With less than one week to go until the Commonwealth Games kick off in Birmingham, VisitBritain is gearing up to put the West Midlands in the international spotlight.
The destination marketing organisation will host a group of six Aussie travel trade and media — including Travel Weekly editor, Ali Coulton — on an educational trip to Birmingham and the West Midlands during the games, giving a first-hand glimpse at the latest tourism products and the electric atmosphere of a global sporting event.
With the Games taking place across 19 venues in the region, VisitBritain will be showing off a range of experiences from a self-drive boating experience in Birmingham to a culinary course in the heart of the city’s Balti Triangle, a street-art tour of Digbeth to seeing a production of Richard III at Shakespeare’s birthplace, Stratford-Upon-Avon and a visit to England’s largest historic site, Kenilworth Castle and Elizabethan Gardens.
“We know there is pent-up demand for travel, our connections with Australia run deep and major sporting events are proven tourism draws,” VisitBritain’s CEO Patricia Yates said.
“The Games, set to be watched by a global audience of hundreds of millions, will also show our hospitality and warm welcome to the world as well as Britain’s ability to host events of the highest calibre.”
With research from ForwardKeys showing bookings to the UK from Oceania currently surpassing 2019 levels, the content produced as a result of VisitBritain’s activity in the region will be a great resource for travel agents as client demand increases.
VisitBritain has also teamed up with Network Seven to showcase the best of the West Midlands during their coverage of Birmingham 2022.
You can follow our adventures through Birmingham and the West Midlands on Travel Weekly’s Instagram account over the next two weeks, and keep an eye out for updates in our daily newsletter to follow the action.
Featured image: Birmingham, United Kingdom (iStock/)
