Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant MP Visits Bath to Promote Regional Growth During English Tourism Week

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Last Tuesday, Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant MP visited Bath with Visit West, the Local Visitor Economy Partnership, to emphasize the importance of the region’s tourism industry.

Bath, a key focal point for the national Jane Austen 250 celebrations and famous for its connection to the hit global streaming series Bridgerton, served as a perfect backdrop for the minister’s tour. He visited prominent locations such as The Holburne Museum and the Jane Austen Centre, where he engaged with curators and directors, and explored the newly established Fashion Museum.

The Minister commented, “Bath is one of the most beautiful cities in this country and a place that is renowned for tourism across the world. It’s an extraordinary place for people to come and visit.”

During a roundtable discussion, the minister met with local government and industry leaders to address crucial topics, including planning, regional distribution, investment, and the potential for further growth in the area’s tourism sector.

The minister’s visit was followed by Patricia Yates, CEO of VisitBritain/VisitEngland, who spoke at the Visit West annual Visitor Economy conference held in Bristol on Thursday, 20 March, as part of English Tourism Week. Her address focused on how local businesses can capitalize on the “Starring Great Britain” campaign, which promotes screen tourism. Yates also discussed the region’s growing film and television industry, including her visit to The Bottle Yard Studios.

The conference, attended by over 240 delegates, featured a panel discussion with the Bristol Film Office, Bath Film Office, and North Somerset Council, focusing on screen tourism and its benefits for local businesses. Seren Welch, a screen tourism expert, delivered a keynote, and other presentations included input from Bernard Donaghue OBE (CEO of the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions), Stephen Peacock (CEO of West of England Mayoral Combined Authority), and representatives discussing events like the Austen 250 celebrations, the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Gromit Unleashed 3, Mendip Activity Centre, and Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm.

Additionally, Visit West representatives attended the British Tourism and Travel Show at NEC Birmingham, where Jon Chamberlain, Head of Marketing, delivered a speech on the Austen 250 celebrations. The Visit West PR team also joined more than 70 journalists at the Great West Way Media Discovery Event in Reading, further promoting the region.

To conclude English Tourism Week, Kathryn Davis of Visit West participated in a SXSW panel at BIMM, engaging with creative businesses. On Friday, 21 March, she attended a roundtable with Weston-super-Mare MP Daniel Aldridge, who also serves as vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Hospitality and Tourism, alongside local business leaders.

Visit West’s CEO Kathryn Davis said: “It’s been an incredibly busy and successful English Tourism week for us at Visit West and we’ve been delighted to have both Sir Chris Bryant MP and Patricia Yates visit the area. This was our biggest annual conference yet and we’ve had some very positive feedback from local businesses who feel they benefitted from the inspiring and informative presentations, giving them real opportunities to take away – something that is so important given the challenging economic environment for many. Research commissioned  by Visit West shows that the local visitor economy is worth more than £2.46 billion to the region and supports some 45,000 jobs, and while we wait for the 2024 results, there is  so much to focus on that will benefit the region, whether that be the Starring Great Britain campaign, Gromit Unleashed 3, Women’s Rugby World Cup or Austen 250. We are predicting a strong 2025, and with the support of our local businesses, we look forward to welcoming more visitors to this incredible part of the world”