New Visit Britain Chairman
VisitBritain Chairman, Lord Marshall of Knightsbridge, today welcomed the announcement by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that Christopher Rodrigues has been appointed as the new Chairman of the organisation with effect from 1 January 2007.
Lord Marshall, Chairman of VisitBritain commented, “Christopher Rodrigues joins VisitBritain at a time when we are seeing record numbers of visitors to Britain, yet our tourism industry continues to face challenges and increasing competition from rival destinations”.
“His recent experience as President and CEO of Visa International in the USA will be an asset as we launch a three-year campaign to revitalise the British brand amongst American consumers.”
“His strong commercial and global experience will help in our work to explore new markets and develop new partnerships with the private sector on which our future tourism growth will depend”.
“His sporting prowess and passion is an ideal background to understanding and capitalising on the once-in-a lifetime opportunity the 2012 Olympics offers to our visitor economy”.
“In addition to his eight years as Group Chief Executive of Bradford and Bingley plc, Christopher Rodrigues has held senior positions with American Express and Thomas Cook”.
“His experience on the Executive Committee of the World Travel and Tourism Council, as Chairman of the Boat Race Company Ltd, as Non–Executive Director of Ladbrokes plc, and as a steward at the Henley Royal Regatta all have obvious synergy with his new role.”
“I believe that VisitBritain is a highly competitive, market driven organisation centred on pursuing growth, actively supporting the improvement of training and skills standards, significantly raising the levels of quality and value offered to the customer, creating attractive brands, and marketing and distributing Britain’s tourism products with world class professionalism.”
“I wish Christopher Rodrigues and VisitBritain every success in the future.”
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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