Today at World Travel Market in London, the Secretary of State, Jeremy Hunt launches VisitEngland’s 2012 holiday-at-home marketing campaign. The three-year campaign will kick off in February next year with a TV advertisement and is aimed at inspiring Britons to take more short-breaks in England.
The TV campaign will promote a website offering hundreds of holiday promotions offering at least 20.12% off the original price. VisitEngland is working with a range of partners including hotels, attractions and transport providers who have pledged to honour this offer. Those partners who have been confirmed so far include: Hoseasons Group, Bourne Leisure, Superbreak, The Eden Project and The Coach Tourism Council.
The TV ad will run for two months and will reflect the ‘GREAT’ branding launched earlier this year by the Prime Minister.
VisitEngland, Chief Executive James Berresford said:
“We are delighted to be working alongside Government on our holiday-at-home campaign. We are committed to ensuring the full potential of the London 2012 Olympics & Paralympic Games, the Diamond Jubilee, the Torch Relay, the Cultural Olympiad and all the events of 2012 are realised by the tourism sector across the country through the delivery of a joint marketing campaign with industry.”
Ray Jones, Product Development Director at Superbreak said:
“As the UK’s leading short-break operator we are fully supportive of the VisitEngland campaign to promote domestic holidays during 2012 and beyond. Superbreak will be offering consumers outstanding value deals within the campaign all bookable online or via our call centre in York.”
VisitEngland’s research shows an increase in Britons taking breaks at home and enjoying the destination on their doorstep. 85% of respondents to the tourist board’s satisfaction survey described the destination they visited as excellent or good and 86% would recommend it to others. It is essential to use 2012 to reinforce this trend and strengthen the future of tourism, thereby supporting the economy and employment.
The ad campaign will be complemented by a number of partner marketing campaigns over the following three years showcasing England to a domestic audience and highlighting the country’s world-renowned history and heritage; pristine national parks, market and coastal towns and vibrant metropolitan cities. The overall campaign seeks to generate an additional 5.3m short break nights in England and an incremental spend of £480 million by 2015.
In addition to consumer marketing, this campaign will include a dedicated strategy aimed at the travel trade including tour operators, travel agents and group organisers. VisitEngland’s travel trade team will be engaging with this important sector to increase sales of holidays in England and extend awareness of England as a destination – encouraging operators to feature England ahead of competitor countries. Elements of the campaign include the creation of an online toolkit and collateral, training programmes, road-shows, regular newsletters and social media activity.
VisitEngland has recently secured additional funding from the Government’s Regional Growth Fund. This funding will ensure that the national campaign will be amplified at a local level and will support destinations all over the country to grow tourism in their areas and create important job opportunities.
