UK Global & Domestic Tourism Marketing Approach

Going Hostile Externally - Collaborating Internally

Going Global

Very soon “right across the world, there will be no escape from the message that Britain is great” as a new phase of the GREAT Britain campaign will see the New York Subway, Paris Metro, and 100 taxis across Delhi draped with the Union flag.

A series of GREAT images with also form part of the campaign, designed to encourage more international visitors to the UK.

The initiative will be rolled out in New York from Monday. It will see the inside and outside of a New York subway train wrapped in the GREAT branding, and adverts blitzed across key transit hubs including Grand Central and Stamford stations.

VisitBritain’s GREAT campaign aims to attract an extra 4.6 million extra visitors to the UK over the next four years, securing an additional £3 billion in visitor spend, targeting the 14 biggest and most lucrative tourism markets around the world.

The international reach of the campaign will be strengthened by a global partnership between VisitBritain and Yahoo!. As their largest ever online campaign, it aims to drive over five million views of VisitBritain content on the Yahoo! network and help drive 3.5 million visits to VisitBritain’s own online platforms.

Going Local

At the same time, tourism businesses across the UK are urged to Get Involved and join the new "Holidays at home are great!" campaign, the biggest domestic marketing campaign launched in the UK.   It is a partnership approach led by VisitEngland with Visit Wales, Visit Scotland, Northern Ireland Tourist Board and London and Partners as part of a wider initiative to use the London 2012 games to boost domestic tourism across the UK.

Scotland, Northern Ireland and the regions of England are putting significant resources behind recruiting businesses to the campaign with a 20.12% off or other great offers initiative, meaning that holidaymakers booking a UK short break before the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games will be eligible for a money off discount or value-added offer.

It seems like a necessary initiative against the issue of high prices in London and the UK in general during the Olympics, especially when Asia and travellers from China and Japan are reportedly avoiding travel to the UK during that period mainly due to the increased costs.

The reach to all types of tourism businesses and the guidelines are simple. To Get Involved, be prepared to offer money off discounts or other value added benefits such as:  20.12% off hotel stays, meals, and other goods and services; Offers and deals like three nights for the price of two at hotels, or two-for-one entry at attractions; Value-added offers, where the customer pays the usual price but receives something extra for example a free lunch or a special meal for £20.12, a free bottle of wine, a guided tour, or a pampering spa add-on.

All these offers will then be displayed together on the campaign website, to create a ‘one-stop shop’ where visitors can browse and select the offers they like best. On choosing an offer, they’ll be taken to the offer supplier’s site, where they’ll be able to sign up.