The United Nations Tourism Organisation recently published a league table of the world’s most visited countries in 2012. In top place was France with approx 80 million visitors followed by the USA with approx 67 million. The UK was back in 8^th place with just over 29 million visitors. In terms of cities London was a very close second to Bangkok with both having close on 16 million visitors a year. That means that London has more than half of the visitors for the whole UK. Now London is, of course, a splendid city but there’s a lot more to our country than its capital.

I’m sure I’m not alone in thinking that the English and other national tourist boards within the UK should be doing a better job than they are doing. This country has a history and heritage to rival any and we should be doing a lot more to tell the world about it, attract more tourists and boost our flagging economy.  We may no longer a world power and we no longer sit at the top table in terms of wealth or manufacturing output but we still have a lot to offer.

The English language is the most widely spoken language in the world and derivations of our legal and political systems exist in all four corners of the globe. Move 5 miles from any given point in this country and you will see some place of significance whether it be the remains of a medieval castle, Roman ruins or an Anglo-Saxon church dating back to the 9th^th or 10^th centuries. The whole of the British Isles is dotted with castles, stately homes, mansions, gardens and some of the most beautiful countryside in the world.

Many of our cities boast world class art galleries, museums and other attractions to whet the appetites of tourists from across the planet. The north of England is still littered with the mills constructed at the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and let’s not forget that the modern world, to a large extent, owes its very existence and prosperity to that English-driven Revolution. We should be proclaiming this to all and sundry. Come to England, come to Britain and see where it all began!