As VisitBritain gets set to host its largest ever tourism mission to China, new research shows that Chinese perceptions of Britain as a tourist destination are stronger than ever.

More than 70 travel trade and industry suppliers from the UK including hotels, retailers and tour operators are set to showcase what makes Britain a GREAT destination to Chinese buyers at VisitBritain’s annual ‘Destination Britain China’ event.

More than 7,000 business appointments are due to take place during the three-day trade fair, giving more than 100 buyers from 14 cities across China, as well as Hong Kong, the chance to see the latest tourism offerings from across the UK with suppliers from Oxford, Canterbury, Harrow and London, to Leeds, the Lake District, Northumberland and Inverness to name a few.

VisitBritain’s tourism mission to China comes a week after new research showed that Chinese perceptions of the UK are better than ever.

In the 2015 Anholt GfK Nations Brand Index study China gave the UK a big boost for its ‘welcome’ scoring it third out of 50 countries, up 11 places from 2014.

China also ranked the UK first overall for culture and second overall for not only tourism but also as a place they’d like to visit if money was no object.

VisitBritain director Patricia Yates, who is leading the 70-strong trade delegation to China, said: “China is the world’s largest outbound market and a huge tourism opportunity for Britain, so it’s really great to see the increasingly positive Chinese perceptions of the UK as a travel destination.

“We saw numbers from China increase by 28 per cent in the first six months of this year and have ambitions to double the spend from Chinese visitors to £1 billion by 2020.

“Chinese visitors are already some of our highest spending – spending an average £2,688 each per visit.

“Our Destination Britain China event builds on this work by giving British travel suppliers the chance to forge valuable business connections with the Chinese travel trade, showcase the latest tourism offerings from their local areas, and ultimately inspire more visitors from China to come to Britain and explore all our nations and regions.”

Destination Britain China has been running since 2009.

As well as doing business with top travel buyers in China, delegates at this year’s event will also hear about the latest international travel market trends, what the UK is doing to attract more international visitors to all its nations and regions, alongside seminars and networking to boost knowledge of Britain as a tourist destination.