As the members of BVEP know, there are many factors that contribute to the United Kingdom's popularity as a destination for business visits and events. We offer easy access to world leading business expertise, organisations and facilities, as well as unparalleled cultural, historic and artistic opportunities and experiences for visitors.

By Simon Hughes - I must declare at the outset that, despite my surname, I have absolutely no Welsh blood in me at all. Yet some of my memories of Wales are amongst the happiest that I've collected over the years. So the prospect of visiting Wales later this month with the BVEP has filled me with glee as I anticipate adding to that collection. In my formative years weekend trips up to Snowdonia with the local scout troop featured frequently. We'd all bundle into a minivan in South Croydon late on Friday afternoon and then head off to spend the weekend scrabbling up and down hills and mountains with unpronounceable names, often soaked to the skin and putting up with the baleful gaze of sodden sheep.

By Simon Hughes - The Tourism Alliance recently invited partners to respond to a snap survey to help assist the process of developing their position on the EU referendum. They recognise the need to develop a view point that best represents the views of their members as we enter what promises to be one of the most important political debates for a generation. Briton's generally still seem to be split on the issue, although some recent polls suggest that more would vote to stay in than leave. The caveat here of course is what a wonderful job the very same pollsters did during the recent general election.

By Simon Hughes - One of the features of the recent election campaign and the subsequent scramble around Europe that the Prime Minister is now embarking on has been the use of the phrase 'red lines'. Everyone seems to have one these days. I'm pretty certain that several high profile politicians that lost out as a result of the election are now sitting at home asking their red lines to explain what went wrong. That must be a funny feeling. One minute you're on the stump, proudly declaiming which red line you will not cross. The next minute you're just cross, all alone with your red line and trying to avoid watching the Queen open Parliament on the TV.

By Simon Hughes - I had the pleasure of attending a reception for the outgoing Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell shortly before the last General Election in 2010. Sir Robert Armstrong, one of his eminent predecessors, was in particularly effusive form as he praised him for the work undertaken to prepare for the new government.