VisitBritain has promoted Sydney-based Peta Evans to travel trade manager for Australia and New Zealand, effective immediately, with the national tourism office forecasting 1.2 million Australian visits to the UK in 2026.
Evans steps up from her most recent role as trade engagement lead, where she has been part of the ANZ team for nearly four years. She will now lead VisitBritain’s trade strategy across both markets, working with distribution partners, tour operators and airline stakeholders to drive conversion for Britain.
The remit centres on inspiring and educating travel advisors, while delivering an integrated strategy to grow awareness of Britain’s tourism offering and support year-round sales.
Based in Sydney, Evans began her career with STA Travel before moving into business development roles with Sundowners Overland and NOVA Entertainment, where she built extensive industry networks.
That mix of commercial and trade-facing experience underpins the established relationships she now brings to the regional lead role.
VisitBritain’s country manager for Australia and New Zealand Kristen Angus said the appointment fills a pivotal role within the team.
“We are delighted with Peta’s appointment as travel trade manager ANZ, a pivotal role within the team. With established relationships and deep market insight, she is well placed to drive targeted trade engagement, supporting our ambition to grow visitor spending across Britain’s nations and regions, deliver value for our partners,” Angus said.
What it means
Britain remains a core long-haul destination for Australian travellers, and the appointment keeps a familiar face across the trade as the agency pushes to convert demand into bookings.
VisitBritain‘s latest forecast estimates 1.2 million visits from Australia to the UK in 2026, with those visitors spending £1.8 billion (about AU$3.4 billion) on their trips. For New Zealand, the forecast estimates 286,000 visits and £397 million (about AU$749 million) in spend across the year.
The push sits alongside the agency’s “Starring GREAT Britain” screen tourism campaign, which uses films and TV shows as the hook to showcase regional locations. VisitBritain research shows more than nine out of 10 potential visitors to the UK would be keen to visit film and TV locations during a trip.
Evans said she was looking to deepen partnerships across both markets.
“I’m excited to continue working with our valued travel trade partners across Australia and New Zealand,” Evans said.
“I look forward to deepening these partnerships and continuing to inspire more travellers to explore Britain’s diverse destinations and to support the industry in converting demand into high-yield bookings year-round.”
KARRYON UNPACKS: Familiarity counts in a relationship-driven trade, and Evans steps up with over 3.5 years of ANZ groundwork already behind her. With 1.2 million Australian visits forecast for 2026 and a screen tourism campaign drawing travellers beyond London, the trade has a known contact to lean on for year-round Britain sales.
