England

Brains brewery may be relocated to England

06-Jan-2021 By Restaurant

Brains beer may be relocated to England due to a failure to find a buyer for the iconic Welsh brewery business.

Prime Minister faces pressure to introduce two-week 'circuit breaker' in England

14-Oct-2020 By James McAllister

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is under increasing pressure to bring in a two-week 'circuit breaker' lockdown for England that would see restaurants and pubs across the country forced to close.

The Lowdown: Rutland's last stand

19-Sep-2019 By James McAllister

McDonald’s hopes to open a restaurant in Rutland, which would make it the last county in England to be conquered by the Golden Arches. However, local resistance could derail the chain’s plans.

The Pig to expand its litter with three new hotels

29-Jan-2018 By Sophie Witts

The Pig hotel group has revealed plans to open three further sites over the next two years.

Gin craze sees number of UK distilleries double in five years

17-Jan-2018 By Sophie Witts

The UK’s love affair with gin is showing no signs of drying up, and the craze for craft varieties of the spirit has seen the number of distilleries in the country hit a new high.

Britain’s “thriving” tourism economy gives sector a boost

25-Aug-2017 By Georgia Bronte

New research commissioned by Barclays Business has shown the UK’s tourism economy to be thriving, with turnover for hospitality businesses up significantly over the last year.

The AA names Berkshire and Surrey as hospitality top spots

25-Jul-2017 By Sophie Witts

Berkshire has been named the ‘hospitality capital of England’ based on an average of ratings awarded by the AA and VisitEngland.

Fast-growing hospitality must reduce 'dependence' on EU workers

03-Jul-2017 By Sophie Witts

The hospitality industry’s contribution to the UK economy has grown faster than any other sector since the 2008 downturn, but the status of EU staff means its future remains uncertain.

General Election 2017: Hospitality warns result is ‘bad for business’

09-Jun-2017 By Hannah Thompson

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) and the Association for Multiple Licensed Retailers (AMLR) have warned of uncertainty and called for stability in the wake of today’s General Election result.

Paul Leonard joins The Devonshire Arms as head chef

02-Jun-2017 By Sophie Witts

Paul Leonard has been appointed head chef at the three-AA-rosette Burlington Restaurant at the Devonshire Arms Hotel & Spa.

Uber to expand UK restaurant delivery service

28-Mar-2017 By Sophie Witts

Uber is to expand its restaurant delivery service to more than 40 locations across the UK as it looks to ramp up its challenge to rivals such as Deliveroo.

Henry Harris overseeing launch of Bower House

27-Mar-2017 By Sophie Witts

Former Racine chef Henry Harris is overseeing the launch of a new British restaurant with rooms opening in the Cotswolds next month.

Tourists flock to the UK for Chinese New Year

25-Jan-2017 By Sophie Witts

Record numbers of visitors from China are expected to flock to the UK for the Chinese New Year celebrations this Saturday (28 January).

Tom Kerridge to collaborate with West Country chefs

24-Jan-2017 By Sophie Witts

Tom Kerridge is to collaborate with some of the biggest chefs from the west of England for a series of one-off dinners later this year.

UK has seen no post-Brexit tourism surge, says BHA

28-Nov-2016 By Sophie Witts

The number of leisure tourists visiting the UK dropped by almost 400,000 in the first nine months of 2016, according to the British Hospitality Association's (BHA) Travel Monitor report.

Tourist spending in Britain rises £800m

11-Oct-2016 By Sophie Witts

Britain has seen a record rise in tourism with international visitors spending an additional £800m across the country in the last year, according to VisitBritain.

Giggling Squid to open 10 further sites in next 12 months

18-Aug-2016 By Hannah Thompson

Giggling Squid, the 16-site Thai-style restaurant group, is to open 10 further sites across the South of England within the next 12 months.

Brexit confirmed: Hospitality reacts with uncertainty and mixed views

24-Jun-2016 By Hannah Thompson

Reduced sales, rising costs, and uncertainty across hospitality and tourism: that’s the general view from hospitality commentators this morning, as the UK has voted for Brexit.

Euro 2016: UK pub sales up 26% on opening weekend

14-Jun-2016 By Sophie Witts

Sales at UK pubs rose by just over a quarter during the opening weekend of Euro 2016, according to point-of-sale technology provider Epos Now.

Tourist visits to the UK hit an all-time high

20-May-2016 By Helen Gilbert

The number of people visiting Britain in the first three months of the year has hit a record high, latest figures from the Office of National Statistics have revealed. 

£15k fund to boost Chinese visitors to the North of England

17-May-2016 By Sophie Witts

Hospitality businesses in the North West are set to benefit from a £15,000 fund to market the region to Chinese tourists.

January 2016 breaks UK's international visits record

24-Mar-2016 By Emma Eversham

The number of international visitors arriving in the UK in January rose 6 per cent on the previous year, breaking a record for the month and marking an 'encouraging start to the year' according to marketing agency VisitBritain. 

VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2016: Winners announced

09-Mar-2016 By Emma Eversham

Luxury hotel Rockliffe Hall and Worcestershire pub The Fleece Inn are among the winners of this year's VisitEngland Awards for Excellence.

English regions see spike in international tourist numbers

26-Feb-2016 By Helen Gilbert

The number of international tourists flocking to English regions has hit a record level with some areas experiencing double digit growth in visitor numbers, latest figures compiled for VisitBritain have revealed.

More tourists are visiting the UK but spending less

19-Feb-2016 By Michelle Perrett

A new record for inbound tourism to the UK was hit in 2015 with 35.8m visits, the sixth consecutive year of growth. 

