VisitBritain Launches New Global Campaign

WHY IT RATES: VisitBritain is looking to a new campaign to boost inbound tourism to record levels. —Janeen Christoff, TravelPulse Senior Writer

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National tourism agency VisitBritain is launching a new global campaign for 2018 to boost inbound tourism to Britain.

The ‘I Travel For…’ campaign uses short films and storytelling to shine the spotlight on unexpected experiences and less-explored destinations in Britain, alongside its globally renowned and iconic landmarks and attractions. It aligns the passions that motivate people to travel with experiences that can only be had in Britain, inspiring overseas visitors to book a trip right now.

The digital campaign is launching internationally with a launch film on Facebook and Instagram from February to April. It will target Britain’s largest and most valuable inbound visitor markets including Australia, France, Germany and the U.S. and its high-spending markets, including China, the GCC, and India.

“Tourism is one of the U.K.’s most valuable export industries, driving economic growth and creating jobs right across Britain,” said VisitBritain chief executive Sally Balcombe. “It is also a fiercely competitive global industry, and we are seizing the opportunity to build on the strong growth we have seen, showcasing that Britain is bursting with fun activities, adventure and wonderfully unexpected experiences to come and discover all year round.”

The project was developed based on VisitBritain’s global research into people’s motivations, passions, and inspiration for travel, including adventure, fun, relaxation, discovery, culture, food and drink and the unexpected. The campaign uses these motivators to create tailored content for a target audience.

“By shining a spotlight and telling the stories of Britain’s exciting and contemporary culture, innovations in food and drink, the beauty of our countryside and vibrancy of our cities, we want to inspire even more international visitors to book a trip right now,” Balcombe added.

As part of the global campaign, VisitBritain is also working with commercial partners, including British Airways and Expedia, across its key inbound visitor markets to convert the inspiration to visit Britain into bookings.

Overseas visits to the U.K. are forecast to break through the 40 million mark for the first time in 2018, reaching 41.7 million, up 4.4% on 2017. Spending by overseas visitors to the U.K. is forecast to reach £26.9 billion in 2018, up 6.8 percent on 2017.

VisitBritain’s I Travel For... campaign is part of the U.K. Government’s GREAT Britain campaign, which promotes the U.K. internationally as a place to visit, study, invest and do business.

SOURCE: VisitBritain press release.