Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether she is taking steps with industry stakeholders to help ensure that delegations representation holiday destinations in the UK are present hospitality and tourism trade fairs.

I recently attended the World Travel Market (WTM) in London, which is one of the global travel trade’s largest events responsible for reconnecting, rebuilding and innovating the industry. Here, the UK was represented by Trade Associations (such as UKInbound), Destination Management Organisations (such as VisitWest), and delegates from countries around the world.

The WTM was an opportunity to underline the government’s support for the travel and tourism sector. My attendance demonstrated that HMG is prioritising the recovery of the sector, and that bringing back inbound tourism levels to meet and surpass 2019 figures is a key driver of economic growth.

Such business events generate Foreign Direct Investment and trade in the UK’s most lucrative growth sectors, with an estimated £165 billion of trade transacted each year at trade shows and exhibitions in the UK (World Travel Market itself generates £2.8 billion in industry deals).

Forums such as the Tourism Industry Council and the Inter-Ministerial Group on the Visitor Economy ensure that delegations representing holiday destinations in the UK are present and briefed to showcase Britain as a global knowledge hub for hospitality and tourism trade fairs.

VisitBritain organise trade events, such as ExploreGB, Destination Britain North America, and Destination Britain China, to connect international buyers with British suppliers and destinations in order to open up new connections and business opportunities.