NEW ‘CITIES’ RESEARCH RELEASED REVEALS UK WIDE INTEREST FOR INTERNATIONAL TOURISTS

While London and Edinburgh continue to maintain their traditional supremacy as the two most popular urban destinations in the UK, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool and now Bristol are emerging as rival attractions. The rise of the cities is highlighted in the most recent analysis of overnight stays by overseas visitors in UK cities in 2011 by VisitBritain, the national tourism agency.

When researchers looked at all types of visits, London retains its top spot with 15.2 million overseas visitors staying in the city in 2011, followed in second place by Edinburgh with 1.3 million.

But Manchester, with its two competing  global football teams, its ultra-modern new landmark buildings such as the Lowry Centre, a new state of the art BBC media centre (open to tourists) and world-class shopping is firmly in third place with 936,000 visits (up 15 per cent on 2010). Birmingham sits neatly into fourth spot with 732,000 visitors attracted by its outstanding arts, exhibitions and one of the largest shopping centres in the UK, the Bullring, host to the best designer labels as well as accommodating for 25 restaurants to cater for all tastes.

Liverpool, who have also seen a 15 per cent rise in foreign visitors, overtake Glasgow moving into fifth place. Liverpool, the World Capital of Pop, is famous for its musical heritage, culture and architecture and attracted a substantial 545,000 foreigners.Oxford, in seventh place, welcomed a record amount of visitors in 2011, seeing 12 per cent more foreigners enjoy the delights of the old colleges (462,000).  As any resident will advise the best way to discover Oxford is on foot, and the official guided walking tour of the city and university help visitors understand the story behind Oxford’s great history.

Outside the top 10, cities such as Leeds, Cardiff, Aberdeen, Windsor, Carlisle, Stratford-upon-Avon, Newquay, Harrogate and Cheltenham saw international visits higher than in 2010.

Patricia Yates, Strategy and Communications Director for VisitBritain said: “These results confirm international visitors who might come here because of the global appeal of London are starting to appreciate our vibrant cities outside the capital, and the very different offerings of Edinburgh Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester.

“In such a key year to showcase Britain, and all that our visitors can experience here, VisitBritain’s GREAT image and tactical campaigns in key inbound markets ensures that tourism growth, economic benefits and jobs are delivered right across Britain.”

VisitBritain Reinforces Investment in Japan – Brit Agent Training Programme

VisitBritain is reinforcing its increased investment and commitment to the world’s seventh most valuable source market for international tourism by taking a trade delegation to Japan this week, where it will introduce British tourism businesses to key Japanese travel buyers.
Taking place in Tokyo, the Japan Mission will see a series of meetings and seminars looking to secure business from Japan’s quickly recovering outbound travel sector. The delegation includes regional tourist boards, city and tourist attraction organisations, hotel groups, transportation and specialist tour operators.

Earlier this month VisitBritain rolled out a series of advertisements in Tokyo, showcasing the best of British culture, countryside and heritage. The ads form part of a £25m GREAT image campaign, which has included GREAT branded trains running on the JR Yamanote Line and billboards and digital screen commercials at Tokyo Metro Underground.
Japan remains an important market for Britain and is one of the world’s largest source markets for tourism expenditure, with an outbound traffic of 16.63 million tourists. Britain ranks as one of the top European destination for Japanese travellers – in 2011, the UK welcomed a 6% increase in arrivals from Japan compared to the previous year. VisitBritain research shows Japanese visitors also come back to Britain more times than to any other European destination, with 26% of visitors having been to Britain more than four times.

