VisitBritain is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to promote Britain overseas as a tourist destination and to lead and co-ordinate the domestic marketing of England. VisitBritain also works in partnership with the national tourist boards in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to promote an attractive image of Britain. It provides impartial tourism information and gathers essential market intelligence and insights for the UK tourism industry.

VisitBritain operates in 35 overseas markets, including the emerging markets China, Poland, Russia and South Korea. 

VisitBritain's overseas offices work closely with British diplomatic and cultural staff, the local travel trade and media to stimulate interest in Britain. In the UK it has strategic partnerships with other organisations, namely the British Council, the British Incoming Tour Operators Association, the British Hospitality Association and the UK Immigration Service.

VisitBritain is funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) through a three year Funding Agreement. This agreement states the level of funding (Grant-In-Aid) that the Government will provide VisitBritain and sets targets for VisitBritain’s performance each year. 2008/9 is the first year of a new Funding Agreement with DCMS.   VisitBritain will receive grant-in aid of £47.9 million.

VisitBritain also aims to raise over £20 million non-Government funding through partnerships and other activities through 2008/09.

VisitBritain consistently achieves a high return on investment. The last available results show that VisitBritain has achieved a return on investment of over 50:1 on its international marketing activity, with many campaigns achieving an even higher return.