This year’s British Tourism & Travel Show (BTTS) has sadly been postponed until 2021, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.  The UK and Ireland’s leading domestic travel trade event, known for showcasing 100s of top visitor attractions, tours, events, packages, destinations, and experiences, will now run next year on 24-25 March at the NEC Birmingham.

The magnitude and unprecedented scale of the Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent government restrictions have affected the lives and livelihoods of people and businesses around the world.  With those working in, and supplying, the travel, tourism, hospitality, and leisure sectors among the worst hit.

While the UK’s strict lockdown measures are expected to ease over the coming months, social distancing and restrictions on mass gatherings will remain for the foreseeable future.  Notably, many of the show’s exhibitors and visitors are among the 7.5 million people currently furloughed, with thousands of businesses and destinations waiting to reopen, which makes it even harder for firms to plan many months ahead.

David Maguire, BTTS’s group event director, says: “Like all businesses, we have been closely following the rapidly changing developments during these difficult times.  Whilst we were hopeful that the current tough measures on restricted social interaction would be lifted by the autumn, there are still too many questions surrounding hotels, travel, social distancing measures, and individual company policies, to make it viable to run this year’s British Tourism & Travel Show.  Clearly, the best and most responsible option for everyone involved is to wait and host an even better event in 2021.

“We appreciate how important BTTS is to the industry it serves and are very sorry to disappoint the thousands of attendees that were planning on exhibiting and visiting.  However, the success as well as the safety of our exhibitors, speakers and visitors has always been our priority and we are hoping that everyone will get behind this tough but necessary decision.

“The good news is that much of the event planning is already in place, and we go into 2021 with an incredible amount of good will and support.  We would like to thank everyone – our exhibitors, visitors, speakers and partners – for their support, and we look forward to working together to ensure that BTTS continues to be the celebration and gathering the industry deserves – and can be proud of.”

The decision to postpone has been widely supported by the show’s exhibitors and associations, including Visit Wales, Tourism Ireland, Coach Tourism Association (CTA), Albatross Travel, Greatdays Travel Group, Hilton Worldwide, Marketing Liverpool, Action Tours, ITO Tours, Ashley & Newey, Advantage Now, Roeville, Warner Leisure Hotels, Cotswold Tourism, and Devon’s Top Attractions, among others.

Anne Blackham, marketing manager for Devon’s Top Attractions, says: “We fully support the hard decision to move BTTS to March 2021.  It is the most sensible and safest decision to make during these unprecedented times.  Hopefully confidence will be renewed by early next year within the group travel and travel trade markets, and tourism as a whole will start to thrive again.  We think the decision to postpone is the right one and will result in the 2021 show being the usual busy, productive and successful show that we have always been used to.”

A decision on the 2020 British Coach Tourism Awards is still being finalised and will be announced soon.

British Tourism & Travel Show will take place on 22-23 September 2021 at the NEC Birmingham.  For more information, please visit www.tourismshow.co.uk.

###

Media enquiries to:
Emma-Louise Jones, Head of PR & Communications
t: +44 (0)1273 645134
e: [email protected]
Website: www.divcom.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/DiversifiedUK

Becky Webb, Portfolio Marketing Manager
t: +44 (0)1273 645153
e: [email protected]

Event & Awards enquiries:
Lloyd Jones, Event Manager
t: +44 (0)1733 889684
e: [email protected]
Website: www.tourismshow.co.uk
Twitter: www.twitter.com/tourism_show
Facebook: www.facebook.com/TourismTravelShow

David Maguire, Group Event Director
t: +44 (0)1273 645127
e: [email protected]

Notes:
Show logo: https://www.tourismshow.co.uk/btts2021_logo
Show photos: https://www.tourismshow.co.uk/photo-gallery

Diversified Communications UK (Diversified UK) is a fast-growing trade event organiser and publisher based in Brighton, Peterborough and London.  Diversified UK’s transport & tourism portfolio includes: British Tourism & Travel Show; British Coach Tourism Awards; CDC News; miniplus; CDC Coach Tourism Yearbook; Coach & Bus UK; Euro Bus Expo; routeone magazine; and routeone Awards.  For more information, visit: www.divcom.co.uk.

Diversified UK is part of Diversified Communications, a leading international media company with a portfolio of face-to-face exhibitions and conferences, online communities and digital and print publications. As producers of these market-leading products Diversified Communications connects, educates and strengthens business communities in over 15 industries including: food and beverage, healthcare, natural and organic, business management and technology. Established in 1949 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, USA with divisions and offices around the world, Diversified Communications remains a privately held, third generation, family-owned business. For more information, visit: www.divcom.com.