Brit Agent Training Programme

As part of the mission, VisitBritain is to launch its highly successful global online training programme BritAgent<http://www.britagent.com/>. The programme, designed to equip Japanese travel agents with a deeper understanding of the UK, will see agents who complete the training awarded BritAgent certification. BritAgent is currently running in more than 20 countries around the world.
Head of the Mission and VisitBritain’s Overseas Network Director, Keith Beecham said: “Our commitment to the Japanese outbound sector is stronger than ever, highlighted by the fact that we are bringing a strong delegation of British tourism businesses to meet with Japanese trade in this special year for Britain. We have increased our marketing investment in Japan and millions of commuters here in Tokyo will have seen our GREAT images that we hope will inspire them to choose Britain for their next holiday.
“The recent Nation Brands Index shows that the Britain is the third most admired nation brand by the Japanese, drawn here by our rich culture and heritage. Japan remains the third largest economy in the world and given the strength of the Yen, Britain remains exceptionally good value for money for Japanese visitors coming to experience all that we have to offer. We look forward to welcoming more visitors over the coming years.”

IHG to create 3,000 jobs in the UK and launch its hospitality training academy in London

• 
  Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, welcomes the creation of new jobs in Britain and attends the launch of the IHG Academy in Newham
• IHG Academy to develop talented people through hospitality training, providing the opportunity to work for a global hotel company with world renowned hotel brands 

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group), one of the world’s leading hotel companies with brands such as Holiday Inn,todayannounced it is creating nearly 3,000¹ new jobs across its 275 UK hotels over the next three years, including over 1,100² new jobs this year. IHG also announced the launch of its newest hospitality training Academy in London.The announcement was welcomed by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, who attended the launch of the IHG Academy programme at the soon to open Holiday Inn London Stratford City. The new hotel is one of four IHG hotels in the area that will be creating new jobs, for which students of the IHG Academy programme can apply.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said,”It’s fantastic to see IHG growing its UK business and creating 3,000 new jobs. The British service sector is world-beating, and will soon welcome millions of guests to enjoy London 2012. But reaching this gold standard needs investment in people. IHG are leading the way in their sector through a tailored academy programme. It’s an added investment that means young people can learn the skills for the industry in a local college, and then start their career in a local hotel. This shows real investment in our future workforce, is a huge boost for jobs across the country, but crucially will see local people benefit from training and work.”

Holiday Inn, part of the IHG family of brands, is the official hotel provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. As part of its Olympic legacy, IHG has launched a new hospitality training academy in partnership with Newham College in one of the Games’ host boroughs.

With two new hotels to be built in time for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, successful students will be prize candidates for some of the 140 new jobs being created in the local area as the new hotels open.

IHG’s Chief Executive Richard Solomons joined Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and students at the soon to open Holiday Inn London Stratford City to launch the new Academy programme.

Richard Solomons, IHG’s Chief Executive said, “Hospitality is a great business to be in and working in hotels offers people exciting career paths for the future.  We’re pleased to be working with our hotel owners to create jobs and training opportunities in the UK at this time. The IHG Academy programmeallows us to join with local education bodies in the UK and around the world to provide real-life skills and enhance employment prospects for local people.  IHG benefits by having access to talent from the neighbourhoods near our hotels.”

The IHG Academy programme in Newham was developed in partnership with Newham College and will provide talented local people with hospitality training and practical work experience at a hotel from the IHG family of brands. Students take a six-month tailored course that combines the best of the Hospitality Skills Diploma NVQ with four weeks practical work experience in a hotel. Students qualify with a Hospitality Level 2 Diploma and will have the opportunity to apply for jobs at entry level with IHG.

IHG currently employs over 15,000 people in the UK; approximately 24 per cent of employees are between the ages of 18 and 24 years.

The launch of the IHG Academy programme in Newham is part of a global initiative to invest in the recruitment and training of hotel employees to ensure guests at IHG hotels experience consistent, high levels of customer service, no matter where they are in the world. IHG is committed to creating real job opportunities in the communities around its 4,480 hotels worldwide.

There are 42 IHG Academy programmesworldwide and 5,500 students were involved in the hospitality training globally last year.

UK BUSINESSES TARGET SURGING £6.5 BILLION INDIAN TOURISM MARKET

A record number of British tourism businesses(1) are to join VisitBritain in India this week, looking to tap into one of the world’s fastest growing source markets and reap the benefits of the national tourism agency’s £25 million advertising campaign which kicked off in the country earlier this month.

