UK tourism and heritage minister, Nigel Huddleston, delivered the keynote speech during this year's Annual National Conference of Visitor Attractions (VAC) which was held on Wednesday 7 and Thursday 8 October as a virtual event.

Huddleston speech marked the start of the two-day conference.

The former UK head of travel for tech giant Google, Huddleston is the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for sport, tourism and heritage at the DCMS.

He was one of 20 speakers representing leading visitor attractions and sector organisations to take the stage during the virtual event.

Others included Sue Biggs CBE, director-general of the Royal Horticultural Society; Judith Owens, CEO of Titanic Belfast; and Julie Dalton, MD of Gulliver's World Theme Park Resorts.

There was also a panel session, discussing the events of 2020 and looking ahead to 2021.

Now in its 17th year, VAC was founded by industry bodies ALVA and BALPPA and Attractions Management magazine, with the support of tourism agency VisitBritain.

This year's event focused on sharing best practice from a wide range of regions and countries – all of whom find themselves on different parts of the recovery pathway following COVID-19.

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• You can view all virtual VAC conference content until 12 November by clicking here.