Birmingham Airport joins Destination Coventry as Patron member
Birmingham Airport has joined Destination Coventry as a Patron member.
It is the eighth organisation to do so since the Destination Management Organisation (DMO) launched in December 2021.
Destination Coventry Patrons are members that have pledged to support the wider destination marketing and management efforts to raise the profile of Coventry and the wider region to national and international audiences.
The airport, which serves 12.5m customers each year, is a major gateway for international visitors.
Joining Destination Coventry comes at a time when Coventry and Warwickshire is targeting growth in international tourism and the tourism sector continues to recover from the impact of the pandemic.
As part of this push, striking new wall artwork showcasing visitor attractions and sector strengths in Coventry have been placed in the airside arrivals area of the airport to highlight why international travellers should visit and invest in the city.
It features Coventry Cathedral, St Mary’s Guildhall, Coventry Building Society Arena, The Wave Waterpark, Warwick Conferences, Coventry Railway Station and the Friargate business district. Lady Godiva, Sir Frank Whittle and Coventry’s revolutionary Very Light Rail transport project complete the picture.
Birmingham Airport now flies to 140 destinations and is back to around 85% of its pre-Covid passenger levels – with targets to grow the airport to more than 18 million customers a year by 2033.
Nick Barton, chief executive of Birmingham Airport, said: “We are proud to join Destination Coventry as a Patron member and to support the growth of the visitor economy in Coventry and Warwickshire.
“We are currently making big improvements to our airport, including building a £40m new security hall, set be operational by June 2024. This more efficient facility will enable us to serve more customers, including those going to and from Coventry, more quickly and easily.”
Paul Jones, Managing Director at Destination Coventry, added: “Birmingham Airport is one of the leading stakeholders for tourism in the West Midlands and surrounding regions, so to have its support as a Patron member is invaluable for Destination Coventry.
“We ask our Patron members to play an active role in driving the work we do as an organisation, which in turn will bring widespread benefits to businesses across the visitor economy in Coventry and Warwickshire.
“The new Coventry artwork at Birmingham Airport looks incredible and we hope it will encourage even more visitors to our region to stop off to see what we have to offer in Coventry as part of their visit.”
Destination Coventry launched in 2021 and features two established brands, Visit Coventry and Conference Coventry & Warwickshire.
Its Patron members include CV Life, No Ordinary Hospitality Management, Warwickshire County Council, Coventry and Warwickshire Reinvestment Trust, Events by Amadeus, West Midlands Trains and Coventry Building Society Arena.