Tourism Minister plans new visitor economy council and 50m UK visitors

This article was first published by Museums + Heritage.

Tourism minister Sir Chris Bryant MP has vowed to increase overseas tourism to the likes of the country’s museums and heritage attractions.

Bryant gave the speech at the Tourism Alliance Conference on Tuesday, in which he revealed plans to boost overseas visitors to 50 million annually.

According to Statista, overseas residents made 38 million visits to the UK in 2023, a figure which has grown every year post-pandemic.

Bryant said: “Of course we want to boast of our great heritage. But we can’t rest on our laurels. Because the danger is that foreign visitors who have the world to choose from could all too easily say: “The UK never changes. It’ll still be there next year. Let’s go somewhere else this time.””

“But we want people to think the UK’s the place to go this year, today, now. And when they get here we want them to have such a fabulous time that they come again and again.”

Bryant announced a new Visitor Economy Advisory Council, to be made up of tourism and hospitality experts.