MAG CEO announced as a member of new Government Visitor Economy Advisory Council
· New Council features representatives from across the travel and tourism sector
· Government has a target to bring 50 million international tourists to the UK each year by 2030.
· MAG CEO Ken O’Toole says a thriving aviation sector is central to achieving this target.
The CEO of the UK’s largest airports group has been named as a member of the Government’s newly formed Visitor Economy Advisory Council.
Ken O’Toole, CEO of Manchester Airports Group (MAG), will sit on the Council which is co-chaired by Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant and IHG Hotels and Resorts’ Managing Director for Europe, Karin Sheppard.
The Council has been created to foster greater collaboration between government and industry, with the aim of growing the UK’s tourism sector. The work of the Advisory Council will contribute to the Government’s upcoming National Visitor Economy Strategy, which will work towards an ambition of welcoming 50 million international visitors per year to the UK by 2030. The Council will have a particular focus on growing inbound tourism outside of the London, with Council co-chair Sir Chris Bryant saying he wants ‘Manchester to rival LA’, citing the strength of the city’s ‘incredible sports, media and creative sectors.’
MAG, which owns and operates Manchester, London Stansted and East Midlands airports, and served more than 63 million passengers in 2023/24, where approximately a quarter were visitors from outside of the UK.
MAG is the only UK airport group with catchment areas spanning the length of the UK, with more than half of people living in those areas living less than a two-hour drive away from a MAG airport. This gives the Group a unique insight into how much all regions of the UK have to offer foreign tourists.
The Group understands the crucial role that direct air connectivity to key export markets plays in facilitating tourism in the UK. Manchester Airport’s direct route to Beijing launched in 2016, and after two years tourism from China into Manchester and the wider North had increased by 80%, alongside increases in trade, visitor spend and education exchange all above the national average.
Mr O’Toole sits on the Council, which held its first meeting on Monday 20 January, alongside other leaders from organisations from across the travel and tourism sectors including British Airways, Booking.com and Visit Britain.
MAG CEO Ken O’Toole said: “I am pleased to be representing MAG on this new Advisory Council to drive tourism growth into the UK.
“Aviation plays a fundamental role in facilitating tourism, giving millions of people access to all the UK has to offer. Key to increasing the number of people who visit the UK, is the introduction of new routes to and from UK airports which open up new travel opportunities for passengers around the world. This can be facilitated by a thriving aviation sector with a license to grow sustainability over the coming decades.
“Boosting tourism is just one of the wide-ranging benefits that aviation brings to society, and with support from the Government, our sector can play a central role in facilitating growth right across the UK economy.”