VisitBritain and VisitEngland have announced the appointment of a new head of business visits and events, Chris Foy.

Foy joined VisitBritain in 2003 and has held a variety of senior roles within the organisation including most recently as head of nations and regions.

Prior to this he spent time on secondment to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office reporting to the central GREAT Britain campaign team at 10 Downing Street – a role that has given him profile, strong contacts at high level in parts of FCO, UKTI and DCMS, and knowledge of key government partners at director and ministerial level.

In his new role Foy will lead the Business Visits & Events strategy to contribute to the overall growth of business tourism in Britain.

VisitBritain director of marketing Joss Croft said: “I’m delighted to appoint Chris as the new head of business visits and events.

“He brings a wealth of experience and industry contacts to the role as well as a proven track-record of project management, negotiation and diplomacy that will be a real asset as we work towards growing and spreading the economic benefits of business tourism across all of Britain’s nations and regions.”

Chris’ career at VisitBritain also includes four years as Head of VisitBritain’s 2012 Games Unit which provided insight into the priorities of key
destinations beyond mainstream tourism.

Foy said: “This is an exciting opportunity to work with Britain’s world class destinations and venues to drive more business tourism and generate export platforms for British industry.

“I’ve seen the positive impact that major events can bring first hand through my work on the 2012 Games and look forward to working on other successful projects over the coming years.”