Welcome to the trade-only travel event
KEY ASSOCIATIONS AND MEDIA PARTNERS
All the key travel trade associations and media are resoundly backing
Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade Forum.
Meet them all at the event next March!
Read our messages of support:
"Best of Britain is a wonderful opportunity to create an event that not only brings business to visitor attractions through meetings with group travel organisers, tour and coach operators, but also shows British consumers the rich variety on offer at destinations and attractions in their own country. ALVA's members expect to benefit once again."
Robin Broke, Director, Association of Leading Visitor Attractions
"The news of the partnership between CTC and BoBI is excellent news! It is so important to have one strong focus for the tourism sector to connect all strands of the industry and BoBI is the one event to do this. The industry only needs one event next spring and this is it. The BHA is supporting this all the way and our members will play a big part in facilitating the success of this partnership; I have the dates ready in my diary!"
Bob Cotton, British Hospitality Association
"This major new initiative from the Coach Tourism Council, VisitBritain, VisitEngland and the organisers of the Best of Britain & Ireland event is fantastic news for coach operators and their many millions of valued customers. To have a voice for coach tourism at the very heart of Britain's tourism thinking and decision making process can only help the coach industry continue to go from strength to strength. The programme of events for coach operators at the 2010 BoBI show looks very exciting indeed and all involved in this ground-breaking agreement are to be congratulated."
Andy Sutcliffe, Editorial Director, Coach and Bus Week
"CPT is pleased to be attending the Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade Forum and further showcasing the recently launched coaching manifesto, "Britain's Coaches: Partnership and Passengers"
Karen Tiley, Manager, Membership Department, CPT
"I've known B.T.T.F, and before that MOOT, for longer than most in the travel trade and unfortunately, witnessed the show's contraction over the years. Best of Britain & Ireland is an exciting concept which helps breathe much needed new life in to domestic tourism for both the trade and public. We'll be working closely with VisitBritain and the organisers, as an official media partner, to help deliver the full potential of Best of Britain & Ireland 2010 for the coach operating community."
Hugh Cairns, Co-owner and Publishing Director, Coach Touring and Group Travel Today
"We applaud Best of Britain & Ireland’s highly innovative Hosted Buyer programme for senior figures from the major coach operators, which gives proper recognition to the stature and buying power of the coach industry. We will be working closely with the BoBI organisers to ensure the Hosted Buyer scheme is accurately tailored to fit the needs of our members.
This is just one in a series of new initiatives we will be developing with the organisers to ensure that the BoBI 2010 exhibitor line-up and visitor content has maximum appeal for the coach operating community and will so deliver a strong attendance at BoBI 2010 from our industry as a whole."
Chris Wales, Chief Executive, Coach Tourism Council
"This agreement heralds a new era of close co-operation between the coach tourism community and the National Tourist Boards and recognises the value of coaches to domestic tourism. We recognise the importance of a strong national showcase for domestic tourism and the CTC is delighted to be wholeheartedly and actively involved in helping to deliver a major presence from the coach market at British Tourism Week and BoBI 2010."
Sean Taggart, Chairman, Coach Tourism Council
"We are very impressed at this move forward which will involve our members on a much higher level. It makes Best of Britain & Ireland a much stronger proposition for the attendance of Group Travel Organisers and we are looking forward to working with everyone to achieve this"
Phil Moon, Chairman, Group Travel Organisers Association
Click here for the full GTOA press release announcing the key partnership with VisitBritain and BoBI 2010
The Guild of Registered Tourist Guides, the national membership organistion for Blue Badge Guides, endorsed by VisitBritain as Britain's Official Tourist Guides, are pleased to support Best of Britain and Ireland for the second year. Blue Badge Guides will again be playing a key role throughout the four days of the show by greeting visitors and leading themed guided walks of the exhibition stands to highlight the many rich and varied opportunities for tourism to be found throughout this country. We look forward to working with our colleagues from the travel and tourism industry as we celebrate Britain together.
David Thompson, Chairman, Guild of Registered Tourist Guides
“There is no doubt that 2009 was going to be a challenging year for the tourism industry. Luckily the Best of Britain & Ireland trade and consumer show came at just the right time to highlight the plethora of world class destinations, products and services we have crowded into such a small area. The opportunity to showcase the myriad of holiday and short-break options available to such a wide audience is one that can’t be missed and provides a much needed stimulus for the sector.”
Kurt Janson, Policy Director, Tourism Alliance
"Best of Britain & Ireland recognises the ever-changing nature of tourism and is an opportunity for those who work in the industry to gain a true picture of the variety of businesses that contribute to its success. They can also gain an appreciation of the experiences that appeal to consumers and learn from a range of seminars and industry events. The Tourism Society plans to be even more involved in 2010."
Alison Cryer FTS, Chairman, Tourism Society
"We are pleased to take our ongoing support for Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade Forum to our readers - domestic travel and tourism's pan-industry key buyers .. And , through TravelGBI's unique appointments by ETOA and ASTA - as their members' exclusive UK and Ireland domestic travel trade media partner - TravelGBI will bring a new and exciting level of international travel trade reader interest to this innovative key event . BoBI is set to confirm its position as singularly the 'must attend' show in the domestic travel trade's calendar and - in this TravelGBI's 32nd publishing year - the industry at large can look forward to our March edition's bumper BoBI preview."
Travel GBI's publisher, Bob MacBeth-Seath
"There was a need to revitalise BTTF after 25 years so that it better reflected the changing interests of consumers and needs of the trade today. Best of Britain & Ireland 2009 did indeed do this - congratulations!"
Graham McKenzie, Managing Director, TravelMole
"We were delighted to be working with BoBI to make that last week in March a truly memorable one for all involved in the UK tourism business. Coaches play a vital role in providing an accessible, affordable and environmentally friendly means of travel to and from our tourist destinations, and the new awards scheme represents a superb opportunity for everybody to work
together to promote coach travel and drive service standards up."
Chris Cheek, CEO, UK Coach Awards
“UKinbound was pleased to be supporting and exhibiting at the new Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade Forum. With a new location for VisitBritain’s travel trade platform, we saw more overseas buyers and recruited many new members - well done!”
Mary Rance, Chief Executive, UKinbound