The Tourism Industry Emergency Response (TIER) group – of which VisitBritain is part – has been rewarded for its communications following last year’s terror attacks in London on 7 and 21 July.

TIER was given a PR Week Award for Best Crisis Communications at an awards ceremony on 24 October.

Other TIER members include Visit London and the national tourist boards of Britain alongside key public and private industry organisations representing airports, airlines, ports, attractions, accommodation, travel agents and tour operators.

VisitBritain also recently published its annual review for 2005-06, revealing its achievements within the UK’s visitor economy.

Domestically, VisitBritain’s England marketing division – through its Enjoy England campaign – has been responsible for additional tourism expenditure of £243m by domestic visitors to England – a return on its government-set investment ratio of 20-1.

Marketing inbound tourism over the last three years, VisitBritain has generated an average return on investment of £44 visitor spend for every £1 from the public purse – out-performing its government target ratio of 30-1.

Elsewhere over the past year, the organisation has dealt with nearly 10 million enquiries, established databases with details of more than seven million people and developed e-tourism platforms.

Tom Wright, VisitBritain’s chief executive, said: “In an increasingly competitive tourism economy, consumer engagement is key. VisitBritain now provides services that help our customers and our aim is simple: to convert their interest in our superlative destinations into action and ultimately increase visits.” Details: www.visitbritain.com