Heathrow joins campaign to boost tourism in flood-hit areas

10-Feb-2016 By Sophie Witts

Heathrow has unveiled striking images of UK landmarks in Cumbria, Lancashire, Scotland and Yorkshire across its terminals in a bid to boost tourism in areas hit by recent floods.

UK tourism jobs growing faster than other sectors

03-Feb-2016 By Liam Garrahan

Jobs in the UK’s tourism industry have grown by 12 per cent over five years to 2014, more than double the growth witnessed across other sectors of the economy.

Flood-hit York hotels urge PM to holiday in Northern England

02-Feb-2016 By Emma Eversham

The chief executive of managed hotel chain Best Western Great Britain is calling on David Cameron and George Osborne to holiday in the North of England this year to help boost trade at hospitality businesses affected by the recent floods. 

UK floods: Government help for tourism businesses branded 'totally inadequate'

28-Jan-2016 By Sophie Witts

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) is among critics of a £15m Government funding package designed to help flood-hit tourism businesses in Cumbria.

UK celebrates record breaking Chinese tourism figures

27-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

The number of Chinese tourists visiting the UK increased by almost 40 per cent in the first nine months of 2015, smashing previous visitor records.

Top 50 Gastropubs Awards 2016: The Sportsman in Kent is number one for second year

25-Jan-2016 By Emma Eversham

Michelin-starred pub The Sportsman in Seasalter, Kent has topped the list of the 50 best gastro pubs in the UK for a second year running with Yorkshire pubs The Pipe & Glass Inn and The Star Inn at Harome taking second and third places respectively. 

Red's True Barbecue kicks off expansion with Sheffield site

19-Jan-2016 By Sophie Witts

Smokehouse brand Red’s True Barbecue has kicked off its expansion drive with plans to open a £900,000 site in Sheffield this April.

#OMGB: VisitBritain campaign to attract more international tourists

18-Jan-2016 By Liam Garrahan

#OMGB is a new VisitBritain campaign that encourages visitors to the UK to share some of their ‘amazing moments’ on social media to encourage others from abroad to visit Britain.

Tourism Industry Council to help implement Government’s tourism plans

11-Dec-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Hilton Worldwide, along with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, has announced the launched the Tourism Industry Council in the new Parliament.

International tourists find Britain 'extremely welcoming'

08-Dec-2015 By Emma Eversham

The percentage of tourists who now feel 'extremely welcome' when they visit Britain has more than doubled in the last five years according to figures from tourism agency VisitBritain. 

Chinese tourists could spend £1bn a year in the UK by 2020

23-Nov-2015 By Sophie Witts

Britain’s tourism industry has welcomed a record number of international visitors this year driven by a surge of interest from the Chinese market.

Lake District tourism targets the Chinese market

17-Nov-2015 By Sophie Witts

VisitBritain’s ongoing campaign to attract Chinese tourists to the UK is stepping up plans to boost visitor numbers to the Lake District.

Government relaxes Chinese visa rules in bid to attract wealthy tourists

22-Oct-2015 By Sophie Witts

David Cameron is hoping to encourage wealthy Chinese tourists to visit the UK with the introduction of a two year multiple entry visa.

Visits to Scotland increase by more than 10%

14-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

International visits to Scotland have increased by 12 per cent in the last year while visits to Wales, England and London have also increased, according to tourism body VisitBritain.

Sat Bains aims for “delicious” burger with Shake Shack collaboration

09-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Michelin-starred chef Sat Bains has collaborated with burger restaurant Shake Shack to release a Sherwood Forest-inspired limited edition burger, The Major Oak.

Chinese visa overhaul could boost visitor numbers by 265k

01-Oct-2015 By Liam Garrahan

An overhaul of the Chinese visa system could boost the boost the number of Chinese tourists to the UK by 265k each year and earn the British economy £337m, according to The UK China Visa Alliance (UKCVA).

TGI Fridays opening £3.5m flagship Leicester Square restaurant

23-Sep-2015 By Sophie Witts

TGI Fridays has confirmed plans to open a £3.5m global flagship restaurant in Leicester Square in November.

Wine and Spirit Trade Association: UK to become a ‘major player’ in wine tourism

19-Aug-2015 By Liam Garrahan

The UK has seen visitor numbers to English vineyards increase year-on-year and it is about to become a ‘major player’ in wine tourism, according to the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA).

Record breaking first quarter for English tourism

29-Jul-2015 By Liam Garrahan

Tourism in England reached record highs in the first quarter of 2015, according to new figures released by tourism board VisitEngland.

MPs to lobby for cut in tourism VAT

21-Jul-2015 By Sophie Witts

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) is increasing pressure on the government to cut the rate of tourism VAT by establishing a cross party parliamentary group of MP’s to build momentum for the bill.

David Cameron announces five point plan to boost regional tourism

17-Jul-2015 By Sophie Witts

The Prime Minister will today (17 July) announce a new five point plan designed to boost tourism across the UK.

Top 10 emerging UK destinations

14-Jul-2015 By Liam Garrahan

In our latest image gallery we take a look at the ‘emerging’ UK cities, those which have seen the biggest increase in foreign visitors since 2012. 

Travel trends: Consumer spending set to rise on shorter 'staycations'

01-Jun-2015 By Sophie Witts

Britons are turning their back on the traditional two week holiday in favour of taking a series of shorter breaks, according to Travelodge’s 2015 Holiday Index survey.

Election manifestos recognise the hospitality and tourism industry

20-Apr-2015 By Sophie Witts

The British Hospitality Association (BHA) has welcomed election manifestos from several key political parties as acknowledging the contribution of tourism and hospitality to the UK economy for the ‘first time ever’.

Government must act on apprenticeships, says leading hotel director

15-Apr-2015 By Sophie Witts

A leading independent hotel group is calling on the government to increase its focus on apprenticeship schemes.