Event industry leaders joined national tourism board VisitEngland last week, in supporting English Tourism Week 2015, from 14 to 22 March. 

The week-long campaign featured a combination of business and consumer focused events across the country with the aim of raising the profile of tourism – a business worth £106bn a year and supports 2.6m jobs. The initiative aimed to highlight the important contribution it makes to England’s economy and its potential for future growth. 

Michael Hirst, chairman of the Business Visits and Events Partnership (BVEP); Simon Hughes, vice-chair of BVEP and representing EVCOM; Chris Skeith, CEO of AEO and James Morgan, representing ISES UK, helped to fly the flag for tourism at a Tourism Alliance parliamentary reception held at the House of Commons on 16 March to mark the launch of English Tourism Week 2015. 

Also in attendance were minister for tourism Helen Grant, Paul Maynard MP and secretary of state for culture, media & sport, Sajid Javid. 

The secretary of state indicated during his speech that his department would be launching a policy for the event industry in the coming days. 

Hirst said: “Events play a pre-eminent role in attracting visitors. It is very encouraging that the secretary of state decided to announce the forthcoming government policy for the industry during English Tourism Week.”

VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford said: “English tourism is a thriving, growing industry with the value to the economy expected to double to over £216bn by 2025, providing one in every 10 jobs. English Tourism Week continues to raise the profile of the sector by demonstrating the importance of tourism to the economy and employment, whilst highlighting the many opportunities for growth.”

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