Last updated: 5:35 PM ET, Thu November 9, 2023
Cathy Stapells has been promoted to to Director, Canada for VisitBritain, the country's national tourism agency.
Based in VisitBritain’s Toronto office, Cathy will lead the implementation of VisitBritain’s
integrated travel trade and communications strategy in Canada. 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," said Paul Gauger, VisitBritain’s Executive Vice President, The Americas, Australia & New Zealand.
"In appointing Cathy to this new role,
we recognize the increased importance and significance of the Canadian market in driving
tourism growth across Britain throughout the year.’
‘I am excited to lead VisitBritain’s activity in this market," said Stapells. "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 spend, reaching £934 million in 2022, up 27% on 2019,
and is ranked the seventh most valuable market for spend to the UK. With continued growth
this year, spend forecast is expected to surpass £1 billion. 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 that this year Britain will welcome 37.5 million
inbound visitors overall (92% on 2019) spending £30.9 billion (109% on 2019 level in
nominal terms although 90% in real terms, taking inflation into account).
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