Culture Secretary Maria Miller today launched a tourism partnership strategy for Britain which calls for the travel industry and the government, together with key public and private sector bodies, to unite behind a long-term ambition for growth that would see Britain welcome 40 million overseas visitors by 2020, spending £31.5 billion and supporting an additional 200,000 jobs across the country. Tourism is an industry that already employs 2.6 million people a year – supporting one in twelve jobs in the UK.

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, has welcomed a bumper February with the latest figures from the International Passenger Survey showing a 14 per cent rise in the number of overseas visitors and a nine per cent increase in spend. The positive results mean this is the first time the month of February has generated more than £1 billion from international visits and is the strongest February since the global financial crisis began in 2008.

VisitBritain has once again joined forces with the European Tour Operators Association to deliver what is now the largest ever business-to-business tourism event promoting Britain internationally. The Hosted Buyers Marketplace, which gets underway today at the iconic Wembley Stadium, is an exclusive opportunity for British tourism suppliers and destinations to meet and do business with over 200 specially selected international buyers from some 22 countries.

Representatives from the likes of Wimbledon, Westfield UK and Historic Royal Palaces are in India this week, encouraged by the emergence of the country as a major player in terms of visits to friends and loved ones across Britain. They are there as part of VisitBritain India Mission 2013.

VisitBritain is hosting its annual Sales Mission in the UAE to provide UK suppliers with the opportunity to meet more than 80 agents from across the GCC. This will be the largest mission taking place in the UAE that will for the first time include buyers for Kuwait, Qatar and Saudi Arabia with a 20 per cent increase in UK suppliers and 37 per cent increase in buyers over the previous year.

The contribution of inbound tourism to the UK economy has continued to grow in 2012, with latest figures showing a record £19 billion in spend, a four per cent rise on 2011. Figures from the ONS also confirmed that visits were up on 2011 with over 31 million international tourists enjoying a trip across Britain, representing a one per cent rise on 2011 and the best year since 2008.