Mary Rance, CEO of UKinbound, has been elected as the new chair of the Tourism Alliance.

She succeeds Michael Hirst OBE, chair of the Business Visits and Events Partnership.

Rance said: "This is a very important period for the UK tourism industry. The Olympics showcased the best that Britain has to offer and considerably raised our profile as both a domestic and international destination of choice.

"However, to maximise tourism-related growth and employment for the UK economy the Industry and Government have to work together to reduce regulatory burden, facilitate visa applications, reduce VAT and reform Air Passenger Duty."