Beecham, who will become BTA director for Japan, Hong Kong and Singapore, was responsible for the 拢5m 'UKOK' advertising campaign. The push lasted just three months before being replaced by the 拢25m 'Only in Britain' campaign, which launched in April.
The new marketing chief will take on Beecham's target of attracting one million extra visitors to the UK from seven overseas markets. The aim is to bolster British tourism, which is still suffering due to fears of terrorist attacks and a difficult economic climate. For the year to the end of April, the UK saw 8% fewer visitors, according to the Office of National Statistics.
The BTA has restructured so that three overseas regional directors, including Beecham, will now report to an operations director, responsible for setting budgets. Roger Johnson, currently European director, becomes operations director.
A spokesman for the BTA said that Beecham, whose wife is Japanese, wanted to move for family reasons. Beecham leaves the UK at the end of the summer, when new chief executive Tom Wright takes over from Jeff Hamblin.
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