VisitBritain’s Chief Executive, Sally Balcombe, comments on the appointment of new Secretary of State and DCMS minister.
“I’m delighted at the appointment of John Whittingdale as Secretary of State and Tracey Crouch as minister with responsibility for sport and tourism. We look forward to working with them both to deliver economic growth and jobs across the nations and regions of Britain.
“International tourism is the UK’s seventh largest export industry by value, and our third largest service export. It is a global sector in which Britain continues to compete on the world stage, so increasing the value of tourism can play a vital role in any long-term government economic plan.”
Most recent full year figures suggest the UK welcomed 34.8 million international visitors in 2013, up by 17% since 2010. Altogether they spent £21.7 billion in our economy (up 29% on 2010). These visitors directly supported 500,000 jobs, and contributed almost £7 billion in tax revenues last year.
“We welcome the Government’s commitment to grow the value of tourism outside the capital.”
We start from a good position – the last two years have seen almost all parts of the UK grow faster than the capital. In the first nine months of 2014 visits to London were up 6% while visits to Scotland and Yorkshire were up 12% and to Wales up 14%.
