VisitBritain has announced the appointment of Carl Walsh as its senior vice president, United States of America. In this newly created role, based in New York, Walsh will spearhead VisitBritain’s initiatives across the U.S. With a focus on implementing travel trade and communications strategies, his primary objective is to drive growth within the American market. Among his core duties, Walsh will help deliver on the tourism agency’s collaboration with cross-government activities in the U.S.
VisitBritain’s executive vice president, the Americas, Australia & New Zealand, Paul Gauger said Walsh "brings extensive tourism knowledge to the role, drawing from decades of experience both back in Britain and here in the U.S.A., with significant industry relationships and insight gained from working with the travel trade over many years at VisitBritain. The introduction of this new role acknowledges the importance of the U.S.A. as the U.K.’s top source market for tourism visits and spend, underscoring our commitment to driving continued growth.”
The U.S. continues to lead tourism’s recovery in the U.K. with record-breaking spend by American visitors based on the latest year-to-date figures, January to September 2023, up 28 percent on 2019 even when adjusted for inflation. Looking to this year, VisitBritain is expecting the American market to be worth £6.3 billion in 2024 with American visitors contributing almost £1 in every £5 of all inbound spending. It is forecasting 5.3 million visits from the U.S. to the U.K. this year, up 17 percent over 2019. The latest data on flight bookings from ForwardKeys shows that air passenger arrivals from the U.S. to the U.K. for April to September this year are tracking 12 percent ahead of the same months in 2019.
To drive that growth, VisitBritain’s “Great Britain” marketing campaigns in the U.S. are showcasing Britain’s cities, contemporary culture, coast and countryside, inspiring visitors to “See Things Differently.”
For more information, visit www.visitbritain.com.
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