The Tourism Action Plan outlines the government’s plans to “ensure the continued success of the tourism industry”.
A total of £22.1 billion in spending was generated from in-bound tourism to Britain last year and £19.6 billion from domestic overnight tourism spend in England - both record results.
UKinbound chief executive officer, Deirdre Wells OBE, said: "We are delighted that the Prime Minister has recognised the importance of our industry and the role it can play in bringing valuable economic growth to the UK.
"The funding will be vitally important to enhancing our tourism offer in a post-Brexit environment.
“As a member of the Discover England awards panel, I was really impressed with the quality and variety of projects which were submitted for consideration and the winners are a reflection of the diversity and innovation that is such an essential part of our industry.
"A key concern for our sector has been to ensure that our visitors not only enjoy our world class capital city, but also the wealth of the countryside and heritage across the UK."
The government’s announcement comes as VisitEngland completes the first phase of the £40 million Discover England Fund.
“The fund attracted an exceptional number of high quality bids, far outweighing the allocated funding available for year one,” said VisitBritain/VisitEngland chief executive Sally Balcombe.
“We are pleased to have chosen some excellent winners, including the South West Coastal Path and Visit Kent and Cheshire’s Gardens and
Gourmets, and we will now be working closely with them to build world-class bookable tourism products that showcase the best of England to international and domestic visitors.
“We look forward to continuing the success of the fund with larger-scale bids worth more than £1 million in years two and three.
“Tourism is a fiercely competitive global industry and the Tourism Action Plan demonstrates the government’s commitment to improving our competitive tourism offer which includes making it easier for visitors to explore Britain using our extensive transport network.”
VisitBritain/VisitEngland will run a competition with the Rail Delivery Group to give five pairs of winners the chance to test out rail itineraries.
“We continue to position Britain as a must go now holiday destination through our domestic and global #OMGB Home of Amazing Moments campaigns to promote the amazing experiences that can only be had here, converting aspirations to visit into bookings and ensuring that the economic benefits of tourism are spread across all our nations and regions,” continued Balcombe.
