New VisitBritain CEO Wants Visitors to Explore Beyond London
Photo Credit: Visit Britain is aiming to increase visitation to destinations outside of London, including Cardiff, Wales. Wikimedia Commons / Lilo Lil (Eiona Roberts)
Skift Take
VisitBritain is focused on promoting the country's lesser-known sites, but CEO Patricia Yates acknowledges a big challenge it faces is getting people to understand there's a lot more to the island than London.
The United Kingdom is poised for a tourism boom in 2023, a welcome development for a country that has struggled to make a complete recovery from the pandemic. And VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates has big plans to boost visitor numbers even more, especially outside of popular destinations like London and Oxford.
Skift spoke to Yates during her recent visit to New York City. Yates, who previously worked as VisitBritain's strategy and communications director before being named CEO in 2022, touched on the country's tourism rebound, VisitBritain's aim to promote lesser known destinations and challenges the organization faces. The comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Skift: Your numbers indicate overseas visitor spending in the UK for 2023 forecasted at $35.8 billion (£29.5 billion), up 4 percent from the all-time spending high of $34.5 (£28.4 billion) in 2019. It is also predicted that there will be 35.1 million inbound visits to the UK, 86 percent of 2
