Leading tour operators visit Bristol and Bath
UKinbound brought 25 of its leading tour operator buyers to Bristol and Bath last weekend in partnership with Visit West, as part of its Discover Workshop programme.
These events connect trade buyers from across the country (that sell UK holidays to international visitors) with a range of local businesses including attractions, sightseeing companies and hotels, that want to attract more international visitors.
Having travelled to the region via Great Western Railway, buyers took part in more than 400 appointments in a morning of speed dating-style meetings with local businesses, and visited a number of local attractions including Brunel’s SS Great Britain, Wake the Tiger Amazement Park, The Roman Baths and Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein.
Inbound (international) tourism to the UK is an incredibly valuable export sector as international visitors generally stay longer and spend more helping to improve the productivity of the visitor economy. In 2022 there were an estimated 800,000 international staying trip visits to the Visit West region, generating more than £370 million to the local economy and supporting thousands of jobs in the industry. This is down however from the record 1.1 million international staying visits in 2019 with a spend of £400 million. Further international passenger survey (IPS) data expected in late May of this year will give more insight into inbound visits during 2023.
Joss Croft OBE, CEO UKinbound said: “Bristol and Bath have so much to offer international travellers looking to visit the UK, and I’m really pleased that we were able to bring this fantastic group of buyers to the region, giving them opportunity to see what’s on offer and how they can incorporate theses cities into the itineraries they sell to international visitors.”
Kathryn Davis, Managing Director, Visit West said: “I am delighted that the Discover Bath and Bristol event has been a huge success. We have been able to showcase some of the region’s key trade ready businesses to buyers representing global business and support local organisations to develop new routes to market through the travel trade. Working with the trade opens huge opportunities and our membership of, and close working relationship with UKInbound, is critical to this success.”