Representatives from tourism, retail and sporting industries will participate in India Mission 2012, encouraged by the emergence of the country as a major player in terms of tourism visits to Britain over the last couple of years, with record highs for both spend and visits being witnessed. Around 250 key Indian buyers are expected to meet with the UK trade delegation at various briefing sessions to be held in New Delhi and Mumbai.

With inbound arrivals from India expected to increase significantly over the remainder of the decade, VisitBritain hopes it will be able to use key events in 2012 to entice a greater number of Indians to choose Britain for their next holiday. While Indians undertook nearly 10 million outbound visits in 2010, Britain received only 371,000 visitors from the country, making the UK the 11th most visited destination by Indian residents(2). Competitors such as France are currently receiving 20% more visitors from India than the UK, so it is vital that VisitBritain increases its activities to motivate Indian travellers to favour Britain instead.

VisitBritain research suggests that the number of annual visits to Britain from this BRIC nation has the potential to almost double by 2020, which could result in nearly 800,000 visits a year. A typical visit to Britain from India generates £980 with visitors tending to stay for longer periods of time due to a dominance of visits to friends and relatives already living in the UK.

As part of VisitBritain’s £25 million GREAT image campaign, Mumbai and Delhi will be submerged in GREAT branding, with huge bill-board posters being seen by over 16 million people. VisitBritain’s 60 second TV advert will be exclusively shown just before Indian movie goers sit down to watch their latest Bollywood blockbusters across 120 cinemas. There will also be 200 taxis with GREAT branding driving around the two major cities in India picking up thousands of commuters each day. As well as the image side of the campaign VisitBritain is working hard with partners on tactical marketing, bringing in the likes of British Airways who offer great deals to turn aspirational travel into visits right now.

Head of the mission and VisitBritain’s Strategy and Communication Director, Patricia Yates said:

“Trade missions such as this are essential for building the foundations for sustained growth of the UK’s inbound tourism economy. Britain accounted for only 3% of all outbound trips from India in 2010, yet while this still generated nearly £363 million for the UK economy, there is clearly scope for us to do more in order to attract a greater share of a market worth £6.5 billion a year.

“We know the Indian market has enormous potential for us, but if we are to achieve our 2020 projections of 80% growth we must be able to capitalise on the strong interest that already exists and do everything we can to encourage a greater number of visitors. To do that, we must be able to take advantage of the positive perceptions that the Indian population has of Britain, particularly those relating to our culture and heritage and sport which we are exploiting by taking Historic Royal Palaces, Marylebone Cricket Club and Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum on this mission.

“Our £25 million GREAT image campaign underway in Delhi and Mumbai will help reinforce these aspects and hopefully inspire Indians to turn their desire to visit us into a reality.”

2011 A Buoyant Year for Tourism in the UK

As Britain turns attention to hosting the largest spectacle on earth this summer, VisitBritain has today reported that 30.6 million overseas visitors came to the UK in 2011, a three per cent rise in overseas arrivals from 2010. The year sees a record number of holiday visitors and a record year in visitor spending.

With December’s arrival figures up two per cent, 2011 finished on a high and show that it was a year of positive gains for British tourism, with an overall increase of 800,000 visitors across the year.

Visitors spent a record £17.8 billion, up five per cent on 2010 and pointing towards an average spend of £580 per visit and an increase of two per cent on the previous record. The increase in spend has been helped along by the pound being more favourable than it has been for many years, with exchange rates giving visitors excellent value for money.

2011 also saw a record number of holiday visits, with just under 12 million overseas residents choosing to come to Britain for a holiday and strengthening gains made in this market over the last few years. Growth in holiday arrivals across the year was particularly strong in the first three quarters of the year from countries that included Australia, USA, Italy, the Netherlands and Brazil.
Looking at where other positive gains have been made throughout 2011, it is evident that emerging markets such as Brazil (up 51%), Russia (20%) and China (32%) have been helping to drive the visitor growth. Arrivals from North America have increased four per cent, the highest levels seen since 2008. European markets have largely remained the same from 2010, with just a one per cent increase over the year.

