Visit Our Resource Centers
National
VisitBritain (VB)
Established in April 2003 from the ashes of the former British Tourist Authority and the English Tourism Council, neither of which continue to exist. Funded in the main by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). Its primary role is marketing Britain overseas and England to the British and aims to grow UK tourism with better seasonal and regional spread. VisitBritain also has a statutory duty, under the Development of Tourism Act 1969, to advise Government and public bodies on issues affecting the British tourism industry.
www.VisitBritain.com is the consumer-facing website with numerous “gateway” sites for overseas’ visitors.
www.enjoyengland.com is the consumer site promoting England to the British/home market.www.VisitBritain.org is the corporate website with information about the organisation, its aims and plans.
National Quality Standards
Establishments offering accommodation are assessed under a set of common quality standards agreed by the AA and VisitBritain.
The aim of the common standards is to give visitors confidence that establishments meet the standards they expect and the majority of "official" organisations require assessment under these schemes as a criteria of participation.National Trade Organisations and their Websites
Association of Independent Museums
AIM was founded to encourage new standards in the provision of service to users. AIM represents the strengths and needs in national policy making and provides information and help for members.
Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA)
ALVA provides members a lobbying and marketing outlet via it’s website with information (Opening and Closing times, Prices and Special Events) on leading attractions (Museums & Galleries, Heritage sites, Cathedrals, Leisure Attractions, Gardens and Conservation sites) , museums, etc....The British Beer and Pub Association
The British Beer & Pub Association. A membership organization that promotes and represent the interests of the UK's beer and pub sector.
British Association of Leisure Parks, Piers and Attractions
BALPPA is the non profit-making Trade Association which represents the interests of members with commercial leisure parks, piers, zoos and static attractions sector. Key aims are promoting safe practice throughout the industry, defend the interests of the industry, representing the needs and concerns of the industry to HM Government departments, policy-makers and influencers, and to provide members advice, information and services.
British Hospitality Association incorporating the Restaurant Association.
Bii aims to be recognised as a significant force behind improved standards, image, employment practice and social responsibility within the licensed retail sector .BII members enjoy a wide range of benefits including professional status, recognised by licensing authorities, police and industry peers; business support and savings; as well as a number of personal benefits.
Department for Culture, Media & Sport
The government department responsible for tourism.
English Association of Self-Catering Operators
The English Association of Self Catering Operators (EASCO) offers a co-ordinated platform to any person operating a reputable self-catering business throughout England.
EASCO represents member businesses of all sizes and types whether they are apartments, holiday cottages/houses, self catering holiday complexes or letting agencies. Formed twenty years ago when the Self Catering associations from a number of England 's major seaside resorts joined forces to lobby Government on a number of issues, which were current at that time. Regional
Regional Development Agencies (RDAs)
Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) were set up by Government to promote sustainable economic development in England. They are business led and their main tasks are to help the English regions improve their relative economic performance and reduce social and economic disparities within and between regions. These have strategic lead for tourism in the 9 English regions. South East, South West, East Midlands, West Midlands, North East, North West, East of England, London, Yorkshire.Funding previously allocated to the Regional Tourist Boards (RTBs) via the English Tourism Council is now channeled via the RDAs.
This also means that the RDAs are responsible for ensuring that appropriate tourism delivery structures are in place in each area.
RDA WebsitesNorthwest Regional Development Agency
South East England Development Agency
Advantage West MidlandsEast Midlands Development Agency
East of England Development Agency
Tip - if you search within the sites for “tourism” you’ll quickly find relevant information.
Regional Tourist Boards
The RDAs in each English region reviewed the work of the RTBs in their area, resulting in some RTB’s completely disappearing, some being merged and some being reinvented with changed responsibilities. In some regions, RTB’s have been either replaced or are being supplemented by Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs).
The role of the regional tourist boards is to stimulate and manage the development of tourism in their areas, bringing economic, social and environmental benefits to the people who live and work in the region.
They all work to differing criteria, but on the whole all have similar key aims which includes attracting visitors and the development of their area as a tourism destination. Most offer subsidized marketing opportunities.
Websites
East Midlands Tourism: -covering Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Northamptonshire.
East of England Tourist Board :- covering Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk & Suffolk.
South West Tourism :- covering Bath, Bristol, Cornwall, Gloucestershire, Isles of Scilly, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Wiltshire.
England's North Country Overseas Marketing Consortium for Cumbria, North West, Northumbria, Yorkshire, Isle of Man Tourist Boards and Manchester Airport.
Heart of England Tourism :- covers Herefordshire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and West Midlands.
One NorthEast Tourism :- Covers Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham, the Tees Valley.
Tourism South East :- covers Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex.
Yorkshire Tourist Board - covers East Riding of Yorkshire, North East Lincolnshire, North, South and West Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.
Business Links
Business Links are a network of agencies, some regional some county and some locally based. The network has recently undergone a similar review to the RTB’s. From April 07 they are operating as regional agencies offering business support, advice and information service funded by the Department of Trade and Industry. Some offer specialist tourism related advisors, most however offer generic information
Local Authority Tourism departments &/Destination Management Organisations (DMO’s)
Tourism is a non-statutory role for local authorities, however in many areas, tourism is recognised as a major contributor towards the economy. Therefore many of the county and district authorities as well as some local authorities have established tourism teams that focus their attention on developing tourism within their own area.
With the introduction of RDA’s into the tourism support mix, many local authority tourism departments have been or are being replaced by DMOs. These are effectively marketing consortia, with some public funding and are being developed in an attempt to refine the existing support network Many of the DMO’s and county tourism departments also include an association membership package.
For your local tourism departments and associations use the "Ask Caroline" email link within this publication/site.
Others
In addition, there are various county and destination organisations that offer support and/or marketing. In addition to the above there are various other local associations and partnerships that work at local level, primarily providing lobbying and marketing.
For details use the "Ask Caroline" email link within this site.
Tourist Information Centres (TIC’s)
There is no overall TIC network as they are all run independently, with most being subsidised by the local town/parish councils, district council or county council that runs them. They all rely heavily on generating income to ensure their financial viability. They are primarily a local marketing outlet and provide information to the host community and visitors regarding places to go and things to do in their area. Many also offer accommodation booking services, generally for a commission and many also provide ticket purchasing services.
TIC’s listMembership etc is an income for most of the above organisations therefore participation in any one of the above rarely includes automatic membership/participation in any of the others.