Bradley has been the MP for Staffordshire Moorlands since May 2010, and a home office minister since 2014.
Her parent ran the Queens Head Hotel in Buxton, which she said on her website gave her ‘a unique introduction to people from all walks of life’.
Ufi Ibrahim, CEO of the BHA, said: "We believe that in times like this, it’s vital for business to have political certainty and we welcome the appointment of Karen Bradley MP as culture secretary.
"Hospitality and tourism, like other industries, faces an important future and we look forward to working with her on our current questions around the free movement of visitors and workers, better regulation and the promotion of the United Kingdom.
"She's already shown a keen interest in what we do, attending important industry events, such as the BHA's first Hospitality and Tourism Lobby Day last year, so we are optimistic."
Whittingdale tweeted his congratulations to his successor and pledged to ‘continue to support the creative industries’.
When asked by a Daily Telegraph journalist about his future plans Whittingdale replied that he was ‘going to get very drunk’.