VisitEngland has announced this year’s English Tourism Week to highlight the economic importance and value of tourism to local economies across England is going virtual.

English Tourism Week is an annual celebration of the tourism industry, a week dedicated to showcasing England’s tourism offer. For this year’s event, being held from 25-31 May, VisitEngland and local destinations are asking MPs, local authorities, the UK Government and other stakeholders to shine the spotlight on the importance of tourism to the local, regional and national economy and pledge their support to the sector’s recovery.

“Highlighting the economic benefits that tourism brings to local economies”

Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston said: “English Tourism Week recognises the important role the industry plays in our local, regional and national economies, supporting jobs and attracting investment. This is a challenging time for the industry and we’re providing support through an unprecedented government package for businesses and workers. I hope everyone will use English Tourism Week as an opportunity to celebrate the sector, and we’ll be encouraging people to book a great British holiday as soon as it is safe to do.”

VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said: “English Tourism Week is all about highlighting the economic benefits that tourism brings to local economies, celebrating our diverse and exciting sector, and showcasing the quality, range and value of English tourism.

“While we cannot run events as usual this year, the spirit of the week has never been more important. Tourism has been one of the first and hardest hit economic sectors due to the Covid-19 pandemic and this year’s virtual week is dedicated to showing support for the industry, the millions of people who work in it and the hundreds of thousands of businesses impacted. It is also about looking towards the future recovery and doing everything we can right now to ensure that tourism can bounce back to once again become one of the most successful and vibrant sectors of the economy.”