Hosted Buyer Familiarisation Trips 2026 Funding Opportunity
Photo by: Visit County Durham
Intro
VisitBritain’s international business-to-business (B2B) hosted buyer programme gives the regions of the UK and its tourism suppliers opportunities to connect with influential hosted international travel buyers. It enables these buyers to experience new product and itinerary ideas first-hand with a view to generating new business sales across the nations and regions of Britain through a series of familiarisation visits.
At a glance
The Hosted Buyer Familiarisation Trips 2026 Fund (“the Fund”) provides opportunities for either VisitScotland, Visit Wales, Destination Development Partnerships (if established) or Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (if accredited) in England only to apply for gran-funding. This is a restricted competition whereby an eligible tourism organisation may only apply for grant-funding to deliver the respective trip to their area (namely “in-area”).
Aims and objectives
Successful grant applicants will be responsible for the end–to-end hosting and delivery of all aspects of the familiarisation trips, ranging from hotel accommodation and meals to entry to attractions and transportation. This will involve close liaison with local tourism suppliers of high repute and international travel trade readiness to ensure that the international travel trade buyers receive an outstanding visitor experience. It will need to be relevant to their specific market requirements and inspire them to include their visited region and products in future inbound programmes.
Budget
The fund will operate from 29 September 2025 to 26 February 2026 with a total budget allocation of up to £80,000. The level of funding available is relative to the trip party size, the market and the trip duration/number of overnight stays.
The Fund is being managed by VisitBritain’s Industry Engagement Team based in England.
Supporting documents
Hosted Buyers prospectus
This is the prospectus for the 2026 Hosted Buyers grant scheme.
Hosted Buyers - Grant Application Form
This is the application form for the 2026 Hosted Buyers grant scheme.
Fam trip itinerary template
This is the fam trip itinerary cost template
Hosted Buyers Fam Trips Fund - Subsidy Control Form
This is the subsidy control form for the 2026 Hosted Buyers grant scheme.
Find A Grant
This opportunity is on Find a Grant. Find a Grant is a service that allows you to search government grants.
You can use this service to:
- Access government grant funding
- Search and filter to find a grant that matches your needs
- Find out if you are eligible to apply for a grant
- Find out how to apply for a grant
