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Visit Britain Restructure

Visit Britain have announced that there are cutting their London staff by 40% to 135 and their overseas staff by around 25% to 145 due to the budget cuts that they have recently experienced. This news comes in advance of the findings of the review in to the structure of Visit Britain that was ordered by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport in October 2007. As the lead body for marketing Britain overseas and England at home this news has disappointed many senior industry figures. More news on the restructure of Visit Britain will be available by November 2008 and Tourism South East will update our members as soon as possible.

Review of Visit Britain

The deadline for representations for the British Tourism Strategy Review has now passed. The review was ordered by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport as part of Visit Britain's settlement in last years Comprehensive Spending Review.
Tourism South East's detailed comment on the review can be downloaded here.
The review has been chaired by Christopher Rodrigues, the chairman of Visit Britain and is focusing on the following four subjects:
  • Marketing England at home and overseas
  • Marketing Britain overseas
  • Supporting the development of national tourism policies and the resolution of key national tourism issues
  • Securing the tourism benefits of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games

The task force charged with conducting the review has consulted widely throughout the industry and is attempting to build on work already conducted by the Partners For England initiative.

For more information on the review and how you can contribute visit the Visit Britain Strategy Review Page