Travel trade experts from France will be visiting the county's top tourism destinations next week as part of a major international push to boost international visitor numbers.

After two difficult years for the industry, as a result of the pandemic, tourism bosses are keen to attract visitors back as travel restrictions are eased.

It is estimated Kent alone lost £2.5billion in tourist revenues in 2020 when blanket travel bans were in place.

Organised by VisitBritain, the national tourism board, 50 international travel trade buyers will arrive this weekend for a series of educational visits.

Those from the US will head to Devon and Cornwall, Canadian buyers will experience the West Midlands, Germans the Cotswolds, while the team of six from France will head to Kent. Other teams from Italy, Spain, the Nordics and the Netherlands will get the opportunity to visit the likes of Wales, Northern England and Scotland. All teams will also visit London.

VisitBritain has organised the itineraries with destination management organisations around the UK - with Visit Kent planning the trips for our county.

The coordinated trips will start at the weekend with a trip to The Shard in central London before the specially organised trips around the country get under way on Monday.

VisitBritain deputy CEO Patrica Yates said: “Working with the international trade, ensuring they are ready to sell Britain, is crucial to driving back bookings and spending. We also want to broaden travel itineraries, encouraging visitors to stay longer and explore further, and boost visits across the shoulder season, supporting local businesses, destinations and economies.”

The visits will coincide with VisitBritain's latest £10million marketing campaign, 'Welcome to Another Side of Britain' which has a special focus on cities.

It comes in a year which sees Birmingham host the 2022 Commonwealth Games while a series of special events will be taking place to mark the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The nation's tourism chiefs say they expect 21.1m visitors coming to the UK this year - still just 52% of pre-pandemic levels in 2019.

It also anticipates spending of £16.9m - 59% of that seen in the year before Covid.