LONDON — With celebrations in high gear in Britain these next four days for the Queen’s historic Platinum Jubilee, VisitBritain is taking the opportunity to promote ‘destination Britain’ and inspire travel from Canada.

Britain lifted its international travel restrictions on March 18, 2022, for all passengers arriving in to the UK. VisitBritain says businesses across the country are ready to welcome back Canadians and provide a stand-out experience.

The tourism organization notes that arrivals from North America to the UK for the week of May 15 were at 78% of 2019 levels. The latest available data pointed to an increase to 86% for the week of the Jubilee, celebrating Queen Elizabeth II’s seven decades as monarch.

In 2019 there were 874,000 visits from Canada to the UK, with a record spend totalling £734 million.

 “As the world’s media turns its attention to the historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations and to some of our most iconic destinations including Buckingham Palace, where landmark events are taking place, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity to highlight our outstanding tourism offer and the amazing experiences that Canadians can only have in Britain,” says VisitBritain’s SVP Americas, Paul Gauger.

“Canada is a very important inbound tourism market for the UK, we know there is pent-up demand for travel and our royal legacy and pomp and pageantry are proven tourism draws. The Jubilee celebrations, set to be watched by a global audience of hundreds of millions, will also show our hospitality, creativity and warm welcome to the world, boosting tourism to Britain,” he added.

VisitBritain has a dedicated Jubilee content hub on its global website, promoting Britain’s royal heritage, destinations and experiences with a contemporary twist, telling the stories of places and inspiring visitors to discover more, travel further and stay longer.

Plus, VisitBritain’s international GREAT Welcome to Another Side of Britain campaign has been rolling out in Canada since February.