These figures have meant Britain’s tourism balance of payments deficit decreased by the equivalent of £1.6 billion, down 11% from the previous year.

While 2011 saw record levels of holidays visits, there has also been a welcome improvement in business travel on the previous year with arrivals up six per cent. The current global – and in particular European – economic outlook will likely impact this area over the course of 2012.

Looking at the December IPS figures, which track inbound visits to UK, the national tourism agency said that the end of the 2011 saw 2.1 million arrivals for the month, two per cent higher than for the same period in 2010. The rise was driven by those coming from Europe and those visiting friends and relatives. Spending for the December period was £1.245 billion.

Patricia Yates, VisitBritain Director of Strategy and Communications said: “As we look back on a positive 2011 for both holiday visits and spend, we want to make sure we capitalise on these gains by helping boost jobs across the country and create a lasting tourism legacy for many years to come.

“We have had three straight years of declining arrival figures, so for 2011 to show a return to growth, with 800,000  more overseas visitors coming to Britain than was the case in 2010. These visitors spent almost £18bn while they were here in Britain, which is a 5% increase and a record contribution to the KK economy.

“For the very first time we welcomed around 12 million holiday visitors to the UK and we are encouraged that the along with vital long-term growth markets helping our positive return, that the number of visitors coming to Britain from North America has risen. This is significant as we earn very nearly twice as from US visitors than we do from any other source market.”

VISITBRITAIN CHALLENGES MPs TO HIGHLIGHT THEIR GREATEST TOURISM ASSETS

VisitBritain is asking MPs across the country to nominate an attraction in their constituency that overseas tourists should visit in 2012. The challenge to the nation’s politicians is part of the tourism agency’s ‘Share Your GREAT Britain’ campaign, which is aiming to get the British public to invite their friends and relatives from around the world to visit the UK this year.

Several suggestions have already been made by MPs, with ideas ranging from castles, sporting venues, beaches, coastal walks and museums. All the nominations will be added to an interactive tourism map that will be unveiled at a parliamentary reception next month. MPs will today be sent a nomination form so that they can add their own personal insight on must see attractions in each constituency.

Launching the campaign, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt said: “This year really is THE time to come to Britain. The Olympic and Paralympic Games and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee each offer fantastic experiences, but there is so much else going on with, quite literally, something for everyone.  I hope that everyone – and especially my Parliamentary colleagues – grab this moment to help ensure that as many people as possible get the chance to come here and be part of it all.”

Chief Executive of VisitBritain, Sandie Dawe added: “With 650 electorates scattered across the country, we know there is a wonderful mix of iconic spots and hidden gems that overseas visitors should experience when here. We are calling on each and every MP to help us highlight just some of these destinations, using their local knowledge and insight to promote the tourism assets within their constituency in a year when the eyes of the world are upon us.

“Tourism is the UK’s third highest export earner and is worth over £115 billion to the UK economy each year, and it has enormous potential to be one of the fastest growing sectors in the years ahead. With one in twelve jobs in the UK either directly or indirectly supported by tourism, the more overseas visitors we can encourage to come and experience all that Britain has to offer will help boost the economy and help create a greater number of jobs.”

Under the ‘Share Your GREAT Britain’ slogan, households and businesses are being encouraged to invite their global network of friends and contacts to come the UK this year for their next holiday. They are able to do this by is using a ’10 GREAT Reasons’ app on VisitBritain’s LoveUK<http://www.facebook.com/#!/LoveUK> Facebook page or by sending a personalised postcard that can be downloaded from visitbritain.org<http://www.visitbritain.org/>.

The government recently announced it would bolster VisitBritain’s efforts to entice greater numbers of overseas visitors by allocating £25 million for the national tourism agency to undertake the largest image campaign in its history. The campaign will be rolling out in 14 cities in nine countries around the world next month.

