Tourism

VisitBritain has announced that its largest annual global travel trade event Explore GB will take place in Belfast 18–20 May 2020.#

The event will see hundreds of international buyers meeting travel industry suppliers from across the UK to do business. Buyers and journalists from the UK’s largest inbound visitor markets including Australia, France, Germany and the US are expected to attend as well as from Brazil, Canada, China, India and the Gulf Coorperation Council (GCC) markets.

More people visited DCMS-sponsored British museums and galleries in 2018 than ever since records began 15 years ago.

Almost 50 million people were recorded as having visited a DCMS-sponsored museum and gallery last year, a 5.5 per cent increase on 2017/18.

There was also an 11 per cent jump in visitors to museums and galleries otuside of London in the same period, partially attributed to National Museums Liverpool's 20 per cent rise in visitors with the success of the China's First Emperor and the Terracotta Warriors exhibition.

The annual London Design Festival sees a huge programme of design-focused exhibitions taking place at the V&A and across the capital in a variety of spaces.

Highlights in 2019 include:

Hull wants its 800 years of seafaring history to be officially recognised by becoming a Maritime City. This follows its designation as UK City of Culture in 2018 which helped revitalise the city.

In becoming Yorkshire's Maritime City, Hull would be embedded as a key part of the UK's tourism and heritage landscape. 

Over the next five years, Hull will refurbish, preserve and restore four historic maritime sites and two historic ships. These are:

England's museums and galleries saw a 6% increase in visitor numbers in 2018 compared to the previous year.

VisitEngland's Annual Attractions Survey 2018, containing results from over 1,500 attractions, revealed a 2% increase in both visits and revenue for England's visitor attractions.

Tate Modern was top in museums and galleries for the first time in ten years with 5.87 million visitors.

British Museum, which has been top of the visitor numbers list in the past decade, had 5.83 million visitors.

VisitEngland has launched Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB), a business-to-business digital platform bringing tourism suppliers to multiple international distributors.

The platform will help accommodation providers, visitor attractions and experiences to sell their products overseas via distributors with international reach. Visit TXGB here.

VisitBritain is launching Tourism Exchange Great Britain (TXGB), an online platform to connect tourism suppliers with distributors globally.

Suppliers like accommodation providers, attractions, and tour planners will be able to show their product, availability, pricing and bookings for distirbutors (such as online agents). 

Watch the infomercial for the new platform below. The platform is set to launch later in the year but you can register your interest here.

Hull City Council has revealed £27.5m plans to renovate the 2017 UK City of Culture's maritime attractions.

The plan includes:

• The Maritime Museum
• North End Shipyard
• Arctic Corsair
• Spurn Lightship
• Dock Office Chambers
• Creation of a new maritime route from Queen Victoria Square to the River Hull.

Hull City Council expects the revamp to bring in 300,000 visitors and generate £2.9m in income. The council is set to invest £10m and has applied for a £15m National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) grant.

VisitBritain has opened funding applications dedicated to the development of international business events in the UK for its fourth year in a row.

In 2018, the Business Events Growth Programme (formerly the Event Support Programme) awarded £173,000 to new and existing events, increasing international delegate attendance and profile to help support UK destinations and venues.

Funding is open to applications from convention bureaus, destination management organisations or event venues and organisers including universities and associations.