VisitBritain brought suppliers from England, Wales and Scotland to Auckland last week for a trade workshop, giving New Zealand travel advisers direct access to accommodation, tour and experience operators from across Britain.
The Auckland workshop formed the New Zealand leg of the VisitBritain trade mission covering Australia and New Zealand, and drew supplier delegates alongside VisitBritain leadership. Speaking to New Zealand Travel Trade, VisitBritain’s Deputy Director for the Americas, Asia and Australia/New Zealand, Paul Gauger, said advisers can use VisitBritain’s trade resources to build extended, multi region itineraries for clients rather than single city visits. He pointed to regional spread across England, Wales and Scotland, including countryside, coastal and castle based experiences, as an area advisers can draw on when putting together longer itineraries.
Screen tourism remains a growth driver for the destination. According to VisitBritain research, nine in ten potential visitors say they would be interested in visiting film and television locations during a UK trip. Gauger highlighted Bridgerton, largely filmed in Bath, and Outlander, filmed across Scotland, as examples advisers can use to build itineraries around specific productions, spanning both classic and contemporary UK screen releases.
Seasonality was another focus. Gauger said Britain’s shoulder season is extending, with Christmas markets and the Northern Hemisphere summer helping position the destination as a year round option rather than a peak summer only booking.
Gauger also flagged the visiting friends and relatives market as an area for advisers to capture additional revenue, noting VFR travellers are increasingly extending trips with hotel stays and tours booked alongside family visits, rather than staying solely with relatives. The workshop closed with networking between advisers and British supplier representatives. Jodie McSkimming from Fuzion Travel and Michelle Downey from Bucket list Travel secured places on a VisitBritain famil to Britain in 2027.