Taking place from Sunday 19 to Tuesday 21 May, Discover The Heart of England is the next event in UKinbound’s series of Discover Workshops.

Some 19 tour operators, specialising in a range of markets including Europe, USA and the Far East, will be attending, with more than 300 one-to-one meetings expected to take place during a B2B workshop at the Park Regis Hotel Birmingham.

The event is designed to facilitate new business relationships between local suppliers and key industry buyers, helping to create more bookable products that will attract more visitors and contribute to the region’s economy.

During the three-day event, delegates will have the opportunity to tour many of Birmingham and the wider West Midlands’ tourist attractions, including the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, a Shakespeare gin distillery and tasting cruise in Stratford-upon-Avon, a cycling tour in the National Forest and an Ironbridge walking tour.

UKinbound’s CEO Joss Croft commented:

“It’s fantastic to be back in the heart of England, and to be hosting a Discover Workshop in Birmingham and across the West Midlands region. This area has a rich and diverse tourism product, and bringing our members here will enable them to develop new commercial opportunities, and discover more about this fantastic city and the beautiful areas that surround it.”

Nicola Hewitt, Commercial Director of the West Midlands Growth Company, said:

“We relish the opportunity to build new relationships with tour operators to showcase our new and existing visitor attractions and experiences.

“Our partners have worked hard to create travel trade offers over the past two years, and the West Midlands continues to grow its leisure tourism scene, with record numbers of domestic and international visitors last year.

“We are making the most of our international gateway at Birmingham Airport and continue to encourage visitors to discover the region’s charms through the secret highways of the waterways, which link our beautiful rural villages with our vibrant towns and cities.”

The Discover Workshops launched in 2012 and have previously taken place in a variety of locations across the UK from Aberdeenshire to Belfast, Cardiff to Windsor.