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Carl Walsh, VisitBritain's director of business tourism and trade for the U.S.; Sandie Dawe, CEO of VisitBritain; and Simon Bradley, VisitBritain's executive vice president of the Americas |
VisitBritain, the national tourist office for England, Scotland, Wales & London, welcomed travel trade representatives from the US and the UK for a reception at the US Tour Operators' Association annual conference and marketplace this week.
This reception was on the heels of the announcement that leisure travel during 2009 is up three percent in this final quarter. VisitBritain is predicting that global visits to Britain will begin to increase in 2010, reaching 30.4 million.
Chief executive Sandie Dawe made special mention at the reception of the US Tour Operators' Association's efforts to encourage Americans to travel to Britain. She says, "Our industry partners have done an amazing job this year - airlines, hotels, tour operators and every part of the US travel industry - stepped up; pulling out al the stops on fantastic lead-in prices and deals for leisure travelers. It has meant we have been able to promote a great 'value for money' campagin that resulted in hundreds of thousands of wesbite visits and all-important travel bookings."
The event included an impromptu concert with guitarist Earl Slick and Mark Hudson, both of whom have performed with David Bowie, John Lennon and Ozzy Osbourne.