As part of the government’s Northern Futures initiative, VisitEngland will receive £10 million of new funding to grow the number of international visitors travelling to the north of England. James Berresford, Chief Executive of VisitEngland said: “Lack of awareness of the North of England and its tourism offering is at the root cause of current low levels of export earnings from international tourism. The product itself is of international standard, but without a coordinated and concerted effort to communicate the offer, it is unlikely that growth opportunities will be realized.”
The new fund will be managed by VisitEngland, working closely with our delivery partner Visit Britain and partner organizations from across the region. The year-long initiative will support the long-term development and enhancement of the quality of the Northern offer, in line with VisitEngland’s new focus as set out in the Triennial Review.
“There are clear opportunities to generate additional visits and spend from international visitors through targeted promotional activity, increasing the amount of product sold through the travel trade and changing the perceptions of the business tourism offer,” continued Mr. Berresford.
“This £10m Northern Futures Fund for tourism will develop a coherent, strategic approach to promoting the North of England overseas and to deliver economic growth in the short and medium term, whilst encouraging greater collaboration between partners across Northern geographies and with the National Tourism bodies,” said Mr. Berresford.
