Maria Sykes to step down as Visit Britain’s ANZ country manager

Maria Sykes to step down as Visit Britain’s ANZ country manager
By Grant Jones


Maria Sykes will be stepping down from her role as Visit Britain’s Country Manager – Australia & New Zealand in the new year.

“Since joining VisitBritain’s Sydney office in 2018, I have had the support of an exceptional team of whom I could not be more proud,” she said.

“They have done the most extraordinary job of growing the profile of Britain in Australia and growing its value to the British visitor economy significantly.

It now consistently ranks as one of Britain’s most important and valuable inbound markets.”

Over the past two years, Australia has ranked as Britain’s fourth most valuable market for inbound tourism, following record-breaking spend and visits in 2022 and 2023, Sykes said.

Maria Sykes, VisitBritain’s Country Manager for ANZ with Nick de Bois, VisitBritain chair earlier this year.

In a historic first, Australia also sky-rocketed to become Britain’s second most valuable source market in the third quarter of 2023, behind only the US.

“During my time, the team has raised Britain’s profile across Australia and New Zealand, leveraging major global events such as the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the FIFA Women’s World Cup Australia/New Zealand 2023, and Sydney World Pride 2023 to name just a few,” she said.

“Earlier this year they delivered one of VB’s most successful ever trade missions welcoming over 40 of Britain’s finest suppliers to meet with over 400 travel agents and product managers in three cities across Australia.

“It has been a privilege to work with this team of stars and an honour to work with you all. I’d like to sincerely thank you all for your unstinting support over the years.”

After finishing with Visit Britain on 17 January, Sykes will step into a new role as the chief executive officer of the Jane Goodall Institute Australia, based at Taronga Zoo.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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