Industry News
VisitBritain/VisitEngland Annual Review 2024/25
Behind the scenes: driving regional growth through the visitor economy
VisitEngland have launched their Annual Review, announcing that international visitors spent an additional £562 million across Britain as a result of our activity in 2024/25. Results also show that 60% of this estimated additional spend, £336 million, was in destinations outside of London.
Results for the initial phase of our ongoing ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ global campaign were also shared, with an estimated £217 million in additional spending having been generated since the campaign’s launch in January to June this year. This means that for every pound invested in the campaign, visitors spent an additional £20 in Britain. Launched in collaboration with international film and TV studios the campaign also promotes Britain’s creative industries.
Other key achievements include:
- To convert interest to visit Britain into bookings, working with partners across our major inbound markets to generate over £12 million in cash and in-kind in 2024/25.
- To ensure that British products were sold internationally and connect hundreds of British businesses with international buyers, bringing in circa £100 million in sales through VisitBritain’s trade activity. Of product sold, 64% of itineraries and tours developed featured destinations outside of London.
- £60.6 million in direct economic return to the UK economy from VisitBritain’s Business Events Growth Programme from 2018 to 2024, with 91 business events supported across 18 cities throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
- For VisitEngland, supporting the simplification of a regional structure for English tourism - a cohort of LVEPs has been created, focused on robust destination management, regenerative visitor growth, integrated planning to benefit communities and economies, and working with combined authorities on local growth plans.
- As part of the restructuring, two Destination Development Partnership (DDPs) pilots, made up of a number of LVEPs, have been underway setting regional priorities and receiving government funding in the North East of England and the West Midlands with tourism considered strategically in local planning, transport development and investment decisions.
- Targeted VisitEngland support for small businesses to reach new customers and grow their revenue - with new guidance and tools, from regenerative tourism to accessibility, and free trade initiatives including the new ‘Taking England’s Wine Tourism to the World’ programme.
Unveiled at a launch event earlier today, we also outlined priorities and activities for the regenerative growth of the visitor economy and supporting the UK Government’s ambition of 50 million international visitors annually by 2030 – from harnessing the power of AI to enrich the insights we provide to support industry in making data-led business decisions to rolling out phase two of Starring GREAT Britain in the US and France very soon.
We look forward to working with you all over the coming year to drive economic growth across the nations and regions of Britain.