TORONTO — VisitBritain has appointed Cathy Stapells as its new Director, Canada.

Based in VisitBritain’s Toronto office, Stapells, who has been with the organization for a decade, will now be responsible for integrating travel trade and communications strategy in Canada. Her role is also a key interface for cross-government activities with the British High Commission in Ottawa and Consulates in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and Calgary. 

Paul Gauger, VisitBritain’s Executive Vice President, The Americas, Australia & New Zealand, said: “Cathy brings a wealth of tourism and communication experience during the 10 years she has been at VisitBritain, including leading on our tourism efforts in Canada for the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham, England. In appointing Cathy to this new role, we recognize the increased importance and significance of the Canadian market in driving tourism growth across Britain throughout the year.”

On her new role, Stapells said: “I am excited to lead VisitBritain’s activity in this market. Canada is playing a significant part of the post-pandemic tourism recovery to Britain, and we’re not stopping there. Our ambition is to crack a million visits from Canada to the UK. With the support of our incredible trade partners we want to inspire Canadians to ‘See Things Differently’ by enjoying the experiences and attractions that can be found only in Britain.”

In 2022, Canada achieved record spend, reaching £934 million in 2022, up 27% on 2019, and is ranked the seventh most valuable market for spend to the UK. With continued growth this year, spend forecast is expected to surpass £1 billion. Visits were also up 3% to 897,000, with Canada currently the UK’s ninth largest market for the number of visits. This year, VisitBritain expects to welcome 37.5 million inbound visitors overall (92% on 2019).