Visit Britain national tourism agency to open Birmingham HQ

The council said the "friendly city region" had "amazing parks and scenic waterways"

The national tourism agency VisitBritain / VisitEngland is to open a new headquarters in Birmingham.

It is in negotiations over office space in the centre and said it would launch the hub from April.

It said it would keep a presence in London "to maintain our relationships with key government and industry stakeholders".

Birmingham had "excellent transport links", a broad talent pool and good office space, it added.

VisitBritain / VisitEngland is a non-departmental public body funded by the Department for Culture, Media & Sport and tasked with encouraging people to visit and spend their holidays in the country.

It said the decision to move out of London followed similar decisions taken by government departments and private sector companies.

The precise location of its new headquarters is yet to be announced.

CEO Patricia Yates said: "We are excited about the opportunities and perspectives that having our headquarters in Birmingham will bring, as we continue our work to drive the economic benefits from tourism across the nations and regions."

West Midlands mayor Andy Street said following on from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, the city was "the perfect place" for the agency

Ms Yates said the new site would bring the organisation "closer to our regional stakeholders across England", including the West Midlands Growth Company, which promotes the region.

That organisation said it would continue helping the tourism body, by securing "the right long-term office space", sourcing local talent and assisting with forging "ever-closer links" with educational institutions.

West Midlands mayor Andy Street said with record tourist numbers and "excellent connectivity to the whole country", Birmingham was the "perfect place" for the agency.

City council leader John Cotton said he looked forward to welcoming the organisation to Birmingham.

"This is a warm, friendly city region with award-winning museums and galleries, world-class cultural institutions and festivals, major sporting events, family-friendly attractions, amazing parks and scenic waterways," he said.