VisitEngland launch industry consultation on tourism growth strategy

VisitEngland has launched an industry-wide consultation on the future growth strategy for the tourism industry in England. 

The review of the Strategic Framework for Tourism 2010-2020 comes five years after it was launched and is calling on the industry to support a refreshed strategy for growth, relevant for today’s marketplace.

The 10-year strategy aimed to grow tourism by 5% in value year-on-year, until 2020.

The new strategy will aim to repeat that process but will set out revised priorities for tourism in England and ensure the industry as a whole is equipped to respond to the latest market trends, opportunities and challenges.

James Berresford, CEO at VisitEngland, said since the strategy was launched the sector has performed strongly, delivering against target on jobs and economic growth, however, he added that the tourism landscape has changed “radically” which is why the strategy needs revisiting.

He said: “The ambition for this new growth strategy is to set out the priorities shared by VisitEngland and the industry for today’s tourism landscape. This way, by working together with industry partners, we can ensure our growth continues at the target levels set in the original strategy and achieve our goal of creating a thriving, robust and globally competitive industry by 2020.”

Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) and chair of the Tourism Alliance, said: “We need to speak with a single-minded, strong voice on tourism growth, combining our efforts is the only way to deliver true success and we’ve seen the benefits of this approach with the BHA’s drive to increase employment opportunities and skills across the hospitality and tourism sector.”

In 2014, Britain experienced record inbound tourism figures along with record tourism spend for many parts of the UK.