London overshadows rest of England, says tourism chief
London tourist attractions are overshadowing the rest of England, the head of the country’s tourism body admitted yesterday.
Visit England chief executive James Berresford said that while London had seen a 14% rise in the number of visits since 2008, the number of visits to areas outside London was down 4%.
"London’s dominance is such that it overshadows the rest of the country," Berresford told the ninth annual Barclays Travel Forum.
He said that while the rest of England offered quality, good value products, there was a lack of awareness of what the country had to offer beyond the capital.
Berresford said part of the problem was the fact there were no longer any government-funded regional tourism boards for England. "The product in this country has improved remarkably…but we do have perception problem and some of our product is not as good as it should be."
Travel agents had a role to play in promoting domestic products and visitor attractions needed to work more closely with the trade, he said.
Berresford, who alienated travel agents in 2011 with the launch of a "Stay At Home" TV campaign to encourage Britons to holiday in the UK instead of abroad, added: "I was persona non grata with travel agents but now we are best friend.
"I am a big believer in travel agents, absolutely."
VisitEngland will host a conference on the regional growth of tourism at the International Festival of Business in Liverpool, called Mind the Gap – Addressing the Tourism Divide, on the June 10.
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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