The domestic travel industry is showing huge support for the Best of Britain & Ireland 2009, with nearly 150 trade partners already signed up to exhibit at the event. The new format show has replaced BTTF and has quickly established itself as the must-visit domestic travel trade forum for 2009. Organisers anticipate that many more will join in the coming months, bringing the event closer its 400 exhibitor capacity.

Organised in partnership with VisitBritain, the event has the support of VisitEngland, VisitScotland, Tourism Ireland and Visit Wales, with signed exhibitors including The National Trust, The Tourism Society, English Heritage, Haven Holidays, in addition to major regional tourist boards and a number of leading hotel groups such as Best Western, Radisson Edwardian and Classic British Hotels. The Best of Britain & Ireland sales and marketing team is continuing its proactive outreach programme to all sectors of the industry to ensure it is as well attended as possible.

The event, which takes place on the 26-29 March next year, will comprise two days exclusively for the travel trade industry, followed for the first time by two consumer-facing days, allowing the industry to showcase its offering direct to the public in an interactive celebration of the domestic holiday experience.

The new tailored format is proving popular with exhibitors and includes an innovative personal agenda planner allowing exhibitors and trade buyers to structure their appointments and networking areas tailored to different trade sectors. The event offers fantastic value for money, as exhibitors will be able to stay on for the consumer days over the weekend at no extra charge.

Barbara Follett MP, Minister for Culture, Creative Industries and Tourism, comments:

"I am delighted to be able to support the Best of Britain & Ireland event and extend my warm welcome to all of you attending this year. This is a great way of promoting the depth and breadth of our domestic tourism industry and to let everyone know about the huge range of relaxing and reviving opportunities available in our beautiful and varied country. "From our coast, to our cities, our moors and our mountains, Britain has so much to offer and I hope this event will make even more people aware of them." Lawrence Bate, Director, Tourism Ireland, GB, comments:

�We�ve taken the time to thoroughly assess the concept and we believe Best of Britain & Ireland offers us a valuable opportunity to showcase the Island of Ireland to key trade and consumer audiences. The changes that have been made will enable the two audiences to experience what the destination has to offer. We look forward to working with our partners to create a vibrant Island of Ireland pavilion creating a presence at the event which will represent the Island of Ireland at its best, and one that our industry partners will be proud of.�

Ben MacCorquodale, Events Production Manager, VisitScotland:

�VisitScotland is delighted to be participating in Best of Britain & Ireland and is looking forward to maximising the potential of this exciting new opportunity to promote Scotland to both the trade and consumers. We have had considerable interest from our partners in the event and will have a significant presence at the show on a newly developed, bespoke stand, as well as an exciting interactive format for the consumer days. Best of Britain & Ireland is a key element of our trade strategy, which is headed up by our own flagship event, VisitScotland Expo, in April, showcasing our destinations and partners to the domestic market.�

Lucy Pierce, Marketing and Campaigns Manager, Yorkshire Tourist Board:

"The concept of 'Best of Britain & Ireland' for 2009 as a combined consumer and trade show is undoubtedly a positive move for the industry, giving us direct access to two distinct target audiences under one roof and under the strong banner of one show. We aim to have an even stronger presence at the event than at BTTF last year and our partners are excited about joining the Yorkshire stand. This is a key show for us in 2009.�

Rob Mackenzie, Managing Director, Best of Britain & Ireland:

�We have created an event that has unprecedented benefits for both exhibitors and trade buyers � one that the industry can be really proud to be part of and one that represents fantastic value for money from both a trade and consumer perspective. We are delighted, though not surprised, at the great support we have seen from the industry so far and look forward to many more confirmed exhibitors in the weeks to come.�

Best of Britain & Ireland 2009 and VisitBritain are providing further value to exhibitors by offering preferential rates at the first Britain and Ireland Marketplace (BIM) workshop. The BIM workshop is a product of a new partnership between UKinbound and ETOA (European Tour Operators Association) and will take place on Wednesday 25 March at Banqueting House, Whitehall, providing an exciting kick-off to the Best of Britain & Ireland event.

-Ends-

Notes to Editors:

About the Best of Britain & Ireland and Travel Trade Forum:

The Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade Forum will be open to the travel trade from 26 � 27 March 2009 at ExCeL London. Registration for genuine travel trade is Free of Charge (registration from 1 December via www.britainandirelandevent.co.uk) The Best of Britain & Ireland consumer days are 28 � 29 March 2009. Adult tickets start at just �10. Tickets will be on sale from 1 December. For more information about the Show visit www.britainandirelandevent.co.uk.

Press are invited to visit the show on the trade days (26-27 March). Accredited press will be able to register free of charge from 1 December via www.britainandirelandevent.co.uk.

The Show is organised by Best of Britain Events Ltd (BoBI Events) under licence from VisitBritain.

About Best of Britain Events Ltd:

Best of Britain Events Ltd is an independent professional exhibition and event organiser, headed by Single Market Events managing director Tim Etchells and London EventCo managing director Rob Mackenzie.

About VisitBritain:

VisitBritain is responsible for promoting Britain as a world class tourist destination and for developing England�s visitor economy. It has representatives in 36 countries around the world and, in the last three years, has expanded into China, throughout Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, and increased its presence in India with representatives in Bangalore and Mumbai.

Provisional figures for 2007 indicate there were 32.6 million visits to Britain, -0.5% down on 2006. They spent �16.0 billion in the UK: a -0.3% decrease on 2006.

VisitBritain�s international website, www.visitbritain.com, was awarded World�s Leading Tourism Authority Internet Site for the fourth year in a row at the 2007 World Travel Awards by more than 200,000 travel and tourism professionals. With information provided in 26 different languages, every year over 12 million visits are made by international consumers to the 46 websites that make up visitbritain.com.

Media requiring further information should contact Liz Warburton or Chloe Handy at Fleishman-Hillard: 0207 306 9000 elizabeth.warburton@fleishmaneurope.com / chloe.handy@fleishmaneurope.com

Media wishing to register for attendance to the show should email bobi@fleishmaneurope.com.