British Tourism & Travel Show delayed again as NEC becomes Nightingale hospital
The annual British Tourism & Travel Show (BTTS), which was due to take place last month, has been postponed to October 22-23 following the news that its venue, the NEC Birmingham, is being repurposed into a temporary NHS ‘Nightingale’ hospital for patients with coronavirus.
The event had previously been pushed back to June as the epidemic escalated.
The British Coach Tourism Awards will now take place on the evening of October 22 at the National Motorcycle Museum.
David Maguire, group event director at organiser Diversified Communications UK said: "Like all businesses, we’ve been closely following the rapidly changing developments during these unprecedented and difficult times. With the NEC taking on an important role to help support the NHS during this national emergency, we had no other option but to delay the show until later this year.
"We appreciate how hugely important BTTS is to the thousands of businesses that regularly visit and exhibit – including leading tour and travel organisers, GTOs, coach operators, hotels, visitor attractions, DMOs and popular destinations across the UK and Ireland.
"These businesses – many of which are now closed due to the Covid-19 restrictions – have been hugely affected. Which is why running the show this year, rather than next, is so vital.
"I know that we’ll all continue to support each other through this over the coming months. The BTTS team would like to thank everyone – our exhibitors, visitors, speakers and partners – for their continued support and patience, and we look forward to seeing you all at the show on 22-23 October."
British Tourism & Travel Show will showcase 100s of attractions, destinations, tours, events, packages, activities and experiences from across the UK and Ireland.
Existing visitor badges are still valid for the new dates. To register for a free trade ticket in advance, visit www.tourismshow.co.uk and use priority code PR1
All exhibitor and awards enquires should be directed to event manager Lloyd Jones on 01733 889684 or [email protected].
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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