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

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps her Department is taking to promote UK hospitality and tourism to potential overseas customers.

In 2021, the government published two key documents which have been key to promoting the UK hospitality and tourism industry following the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tourism Recovery Plan (TRP) and the Hospitality Strategy. The TRP sets out the role of the UK Government in assisting and accelerating the tourism sector’s recovery from COVID-19. The Tourism minister has continued to co-chair the Tourism Industry Council (TIC) meetings, to engage with stakeholders to assess how we can most effectively support tourism’s recovery across the UK.

The Hospitality Strategy set out twenty-two commitments to support the sector across a range of policy areas, grouped into three themes: Reopening, Recovery, and Resilience. The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) launched the Hospitality Sector Council to oversee the delivery of the strategy, and BEIS officials continue to work with the Council and the sector to deliver the strategy commitments.

The Government will continue to work with VisitBritain to promote the UK as a tourist destination domestically and internationally. In 2022, VisitBritain ran its Welcome to Another Side of Britain marketing campaign. The £14 million GREAT-funded campaign put the spotlight on Britain’s cities, hit hard by the absence of international visitors, as well as on messages of welcome and reassurance.