Last week (14–16 April) Visit Houston held a three-day UK sales and media mission, including an event for 75 agents and operators with astronaut Mike Foreman. It focused on Houston’s offering as ‘Space City’ as the home of the Space Center Houston – the official visitor centre of NASA Johnson Space Center and the most visited attraction in Houston.
Jorge Franz, senior vice president of tourism and industry relations at Houston First Corporation, told TTG: “I still use a travel agent myself, and I’m a big believer in the whole idea of the travel trade. We are very focused on working with travel agents, because we believe they help the travel journey, and they’re your friend when you travel.”
Houston saw visitor numbers from the UK increase from 85,000 in 2019 to 102,000 in 2023. Figures for 2024 will be confirmed in May, but are projected to reach 104,000. Franz explained: “The UK is our most important long-haul market so we’d love to exceed this in 2025, and see a 3% to 5% jump. Travel agents will be absolutely key to this.”
To help boost agents’ knowledge of the destination, Houston First Corporation opened a UK Visit Houston office in November through integrated agency Black Diamond, and launched the Houston Travel Pro training programme earlier this year. Franz explained: “It’s a module-based online programme, which gives you all that you need to know about Houston.”
Franz encouraged agents to focus on the city’s culinary offering, as in November the Michelin Guide granted its first stars in Texas to six Houston restaurants, with several others distinguished as Bib Gourmands and Recommended Restaurants. “Houston is now the most diverse city in America, it’s a very cosmopolitan, very modern city,” Franz added. “More than 140 languages are spoken in Houston and that has really impacted the culinary scene. We’ve got great international restaurants, but we also have some fantastic barbecue joints that were named by Michelin.”
Sport is another big draw for visitors, with the city set to host seven games during the Fifa World Cup 2026 next June. The World Baseball Classic takes place in Houston in April 2026, and the city is home to teams from several major professional sports leagues, including baseball, American football, basketball and soccer. It also hosts the largest rodeo in the world each March.
Franz stressed that Houston is “a very family friendly destination”, adding: “Travel agents have been sending business travellers to Houston for years, but it’s those business travellers that eventually started to return as leisure travellers with their families.
“We have museums, and all the major Broadway productions come through our city. We also have a lot of quirky attractions, such as the art car parade each April, where people decorate 350 cars and drive them along the Houston freeway. Plus, we’re just a few miles down the road from Galveston, the fourth largest cruise port in America, so visitors can do pre- and post-cruise stays.”
