Patricia Yates is the CEO of VisitBritain/VisitEngland, the national tourism agency – a non-departmental public body of the UK Government. The agency raises Britain’s profile worldwide, increasing the volume and value of tourism exports and developing England and Britain’s visitor economy.

Patricia oversees the day-to-day operations of VisitBritain/VisitEngland in London and overseas, leading strategies for growing the visitor economy, from marketing Britain internationally to supporting the industry, working in partnership with stakeholders. Alongside the Chairman, she also ensures that tourism is high on the political and economic agenda. Patricia had been with the VisitBritain/VisitEngland since 2005, becoming CEO in 2022 and previously as the agency’s Strategy & Communications Director.

Patricia started her career as a journalist working on research and technical publications. She followed this with a long period editing Holiday Which? where she scoped the strategy or and led on all Which?’s research, campaigning and public affairs work in tourism, travel and transport. She also launched and edited the Which? Guide to Hotels for many years. Patricia chairs the Tourism Industry Emergency Response (TIER) group, which coordinates tourism industry messaging at times of crisis and is a Fellow of the Tourism Society. She is a member of the Tourism Industry Council (TIC), chaired by the Tourism Minister, which brings senior visitor economy stakeholders together to discuss policy issues. Patricia also chair’s TIC’s Sustainability Working Group, collating industry expertise on policy to support the move to NetZero. She is an observer on the Tourism Alliance Board for VisitBritain/VisitEngland.