Travel and Tourism - Supporting the growth of the Visitor economy

2010-03-29

On Tuesday March 23rd the British Chamber of Commerce in Taipei held a Captains of Industry luncheon inviting Christopher Rodrigues CBE, Chairman, VisitBritain to speak about the global tourism industry, supporting tourism promotion overseas, engaging industry and Government in support of its growth and maximising the tourism legacy benefits of major events.

Mr Rodrigues talked about the importance of the travel and tourism industry worldwide which is now a $7 trillion dollar industry. He highlighted the importance of the industry to the UK economy and called Asia the new powerhouse in outbound travel. He also touched upon the effect that new technology was having on the industry particularly the growth of the internet and the future use of biometrics.

Christopher Rodrigues became Chairman of VisitBritain on the 1st January 2007 and Chairman of International Personal Finance in July of the same year, having joined the Board of Provident Financial in January 2007 as Joint Deputy Chairman and Chairman of the International Division (later to become IPF) prior to demerger from Provident Financial plc on 16th July 2007.