Healey’s first budget to include big devolution package to boost growth.. theguardian.com/uk-news/2026…

We’re delighted to welcome @VCDBusiness (Visit County Durham) to the Tourism Alliance as a new member! 👏 From the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral and Castle to Beamish, the Durham Dales, the North Pennines National Landscape and the Durham Heritage Coast, County Durham is known for its remarkable heritage, dramatic landscapes and beautiful coastline. As the county’s destination management organisation and an accredited Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), @VCDBusiness leads on the promotion, management and development of County Durham as a place to visit, live, work and do business. It markets the destination to visitors through its consumer brand, This is Durham. In 2025, the county welcomed 21.98 million visitors, the highest number in the North East, with visitor spending rising to a record £1.48bn. Celebrating 20 years this year, the organisation brings together tourism businesses of every type and size through its Partnership scheme. Together they are working to grow a sustainable, year-round visitor economy that now supports more than 14,000 jobs, with a particular focus on encouraging more overnight stays. Welcome on board! We look forward to working together to strengthen the voice of destinations and champion the continued growth of the #VisitorEconomy.

Breaking news: a tax on a tax. @hmtreasury confirms #VAT will be charged on top of the overnight visitor levy. The fix is simple: remove VAT from the levy. With the #Budget2026 on 28 October, that is our first ask. 🏛️ #OVL answers are in: no national impact assessment, no cap in law and no guaranteed local share. With decisions left to Mayors, members should engage early, and we will keep pressing for statutory safeguards. 💷 @hmtreasury puts VAT from hospitality and accommodation at £24bn a year. A lower rate pays back more than the Treasury assumes. The #Budget2026 on 28 October is the moment to act. 📊 @TourismMI's State of Destination-Making 2026 report shows destination organisations are delivering more than ever, and around half do it with five or fewer full-time staff. Properly resourced destinations are key to growth. #VisitorEconomy ✈️ Inbound is holding up: 40.8 million overseas visits to the UK in 2025, more than in 2024. Get the pricing right on VAT and the levy, and the #VisitorEconomy can deliver the growth the UK needs by 2030. 📅 On 27 October our Chair, @josscroft, gives evidence to the @DCMS Committee tourism inquiry, with @bernarddonoghue and Alistair Handyside MBE. We are in the room and on the record. #VisitorEconomy

We’re delighted to welcome @ExpSussex to the Tourism Alliance as a new member! 👏 From the Seven Sisters and the South Downs to historic Rye and Chichester, Sussex is known for its 140-mile coastline, castles and heritage, award-winning vineyards and vibrant food scene. @ExpSussex is the visitor economy development programme for East and West Sussex, showcasing the county to visitors at home and overseas. In 2024, visitors made 50.6 million trips to East and West Sussex, generating more than £4 billion for the local economy. As co-secretariat of the region’s Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP), the organisation offers free support to tourism businesses across the county, from marketing and training to networking and help finding grants and funding. Welcome on board! We look forward to working together to strengthen the voice of destinations and champion the continued growth of the #VisitorEconomy.

We’re delighted to welcome Janet Uttley, CEO of the @staa_uk , as a speaker at this year’s #TourismPolicyConference2026. In “Short Term Rentals: Powering the UK’s Overnight Visitor Economy”, Janet will touch on the role short-term rentals play in bringing visitors to every part of the country, from cities to rural and coastal areas. We’re also pleased to have the @staa_uk on board as our silver sponsor. Thank you for supporting the conference. On the agenda are the big issues facing the #VisitorEconomy, from taxation and competitiveness, visas and inbound access, to place and destination, workforce and skills. A day for informed debate, fresh perspectives and valuable conversations about what comes next. 🎟️ Book your place 👉 lnkd.in/eCNXnBcK

Join Tourism Minister @Steph_Peacock, Migration and Citizenship Minister Jo White MP, East Midlands Mayor @ClaireWard4EM and industry leaders at #TourismPolicyConference2026. On the agenda are the big issues facing the #VisitorEconomy, from taxation and competitiveness, visas and inbound access, to place and destination, workforce and skills. A day for informed debate, fresh perspectives and valuable conversations about what comes next. 🎟️ Book your place 👉 lnkd.in/eCNXnBcK

