As well as our local partnerships, with relevant bodies, authorities and our members, there are a number of strategic organisations that we work closely with who enhance our knowledge, access to markets and provide vital networks.
VisitBritain and VisitEngland
VisitBritain/VisitEngland operates under the British Tourist Authority (BTA), the national tourism agency and a non‑departmental public body funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). As Britain’s fourth largest export industry, tourism was worth £147 billion to Britain’s economy in 2024, supporting 2.4 million jobs. Inbound tourism’s economic contribution was valued at £32 billion.
We are delighted to have an excellent working relationship with the teams at VisitBritain/VisitEngland including both their UK based and international teams. This partnership is critical to our work both strategically and operationally.
This partnership maximises opportunities for the region, raising our profile at national and international level, including work in sharing content, participating in campaigns, co-operating on media visits, working with travel trade, insights and business support.
UKInbound
The only trade association that represents the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism sector and ensure it is recognised as a leading economic and employment driver in the UK.
Our membership of UKInbound supports the ongoing development of inbound tourism to the UK. This provides unique networking opportunities as well as insights, data and access to events. Through our UKInbound membership, we have secured a number of events for the region, including hosting of their Annual Convention in 2020.
UKInbound is also a strong lobbying group, working at national government level to highlight the value of the inbound market.
Any business wanting to develop their inbound tourism offer should consider UKInbound membership.
Living Wage Foundation
Visit West is an accredited Living Wage Employer. meaning we are one of thousands of organisations, businesses and people, across the UK, who believe that a hard day’s work deserves a fair day’s pay. Together we can continue to ensure everyone can earn enough to live on.
Core Cities
Bristol is one of the UK’s Core Cities, and this provides an invaluable network of city destinations who have similar challenges and opportunities. Working together we can develop best practice and learn from each other, while sharing insights and trends.
English Heritage Cities
Bath is a member of the English Heritage Cities who, like the core cities, provide a vital network of destinations. Partnership working with English Heritage cities has produced a number of projects including those delivered through the Discover England Fund (see below).
Meetings Industry Association (MIA)
The principal association supporting and growing the business meetings and events industry in the UK, and the keeper of AIM, the UK’s only recognised quality standard for the meetings industry.
Through our membership of the MIA, we are able to access valuable insights and training, together with vital networking opportunities. The Visit West Convention Bureau is AIM accredited.
International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA)
The global association leader for the international meetings industry, specialising in the international association meetings sector.
Our membership of ICCA enables us to remain competitive in developing international association business for the region. Membership enables us to have access to critical data which in turn helps us develop routes to market, as well as vital education and information globally.
Bristol City of Sanctuary
Bristol was officially recognised as a City of Sanctuary in 2010, and since then, the charity has worked hard to ensure that Bristol is a City of Sanctuary for all; that it is an inclusive and welcoming city.
We are delighted to be a supporter of Bristol City of Sanctuary. We support the hard work they are doing to make Bristol a place where refugees and asylum seekers are welcomed.
TXGB
TXGB stands for Tourism Exchange Great Britain and is a digital marketplace, brought to you by VisitEngland. It offers tourism businesses the opportunity to diversify their distribution and gives distributors the ability to choose from a wide range of bookable tourism product, to add to their programmes.
Put simply, it is the engine that allows tours, attractions, restaurants, accommodation and any other business within the visitor economy to sell tickets easily via a large number of websites, reaching a huge audience.
Too Good To Go
Visit West has partnered up with the sustainability app Too Good To Go to help members fight food waste.
Too Good To Go is the easy way for businesses’ to sell surplus food. It’s a free app, with more than 6 million UK users. By partnering with Too Good To Go, businesses can attract new customers, recover sunk costs and make sure their food gets eaten.
Discover England Fund
The Discover England Fund (DEF) was a £40million project, announced by Government in 2015, to ensure that world-class English tourism products were offered to the right customers at the right time. The project was funded for five years from 2016-2021. Several projects have continued on as a collaboration between the destinations involved.
The DEF projects were to specifically support inbound tourism, one of England’s most successful export industries. You can read more about the Discover England Fund on the VisitBritain website:
Visit Bristol and Visit Bath were involved in a number of DEF projects, including:
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Great West Way - Led by VisitWiltshire, this ongoing project aims to transform tourism along a 125-mile route between London and Bristol. The Great West Way makes it easier for international visitors to book personalised trips that take in more of the region, boosting tourism along the way.
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US Connections - Led by Destination Plymouth and bringing together many LVEPs (including what was Destination Bristol) this DEF project produced a series of English-themed visitor experiences specifically for the North American market, encouraging visitors to explore England beyond London. Based on market testing and insights, themes include United Allies, Origins of Faith, Ancestry, Mayflower 400 and Old Stories of the New World.
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Creating English City Food Hubs - In this test-and-learn project, Visit West trialed an urban ‘food and drink hub’ concept to help promote the city’s growing reputation as a destination for food and foodies. As part of this Bristol was named the world’s Best Food Destination at the 2019 Food Trekking Awards.
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England Originals - Visit West (representing Bath) was part of the England’s Historic Cities group, a group of DMOs who worked together on the England Originals DEF project. The aim was to bring together the stories of 15 historic English cities and present them as one product for US visitors with a focus on people and events to bring their stories to life.
