Stephanie Peacock, the government minister whose brief includes tourism, will be at WTM London throughout the opening day, it has been confirmed.
Peacock, minister for sport, tourism, civil society and youth, will take part in the event’s opening ceremony on 4 November at 9am.
She will then make a short address to the UN Ministers Summit, hosted by WTM in association with UN Tourism and WTTC, and now in its 19th year.
At 2pm she will host a closed roundtable where ministers from across the EU will discuss sustainable tourism.
Peacock is also scheduled to take part in a panel discussion entitled Soft Power Advantage: Leveraging the UK's Global Influence. The session will take place at 3pm in the Yellow Theatre and is open to all visitors.
That evening, Peacock will be a guest at the Ministerial Reception, a networking dinner for attendees from the Ministers Summit at the Churchill War Rooms.
Chris Carter-Chapman, WTM event director, said: “We’re delighted to welcome the new tourism minister, and we are proud that she has earmarked time in her schedule to visit WTM London.
“We look forward to discussing the importance of inbound, outbound and domestic tourism, introducing her to some of the major players and highlighting the major role that WTM plays in supporting the UK tourism sector.”
Peacock took over the tourism brief this September as part of a new role within the Department of Culture Media and Sport (DCMS), which covers tourism in England.
Peacock’s predecessor Sir Chris Bryant, who was tourism minister for just over a year, will also attend WTM in his new role as minister of state at the Department for Business and Trade.
Bryant is expected to be on-site on Thursday 6 November, and will host the closing keynote interview with actor and writer Richard E Grant at 3:30pm on the Yellow Stage.
Carter-Chapman added; “We were talking to Sir Chris before his move to trade. It’s a positive sign that he’s still interested in tourism and the role that it plays as part of the UK’s overall balance of trade.
“With VisitBritain confirmed as the Premier Partner, this year’s event sees an even stronger government presence at WTM London, which reflects not only how important the travel and tourism industry is to the UK authorities but also the role that WTM London plays to support that industry.”