SAMSUNG AND VISITBRITAIN APPEAL TO UK VISITORS WITH THE ‘BEST OF BRITAIN’ APP

Top attraction and destination guides for a great British experience

LONDON, UK, 17 January 2012 – Today, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd, a market leader in consumer electronics and Worldwide Olympic Partner

Brits called on to ‘share your Great Britain’

People and businesses in the UK are being urged to invite their contacts, friends and relatives from around the world to visit Britain in 2012.

Share Your GREAT Britain is the latest phase of the GREAT Britain – You’re Invited

OCTOBER VISITOR NUMBERS AT THREE YEAR RECORD HIGH

International visitor numbers and spending in the UK have risen in October, with the IPS figures released today showing that both are up by 2% respectively. Growth for the month was driven by increases in holiday, along with those visiting friends and relatives (VFR), and an influx of visitors from European countries outside the EU.

 At 2.77 million overall, visitor numbers are at a higher level than any other October in the last three years, slightly up on the same period in 2010 and just below the record 2.82 million arriving in October 2007.

Visitor spending was a record £1.7 billion, 2% up on the previous record of £1.6 billion in October 2010 (before taking account of inflation). Building on the record spend seen in the summer this has resulted in record earnings so far in 2011 of £14.9 billion, 4% higher than the year to date for the same point in 2010.

Overall visits from Europe were up by 4% compared to October 2010, this despite no change from the major EU15 (nations who were members of the European Union before the 2004 expansion). The rise comes as a result of other European markets continuing to show a high interest in visiting the UK. Strong arrivals from the likes of Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, means visits are up by 46% compared to October last year, 21% higher than the previous record in October 2005.

Total visits and spend from overseas so far in 2011 (up to and including October) remain 3% and 4% respectively above their 2010 levels. The increases have been buoyed by particularly strong figures from growth markets such as Brazil, who have recorded a phenomenal 47% rise so far in 2011 compared to the first ten months of 2010, along with China (28%) and Russia (19%).

Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications at VisitBritain said: “We have had a particularly good year so far in both visitors and spend, especially from those coming from the emerging tourism markets like Brazil, China and Russia where we need to compete strongly to ensure Britain maintains its position near the top of the world rankings.

“In the new year our ‘GREAT Britain – You’re Invited’ campaign will look to build on the positive gains made in the VFR market, enticing potential visitors with the warm welcome of their friends and family here in the UK and putting Britain on the destinations wish list for millions across the globe.”

Tourism is the fifth largest industry in the UK and is Britain’s third largest earner of foreign exchange. VisitBritain believes tourism has the potential to be one of the five fastest growing sectors of the UK economy in the years ahead, creating new jobs and economic growth.

Celebrating 10 years of free entry to national museums

National museums celebrate a decade of free entry. The free admission policy has been an overwhelming success, dramatically boosting visitor figures. Over 50 million people visited the UK’s national museums last year, more than double the number before the re-introduction of universal free admission in December 2001.

“In the past ten years visits to the formerly charging national museums have increased by 150%,” said Dr Michael Dixon, Director of the Natural History Museum and Chair of the National Museum Directors’ Conference. “The Natural History Museum has seen its visitor numbers rise almost threefold, from 1.7 million in 2000 to 4.8 million last year. This is a fantastic testament to the huge public appetite for museums, the quality of our visitor offer and the success of the free admission policy.” Visits to national museums which have always been free – such as the British Museum, National Gallery and Tate – have risen by 22% over the same period.

Free admission is more important than ever at a time of economic recovery, offering people free, inspiring experiences and attracting audiences from home and abroad. Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive of VisitBritain said: “The UK has three of the top five most visited museums and galleries in the world, all of which are free to enjoy. It is little wonder then that a visit to a museum is one of the most popular activities undertaken by many of the 30 million international visitors who come here each year. As well as being major draws, we estimate that Britain’s unique culture and great heritage attracts £4.5bn worth of spending by inbound visitors annually and thereby underpins more than 100,000 jobs across the length and breadth of the country.”

A new generation of children has grown up enjoying free admission to the UK’s world class national collections. Over 2 million more children now visit museums sponsored by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport than in 2000, with 8.3 million visits by children last year. 1 in 3 visits to the Royal Armouries in Leeds and the Science Museum in London were made by children under 16.

