Go Cotswolds stars in VisitBritain’s ‘Showcase Britain’ event

In a recent series of familiarisation trips, the VisitBritain ‘Showcase Britain’ campaign saw over 120 representatives from across 17 international markets travelling to the UK to experience the latest products and experiences on offer.

As part of this VisitBritain ‘Showcase Britain’ event, Experience Oxfordshire, the official Local Visitor Economy Partnership and destination management organisation for Oxfordshire, worked with over 30 partner organisations and businesses – including Go Cotswolds. Together, we rolled out the red carpet for influential travel buyers servicing the Canadian market on an intensive, four-day educational visit to Oxfordshire.

Showcasing the Cotswolds to Canada

As an Experience Oxfordshire partner, Go Cotswolds was invited to provide a tour and transport for the VisitBritain Canada delegation on Monday 27th January. The group included 9 Canadian travel buyers, 2 VisitBritain Canada representatives, 1 member of the Canadian travel trade media, plus Lesley Wright of Experience Oxfordshire.

Go Cotswolds tour guide Colin expertly led the delegates on a custom tour of the Cotswolds to highlight the beauty and appeal of this gorgeous area. The itinerary included visits to other Experience Oxfordshire partner venues, including TreeDwellers in Cornbury, The Old Swan and Minster Mill in Minster Lovell, and Hook Norton Brewery.

We also made sure to provide insights into what we, Go Cotswolds, do for our tour guests – showcasing the beautiful Cotswolds towns, villages and countryside. On this Oxfordshire-focused event, we passed through Burford, Swinbrook, the Windrush Valley and Chipping Norton, now synonymous with TV star Jeremy Clarkson and his Diddly Squat empire.

Speed-networking event

Later that evening, at the gorgeous Heythrop Park Hotel, Go Cotswolds’ founder and director Tom Benjamin took part in a VisitBritain Showcase Britain ‘speed networking’ event.

Over the course of two hours, Tom enjoyed micro-meetings with each of the delegates who had enjoyed our tour earlier in the day. This gave us the opportunity to talk more about Go Cotswolds, our relationships with the travel trade, and how we help our guests to have fun, friendly, memorable experiences in the Cotswolds.

All delegates were provided with a copy of our travel trade factsheet and rate card for 2025.

Tom said:

“I thoroughly enjoyed meeting members of the Canadian travel trade during the VisitBritain Showcase Britain event. The feedback we had from the tour earlier in the day was fantastic!

“There is a huge appetite for the Cotswolds from our North American visitors, and as an experienced, local, growing family business, we are expertly placed to show them around this beautiful region.

“We already work with a number of tour operators and DMCs for our FIT products. We’d love to work more closely with the travel trade, using our experience, expertise and growing business to develop fun, friendly, trade-ready tour products our international visitors will love.”

Copies of our travel trade factsheet and rate card for 2025 are available now on request. Please contact Lisa Benjamin at info@gocotswolds.co.uk.