nicholls OBE · UKHospitality, Kurt Janson · Tourism Alliance, Paul Barnes · Association of International Retail, Ross Baker · Heathrow View ↗
22 Feb 2022 Bernard Donoghue · Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, Caroline Cooper Charles · Screen Yorkshire, Martha Lytton-Cobbold · Historic Houses, Ralph Lee · BBC Studios Productions View ↗