Join Tourism Minister @Steph_Peacock MP, Migration and Citizenship Minister 𝗝𝗼 𝗪𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗠𝗣, Mayor of the East Midlands @ClaireWard4EM and leading voices at the #TourismPolicyConference2026. Expect keynotes and panels on taxation and competitiveness, inbound access, place and destination, and workforce and skills, with the chance to put your questions directly to the people shaping policy. A full day of informed debate, fresh perspectives and the conversations that will define what comes next for the #VisitorEconomy. 🎟️ Book your place 👉 tickettailor.com/events/thet… With thanks to @CPT_UK @staa_uk - the Short Term Accommodation Association and the @famholcharity

Join the Tourism Minister, the Migration Minister, the Mayor of the East Midlands and leading voices from across the visitor economy at the Tourism Alliance’s flagship conference. Expect keynotes and panels on taxation and competitiveness, inbound access, place and destination, and workforce and skills, with the chance to put your questions directly to the people shaping policy. 🎟️ Book your place 👉 tickettailor.com/events/thet… With thanks to @CPT_UK @staa_uk and @famholcharity Holiday Charity

Breaking News: Britain’s biggest hospitality brands have pledged 100,000 jobs for #NEET young people. It shows what our sector does best. With the Budget two weeks away, the Chancellor should back the businesses creating those jobs, not hit them with new costs. 🎓 @UKHospitality and Government have teamed up with Whitbread, Merlin, Marriott, Parkdean Resorts, McDonald’s, Nando’s, Haven and others on paid jobs for 18 to 24-year-olds over three years. The wider #VisitorEconomy can do even more, and we’re building that offer now. 🚀 Mayor @ClaireWard4EM has launched @VisitEastMidlands, with a £1bn ambition to grow the region’s #VisitorEconomy by 2035. This is what mayoral leadership on tourism looks like when businesses are at the table. 💷 401,250 people have backed #VATsTheProblem, and the petition is now at No 10. The Treasury still says VAT exceptions “are limited”. Two weeks to change their minds. 🎙️ @Eddylev made the case for UK competitiveness on the #APPG for Hospitality and Tourism’s Budget panel, as the DCMS Committee opened its tourism inquiry. At VAC2026, he warned on the #OVL in his talk, Nightmare on Levy Street. We’re in the room and on the record – advocating for the policy changes that protect jobs, drive growth and deliver the stable framework our #VisitorEconomy needs to thrive.

We’re delighted to announce that Jo White MP, Minister for Migration and Citizenship at the @ukhomeoffice, will join us as a speaker at #TourismPolicyConference2026. On the agenda are the big issues facing the #VisitorEconomy, from taxation and competitiveness, visas and inbound access, to place and destination, workforce and skills. 🎟️ Book your place 👉 tickettailor.com/events/thet…

We’re delighted to welcome @ClaireWard4EM, @MayorEastMids, as a speaker at #TourismPolicyConference2026. In “Leading from the Regions: How Mayors Can Grow the Visitor Economy,” Mayor Claire will draw on her work in the East Midlands to set out how mayors can prioritise, nurture and grow the #VisitorEconomy, and what the coming years could hold as their resources increase and become more flexible, including the proposed overnight visitor levy. ` The Mayor represents 2.2 million people across the region and is Chair of the @EastMidsCCA, working with partners across the region and beyond to deliver inclusive growth. She has responsibility for transport, skills, housing and land, net zero and economic development. 🎟️ Book your place 👉 tickettailor.com/events/thet…

Join Tourism Minister @Steph_Peacock, East Midlands Mayor @ClaireWard4EM and many more at #TourismPolicyConference2026. Keynotes and panels on competitiveness, inbound access, place and destination, and workforce and skills, with the chance to put your questions directly to the people shaping policy. Expect informed debate, fresh perspectives and the conversations that will shape what comes next for the visitor economy. 🎟️ Book your place 👉 tickettailor.com/events/thet…

We’re delighted to announce that Jonny Haseldine, Head of Business Environment Policy at the @britishchambers will be speaking at #TourismPolicyConference2026. Jonny leads BCC’s work on the economy and the business environment. That includes coordinating its investment workstream, holding the pen on Budget submissions and representing members across a range of government engagement forums. Join us on 17 November for a full day of keynotes, panels and Q&As on the big issues facing the #VisitorEconomy. ⏰ GET TICKETS 👉 tickettailor.com/events/thet…