VisitBritain has appointed Joss Croft as regional director for Europe, starting on 28 September 2009. He was recently acting marketing director for the organisation until the appointment of Laurence Bresh to the post in July.

Croft, formerly head of business visits and events at VisitBritain, will be based in London and oversee the operations of 15 offices across Europe. The move follows a recent overhaul by VisitBritain of its management structure after its Visit England department was split out to become a separate body with its own management team and funding.

Croft's experience for the role includes a period as manager of Spain and Portugal during which time visits to Britain from the region rose 59 per cent. Prior to starting at VisitBritain in 2000, he held sales and marketing positions at Visit London, Parc du Futuroscope and Disneyland Paris Resort.