Ukinbound News
UKinbound urges Chinese visa reform as Golden Week begins
UKinbound is urging the government to make its two-year reduced cost multi entry Chinese visa pilot a permanent scheme. The scheme is due to end in January 2018, however with China’s Golden Week holiday set to begin on Sunday, UKinbound has surveyed its tour operator members to find out what impact the visa pilot has had on their businesses to date.
UK visitor spending habits revealed
Detailed information has been released about the spending habits of UK inbound visitors, revealing the USA dominates UK inbound market spend. According to the International Passenger Survey, over 37.6 million people visited the UK in 2016 (a four per cent increase on 2015), spending £22.5 billion (an increase of two per cent).
UKinbound headed to Cardiff for annual convention
UKinbound has confirmed that its next annual convention will take place in Cardiff, from February 7th-9th next year. Following the success of this year’s convention in Plymouth, Cardiff will welcome over 250 UKinbound members for three days of insightful debates, addresses from keynote speakers and networking opportunities in and around Cardiff.
UK government further expands Registered Traveller Service
The British government has announced a further expansion to the Registered Traveller Service. Membership is now open to travellers from Argentina, Belize, Brazil, Brunei, Chile, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay. The scheme, which currently has 40,000 members, is already open to Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and the US.
UK tourism body emphasis industry support for EU
UKinbound has revealed that 82 per cent of its members believe that staying in the EU is important to their business. The organisation is one of the leading trade associations, representing 350 members of the travel and tourism industry in Britain. The announcement, made at UKinbound’s Annual Convention, follows prime minister David Cameron’s recent request to the business community to share their views on EU membership.
UKinbound to exhibit at VisitScotland Expo 2015 for the first time
UKinbound is pleased to announce its support of VisitScotland expo 2015, the leading event in Scotland’s travel trade calendar, being held in Aberdeen this year, after it was identified that more than a quarter of the trade association’s membership based outside Scotland rely heavily on inbound tourism to the country.
UKinbound and VisitEngland embark on partnership
UKinbound and VisitEngland hosted its first joint workshop in conjunction with England’s Heritage Cities, with all partners uniting to grow the inbound tourism market beyond London after it was identified that 77% of UK’s inbound visitors stated that they would like to explore more of the UK.
Wells to head up UKinbound
UKinbound, the trade association representing the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism sector, has announced the appointment of its new chief executive, Deirdre Wells. Wells joins UKinbound on March 4th 2014 from the department of culture, media and sport, where she is the government’s head of tourism. She has worked at the department for the 20 years, holding a number of high profile positions, having been appointed to her current position in April 2011.
Rance to step down as chief of Ukinbound
Ukinbound, the trade association representing the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism sector, has announced chief executive Mary Rance is to leave the organisation at the end of the year to head up the charity Contact the Elderly. Originally trained as a lawyer, Rance has a background of working with trade associations, including a period as director at the CBI, although immediately before joining UKinbound she worked as chief executive of the charity Toc H.
UKinbound: Negativety will follow ‘visit visa’ for Brazilian tourists’ announcement
UKinbound, the trade association representing the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism sector, has damned the government’s latest visa announcement that recommends the introduction of visitor visas for tourists from Brazil.
Ukinbound 2013 convention most successful to date
Cited as the most successful conference for UK inbound operators, attractions and hotels to date, the UKinbound Convention, which took place 6-8 February in Windsor, featured an impressive line-up of speakers that included celebrated chef, Raymond Blanc as well as industry heavyweights, such as Sandie Dawe (CEO, VisitBritain) and Julie Southern (COO, Virgin Atlantic).
Keynote speaker announced at Ukinbound Convention
UKinbound, the only trade association representing the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism sector, has announced that Virgin Atlantic’s Chief Commercial Officer Julie Southern will be the keynote speaker at the 2013 Annual Convention taking place in Windsor, 6 – 8 February.