Bristol festival: Bristol is one of eight core cities that Visit England wants to put in the spotlight. Photo / Nathan Riley, Unsplash
Bristol festival: Bristol is one of eight core cities that Visit England wants to put in the spotlight. Photo / Nathan Riley, Unsplash
A collection of motu trying to relaunch international links, engaged in a bun fight for a limited number of international travellers - the picture Patricia Yates paints is familiar on opposite sides of the world.
But, what can New Zealand learn from Britain's tourism rebuild?
The newly minted CEO ofVisit Britain took on the role little over a month ago in the middle of the busiest summer since 2019. With a Platinum Jubilee broadcast around the world and a home country Commonwealth Games in the West Midlands have made the pandemic feel like a distant memory.
With the recent reopening of long-haul markets including New Zealand and Australia, the pent up demand has started to break over the shores of Britain this summer.
So is everyone arrived in time to see the athletics and street bunting?
"I'd say the tourism legacy of big events come after the games," say Yates.
The Birmingham games has definitely been a step in the right direction, and there is a hope that similar events can help but there is an acknowledgement that there is still a long way to build back.
"We're seeing a rush at the moment for friends and family bookings. People seeing relatives they haven't seen for years," says Yates, but the challenge now is how to keep up the momentum.
Patricia Yates the new CEO of Visit Britain says the UK faces the same challenges to rebuilding long-haul tourists as New Zealand does. Photo / Supplied
Even with this bumper summer of events the year is currently tracking towards roughly 60 per cent of 2019's visitor levels. £11 billion in visitor spending is missing in action.
"We reckon it will be another couple of years to return to pre-pandemic levels," she says.
"This is because there are some dependencies there."
Those dependencies are much the same as New Zealand's - seats on planes coming into the country and the cost to the passengers in them.
Air travel is showing no sign of getting any cheaper and there have been plenty of headaches for travellers coming into the country. Heathrow, London's biggest airport and the gateway to Europe for a lot of US travellers, has been a national embarrassment.
Flying into the International terminals near Windsor has been an eye opener, with the patience of the normally unflappable BA staff wound close to breaking point. Luggage, planes and ground handling agencies have been as predictable as the British summer weather.
Part of this has been the uneven return of travel, says Yates. The US is practically already returned to pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile tourists from other parts of the world, like China, are virtually absent.
"We are an island - as indeed New Zealand is - we need the flights back and the routes back."
But those who endured some moderate travel chaos and the wrath of the travel gods this summer were rewarded with a festival like atmosphere. What has the silver lining and the legacy of this summer been?
Like the return of travel markets the recovery in Britain has also been unequal. While the chocolate- box-ey hamlets of Ye Olde England and dramatic cardigan coast in Wales have been welcoming back wide-eyed tourists, they have remained slow to return to the urban hubs.
"Cities were the most hit by the lack of international visitors," says Yates.
"Domestic travellers went to coast and countryside - because they were quite nervous about using public transport and going to crowded areas. Business travel, events and conferences really left."
Events such as the Commonwealth Games have helped kick start that and put regional cities on the map. The sporting tournament and its billion viewer audience has helped put Birmingham on the map and made a few new stars for the city.
"You have to fight to get to the bull now."
The Raging Bull – a 10-metre tall mechanical sculpture – now takes pride of place in the middle Centenary Square and performs daily for crowds of tourists. Successful tourist attractions tare hard to predict but events can help give them the platform to succeed. Visit Britain are already putting high hopes on the next raft of televised events including the Rugby League world cup and – to the surprise of all – the Eurovision Song Contest in May next year.
"We've got Eurovision next year which we're excited about," she says. For the first time in 25 years – coincidentally last held in Birmingham 1998 – the city is one of seven named as contenders for the fabulously kitsch music competition. Although Yates will not be drawn to reveal any favourites she diplomatically says the host city is "ultimately a BBC decision."
Visitor interest in Birmingham has been boosted by international events. Photo / Supplied
With entries a far afield as Israel and Australia the competition has become an ironic global phenomenon which draws crowds.
"The definition of Europe has been stretched, but it is a global event and I think a happy event as well."
Events are about giving people a reason to get to know these cities, and the cities a chance to tell their stories.
Dispite being the second largest city in the UK, Birmingham and the Black Country remained a bit of a black hole in the knowledge of international visitors.
"If you asked what Britain's second city is - a lot of people would say Manchester," says Yates.
Cultural exports like Peaky Bliners on Netflix and major sporting events have helped turn around the deeply unfashionable town into somwhere tourists are aware of and would like to know better.
As with any city there are huge number of stories and under its catchment you might not have associated with the city.
"If you wanted to couple that with another Midlands city you have Stratford you have a slower pace - and you have the story of Shakespeare." Similarly the Webb Ellis Museum in neighbouring Rugby - namesake of the game.
It's about joining up the threads of the Midlands and making cities champion the region they sit in.
Manchester: 2023 is about the return of the Great British city break. Photo / Unsplash
The Core Cities the UK wants you to visit
There are eight cities at the focus of the Visit England and Visit Britain's scheme to promote urban breaks.
Manchester One of the many towns to claim to be the birthplace of the industrial revolution the city's creative spark is still evident. Where Ernest Rutherford came here to split the atom - its a hub of science and arts.
Liverpool Beatlemania has helped keep the city on the Mersey in the eyes and ears of the world. However the harbourfront and Albert Dock are equally impressive culural landmarks for the town.
Birmingham Cadbury's chocolate, architectural oddities and an international dining scene are amoung the draws of the canal-laden city.
Bristol Regency Bristol has an easy appeal, with harbourside cafes in the city which is encircled by the inventions of local hero Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
Sheffield On the edge of the Peak Disrict the powerhouse of "northern cool" is best known for exporting music from the likes of Arctic Monkeys to Human League.
Leeds The town of mills and Yorkshire industry reinvented its warehouses as a hub for TV and creativity.
Nottingham A Unesco city of literature, the city by the Sherwood Forest is the haunt of Robbin Hood, Byron and TE Lawrence.
Newcastle The Northumberland city on the Tyne is home to Anthony Gormsley's giant angel and a "hotspot for modern art lovers".
