VisitEngland wins funding bid ahead of crucial year for tourism and hospitality

The money will be used on a three-year project entitled, 'Growing Tourism Locally'. A key part of the project will be a national campaign aimed at inspiring Britons to take more short breaks and holidays at home and in doing so grow jobs in the tourism sector. James Berresford, VisitEngland's chief executive explained more about the potential impact of the funding: "This is a huge boost for VisitEngland as the country's national tourist board, working in partnership to facilitate growth at a local level, and an acknowledgement of the value of our industry to England's economy. "With this additional money we can mount a serious campaign to stimulate domestic tourism that has the potential to create the equivalent of 9,500 full time jobs in areas across the country suffering economic challenges." The British Hospitality Association (BHA) also welcomed the news ahead of next year's bumper events calendar. Martin Couchman, deputy chief executive at the BHA said: "The £19.8m grant represents an investment in the future of the UK tourism industry and shows much-needed official support for Britain's fifth largest industry. It is a very welcome boost of VisitEngland's promotional work which aims to expand the market and encourage more British people to stay at home for their holidays." The campaign will capitalise on next year's events inclusing London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, The Diamond Jubilee, the Cultural Olympiad, and the Torch Relay that will act as a catalyst to showcase the whole of the country. The funding applied for will be allocated to a number of destination partners in England that will work closely with VisitEngland to design and implement local campaigns. Berresford added: "Our strategy is to work with tourism partners and the private sector at a national and local level. Our partners will manage elements of the campaign pertaining directly to their local destination, whilst VisitEngland will manage the national strategy which will support this local activity. We will work closely with Government on the next stage of the process which determines the terms and conditions of the funding."