VisitBritain announced the appointment of Cathy Stapells as director for Canada.
According to VisitBritain, Stapells will lead the implementation of its integrated travel trade and communications strategy in Canada out of the Toronto office. "The role is also a key interface for cross-government activities with the British High Commission in Ottawa and Consulates in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary."
VisitBritain's Executive Vice President, The Americas, Australia & New Zealand Paul Gauger said, "Cathy brings a wealth of tourism and communication experience during the 10 years she has been at VisitBritain, including leading on our tourism efforts in Canada for the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England. In appointing Cathy to this new role, we recognise the increased importance and significance of the Canadian market in driving tourism growth across Britain throughout the year."
Stapells commented, "I am excited to lead VisitBritain's activity in this market. Canada is playing a significant part of the post-pandemic tourism recovery to Britain, and we're not stopping there. Our ambition is to crack a million visits from Canada to the UK. With the support of our incredible trade partners we want to inspire Canadians to See Things Differently by enjoying the experiences and attractions that can be found only in Britain."
In 2022, Canada achieved record spending, reaching £934 million (CAD 1,577,339,200) in 2022, up 27% on 2019, and is ranked the seventh most valuable market for spend in the UK.
Visits were up 3% to 897,000, with Canada currently the UK's ninth-largest market for the number of visits. VisitBritain's latest forecast for 2023 projects is that Britain will welcome 37.5 million inbound visitors this year (92% on 2019).
More information on VisitBritains's website.
