Ken O’Toole, CEO of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), will sit on the Visitor Economy Advisory Council, which is co-chaired by Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant and IHG Hotels and Resorts’ managing director for Europe, Karin Sheppard.
The Council has been created to foster greater collaboration between government and industry, with the aim of growing the UK’s tourism sector. The work of the Advisory Council will contribute to the UK Government’s upcoming National Visitor Economy Strategy, which will work towards an ambition of welcoming 50 million international visitors per year to the UK by 2030. The Council will have a particular focus on growing in-bound tourism outside of the London, with Council co-chair Sir Chris Bryant saying he wants ‘Manchester to rival LA’, citing the strength of the city’s ‘incredible sports, media and creative sectors.’
MAG is the only UK airport group with catchment areas spanning the length of the UK, with more than half of people living in those areas living less than a two-hour drive away from a MAG airport. This gives the Group a unique insight into how much all regions of the UK have to offer foreign tourists, it said.
O’Toole said: “I am pleased to be representing MAG on this new Advisory Council to drive tourism growth into the UK.
“Aviation plays a fundamental role in facilitating tourism, giving millions of people access to all the UK has to offer. Key to increasing the number of people who visit the UK is the introduction of new routes to and from UK airports which open up new travel opportunities for passengers around the world. This can be facilitated by a thriving aviation sector with a license to grow sustainability over the coming decades.
“Boosting tourism is just one of the wide-ranging benefits that aviation brings to society, and with support from the Government, our sector can play a central role in facilitating growth right across the UK economy.”
