The Visit West team are gearing up for a busy autumn promoting the Bath and Bristol region to international travel trade buyers across a series of high-profile events in the UK and abroad. Visit West works proactively with travel operators in countries important to the region and those which may show significant growth in the next few years.
Key themes the team will be highlighting for 2025 to attract future visitors include Austen250, the Women’s Rugby World Cup and Gromit Unleashed, in addition to the wide range of attractions, tours, experiences, places to eat and drink and places to stay in the region. Visit West will attend the following events:
Visit Britain Australia Event in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne
Later this month Visit West will meet travel agents from across Australia in a series of networking events and one-to-one meetings with the aim of capitalising on this growing market. 2022 figures show that visiting Australians spend an average of 17 days in the UK (vs the 8 days UK average), spending more than double the global average (£1,547). Australia hit a record for its inbound visitor value to the UK in Summer 2023.
UK Inbound Annual Convention
This annual event is a key one in the autumn calendar to reinforce relationships with UK-based contacts, particularly Destination Management Companies in a series of one-to-one meetings and networking events, as well as hearing from inspiring industry speakers. This year’s event is being held in Liverpool. Visit West is also on the long list for two ‘Awards for Excellence’; Destination of the Year and Sustainable Tourism Provider of the Year.
Great West Way Marketplace
This two-day event in October sees a full day of online one-to-one meetings with official Great West Way tour operators followed by an in-person networking day at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire. Bath and Bristol form an integral part of England’s Great West Way – a touring route between London and Bristol - encouraging visitors to slow down and see more, exploring the destinations and their surrounding areas in more depth.
World Travel Market
Visit West will share a stand with Cotswold Plus at this key annual travel event which takes place in November in London, with over 50,000 industry professionals expected to attend. The event enables Visit West to meet buyers and media from across the world.
Destination Middle East MEA (Middle East and Asia)
This new event links up travel buyers from the Middle East, Japan, China, India and South Korea with destinations, attractions, hotel groups and tour operators from the UK. The event is being held in Bengarulu in Southern India this November. As one of the fastest growing markets for inbound tourism, Visit Britain forecasts that £1 in £5 spent by international visitors in the UK in 2024 will be contributed by visitors from these markets, a total value of £6.8 billion in spending. Working with Visit Britain, Visit West will also be hosting a familiarisation trip of eight luxury buyers from the Bengaluru area this September.
Domestic travel trade activity – The Group Leisure & Travel Show
Visit West will also be attending the Group Leisure and Travel Show in Milton Keynes in October. This event connects domestic group travel and coach tour operators looking for inspiration, group deals and contacts with destinations, accommodation providers and attractions.
Jon Chamberlain, Head of Marketing at Visit West, commented: "Working with the travel trade is an important part of our role as a Local Visitor Economy Partnership. I look forward to showcasing businesses in the Bath and Bristol area that wish to attract international visitors, who generally stay longer and spend more, thus helping to support more than 40,000 jobs in the visitor economy in our region."
For further information on Visit West’s travel trade activity go to: Bath & Bristol - Travel Trade - Trade (visitwest.co.uk)
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Notes to Editors
Visitor value figures taken from research carried out by Visit Britain.
About Visit West: The VisitEngland accredited official Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) for Bristol, Bath & North East Somerset, South Gloucestershire and North Somerset. It supports the visitor economy of the region which is worth £2.13billion and supports 41,000 jobs. Visit West operates the Meet Bristol & Bath Convention Bureau and the Visit Bath and Visit Bristol consumer websites. https://www.visitwest.co.uk/
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