VisitEngland has announced that its annual English Tourism Week, which aims to underline the local economy's economic significance and importance in the region, will become an online event.

The event is a celebration of the tourism industry, a week dedicated to showcasing the tourism offering of the country.

Visit England and local destinations are welcoming MPs, local authorities, the United Kingdom government, and other stakeholders to highlight and help the development of the sector at the 2020 gathering, taking place between 25 and 31 May.

"The English Tourism Week recognizes the important role industry plays in our local, regional and national economies, promotes employment and attracts investment," said Tourism Minister Nigel Huddleston.

“This is a challenging time for the industry and we’re providing support through an unprecedented government package for businesses and workers.

“I hope everyone will use English Tourism Week as an opportunity to celebrate the sector, and we’ll be encouraging people to book a great British holiday as soon as it is safe to do.”

This year, VisitEngland asked MPs to film video clips for social media use during the English Tourism Week to support tourism, to highlight the economic importance of the sector to their local economies.

In all of the industries and with the UK government VisitEngland has worked to ensure that tourism can recover as soon as possible once restrictions are lifted.

VisitEngland Director, Andrew Stokes, said: “English Tourism Week is all about highlighting the economic benefits that tourism brings to local economies, celebrating our diverse and exciting sector, and showcasing the quality, range, and value of English tourism.

“While we cannot run events, as usual, this year, the spirit of the week has never been more important. 

“Tourism has been one of the first and hardest hit economic sectors due to the Covid-19 pandemic and this year’s virtual week is dedicated to showing support for the industry, the millions of people who work in it and the hundreds of thousands of businesses impacted.”