VisitBritain
Encyclopedia
VisitBritain is the name used by the British Tourist Authority, the tourist
board of Great Britain
incorporated under the Development of Tourism Act 1969.
Under memoranda of understanding with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board
and the offshore islands of Guernsey
, Jersey
and the Isle of Man
, VisitBritain also hosts information on those territories on its website. However, under the 1969 Act, the remit of the organisation extends only to Great Britain rather than the whole of the United Kingdom
.
VisitBritain was created in April 2003 to market Britain
to the rest of the world and to promote and develop the visitor economy of England
. It was formed out of a merger between the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council
, and is a non-departmental public body
responsible to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
. In April 2009, VisitEngland became more of a stand-alone body from VisitBritain, more on a par with the devolved entities, VisitScotland
and VisitWales.
In 2005, it was voted the world's leading Tourist and Convention Bureau in the World Travel Awards.
In the Webby Awards it has been an Official Honoree in the 10th and 12th Webby Awards in the Tourism Category.
In 2008 it was also awarded the Travelmole Best Tourist Board Website award.
VisitBritain is a founding partner of ENAT
, the European Network for Accessible Tourism, an international organization based in Europe, set up in 2006 to promote accessible tourism
.
300 free stock images are available for the travel trade to use, and images are free for the travel trade press.
the British Tourist Authority
created a new International Standard for Tourist Websites.
More and more Tourism sites around the World
are adopting the name "Visit" in their websites.
Tourism in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is the world's 6th biggest tourist destination, with 24.8 million visiting in 2003. US$17.2 billion was spent in the UK by tourists. VisitBritain recently released data showing that the US remains the most-valuable inbound market, with American visitors spending £2.1bn in 2010...
board of Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
incorporated under the Development of Tourism Act 1969.
Under memoranda of understanding with the Northern Ireland Tourist Board
Northern Ireland Tourist Board
The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment. Its primary objective is to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination....
and the offshore islands of Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
, Jersey
Jersey
Jersey, officially the Bailiwick of Jersey is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. As well as the island of Jersey itself, the bailiwick includes two groups of small islands that are no longer permanently inhabited, the Minquiers and Écréhous, and the Pierres de Lecq and...
and the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
, VisitBritain also hosts information on those territories on its website. However, under the 1969 Act, the remit of the organisation extends only to Great Britain rather than the whole of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
VisitBritain was created in April 2003 to market Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
to the rest of the world and to promote and develop the visitor economy of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It was formed out of a merger between the British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council
English Tourism Council
The VisitEngland is the tourist board for England. In 2003 it merged with the British Tourist Authority to form VisitBritain...
, and is a non-departmental public body
Non-departmental public body
In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...
responsible to the Department for Culture, Media and Sport
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is a department of the United Kingdom government, with responsibility for culture and sport in England, and some aspects of the media throughout the whole UK, such as broadcasting and internet....
. In April 2009, VisitEngland became more of a stand-alone body from VisitBritain, more on a par with the devolved entities, VisitScotland
VisitScotland
VisitScotland is Scotland's national tourism agency. It is a public body, with offices in Edinburgh, Inverness, London as well as other parts of Scotland...
and VisitWales.
In 2005, it was voted the world's leading Tourist and Convention Bureau in the World Travel Awards.
In the Webby Awards it has been an Official Honoree in the 10th and 12th Webby Awards in the Tourism Category.
In 2008 it was also awarded the Travelmole Best Tourist Board Website award.
VisitBritain is a founding partner of ENAT
ENAT
ENAT is a non-profit association of tourism enterprises, organisations and individuals from the private, public and NGO sectors aimed at evaluating good practices, as well as providing and endorsing services and products for accessible tourism in Europe...
, the European Network for Accessible Tourism, an international organization based in Europe, set up in 2006 to promote accessible tourism
Accessible tourism
Accessible tourism is the ongoing endeavour to ensure tourist destinations, products and services are accessible to all people, regardless of their physical limitations, disabilities or age. It encompasses publicly and privately owned tourist locations...
.
Britain on View
Britain on View is the official image library of VisitBritain. It is an online searchable image database containing over 50,000 high quality stock photographs, all available to download directly from the website.300 free stock images are available for the travel trade to use, and images are free for the travel trade press.
Visit
By launching the site VisitBritain.com,the British Tourist Authority
created a new International Standard for Tourist Websites.
More and more Tourism sites around the World
are adopting the name "Visit" in their websites.
See also
- Enjoy England
- Northern Ireland Tourist BoardNorthern Ireland Tourist BoardThe Northern Ireland Tourist Board is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment. Its primary objective is to promote Northern Ireland as a tourist destination....
- VisitScotlandVisitScotlandVisitScotland is Scotland's national tourism agency. It is a public body, with offices in Edinburgh, Inverness, London as well as other parts of Scotland...
- Visit WalesVisit WalesVisit Wales is the Welsh Assembly Government's tourism team within the Department for Heritage to promote Welsh tourism and assist the tourism industry....