PRESS RELEASE : Nick de Bois CBE appointed as British Tourist Authority Chair [October 2022]
The press release issued by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport on 24 October 2022.
The Secretary of State has appointed Nick de Bois as Chair of the British Tourist Authority for a term of three years.
Nick de Bois CBE
The term of appointment will be for three years, commencing on 1 November 2022 until 31 October 2025. Interim Chair Dame Judith Macgregor will resume her duties as a BTA Board Member.
Nick de Bois has been Chair of the VisitEngland Advisory Board for three years since June 1 2020, until his appointment as Chair of the British Tourist Authority. During this time and acting in an independent capacity, he led the government’s review into the funding and structures of England’s Destination Management Organisations.
Nick de Bois was Member of Parliament for Enfield North from 2010 to 2015. Prior to his election, he was founder and Managing Director of Rapiergroup, an international events and exhibitions management agency that he set up in 1988 delivering conferences, exhibitions and digital content for U.K. and International based clients.
In 2016, he was appointed Chairman of the UK Government’s first U.K. Events Industry Board bringing together industry and government agencies to advise the government on the implementation of its Business Events Strategy launched in 2015. This strategy set about securing an increase of inbound international visitors by winning new international events hosted at U.K. destinations. In addition, the board advised on securing growth of international visitors to established domestic events.
He resigned as Chair of the U.K. Events Industry Board in July 2018 to join the Department for Exiting the European Union as Chief of Staff and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State Dominic Raab MP.
Nick lives with his wife Helen in Hertfordshire. He is also an author of “Confessions of a Recovering MP” and his first novel Fatal Ambition as well as being a contributory program host and broadcaster.
Nick was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list 2022.
Remuneration and Governance Code
This appointment has been made in accordance with the Cabinet Office’s Governance Code on Public Appointments. The process is regulated by the Commissioner for Public Appointments. Nick will be offered remuneration of £40,000 per annum. The Government’s Governance Code requires that any significant political activity undertaken by an appointee in the last five years is declared. This is defined as holding office, public speaking, making a recordable donation or candidature for election. Nick has declared he was the Conservative Party candidate for the constituency of Enfield North in the 2017 General Election.