The impact of free admission has been felt across the UK. Last year 1.7 million visits were made to Wales’s seven national museums, with nearly 15 million visits in total over the decade of free entry. Dr David Fleming, Director National Museums Liverpool said: “People don’t just like their museums in Liverpool, they love them. In the ten years of free admission our visitor figures have increased fourfold. We have a very diverse audience with people from all backgrounds. There is an appetite for culture among Merseysiders and among our thousands of visitors who come from around the UK and from overseas.”

Free admission is only possible through the ongoing commitment of Central Government. “The funding settlement for national museums in the last spending review recognised the front line nature of museum services and the importance of maintaining free admission,” said Dr Dixon. “The current economic climate means an extremely difficult time for museums of all kinds, which are crucial to communities across the UK. Whilst recognising that funding has been hit very hard, we hope Local Authorities can be as far-sighted as possible in decisions on cultural funding, as severe cuts in this area are counter-productive in so many ways.”

BRITISH TOURISM BUSINESSES TAP IN TO BURGEONING CHINESE MARKET

A high powered tourism delegation led by VisitBritain will visit China this week to introduce British tourism businesses to key Chinese buyers and ensure the UK capitalises on the world’s third most valuable tourism source market.

The China Mission will take in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong, where a series of business to business appointments will help capture business from the rapidly growing urban middle class and the estimated 535,000 High Net Worth individuals. It is the largest mission to be taken to China by VisitBritain.

The delegation will include 32 organisations, including national and regional tourist boards, city and tourist attraction organisations, hotel groups and specialist tour operators. Emphasising the importance of our Chinese visitors to the retail sector, six major retail groups, including department stores Selfridges and Harrods, Westfield London, Bicester Village, McArthur Glen and the Bloomsbury Group (owner of luxury boutiques such as House of Hanover and House of Cashmere) are taking part in the mission.

Spending on foreign travel has increased four-fold over the past decade and China is fast emerging as one the most valuable source markets for international business. The average Chinese visitor to Britain spends around £1,700 more than three times the global average (£567). We are also seeing strong growth from the Chinese market – visitor numbers increased by 23% last year and by a further 23% in the first nine months of this year. Forecasts suggest that by 2020 Britain could be welcoming almost 300,000 visitors a year.

VisitBritain’s Strategy and Communication Director, Patricia Yates said: “This will be the largest ever delegation of British tourism businesses to journey to China, an indication of how important the market is to Britain as we reach a crucial time for tourism.

“The recent Nation Brands Index shows that the UK is the number one destination of choice for Chinese travellers, drawn here by our rich culture and heritage. Missions such as this allow us to showcase the range of experiences that Britain has to offer and are essential if Britain is to compete effectively for the growing number of affluent Chinese travellers. It is an exciting prospect and we look forward to welcoming a record number of visitors over the coming years.”

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS INTERESTING PATTERN EMERGING FOR 2012 CITIES

New research from VisitBritain highlighting the latest inbound visits to various towns and cities across the UK suggests that Britain’s Olympic cities are becoming increasingly popular tourist destinations. The new wider appeal of each location is highlighted in an analysis of overnight stays in the UK throughout 2010.

While London and Scottish capital Edinburgh maintain their position as the two most popular destinations for inbound visitors, places such as Cardiff, Glasgow, Manchester, Newcastle and Windsor have shown that the Olympic spirit is alive and well across the UK, with many other regional towns also benefiting from a stopover by international guests.

When researchers looked at all types of visits, host city London – home to the Olympic Park and the largest shopping centre in Europe at Westfield Stratford City - came out as the top destination with 14.7 million overseas visits. It was followed in second place by Edinburgh, with 1.3 million overnight visitors soaking up the unique blend of traditional and modern Scottish culture.

Manchester, home to one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world (Old Trafford) and host to both men’s and women’s Olympic football matches, sits in third place with 811,000. But this North-West city is about more than just football – it’s the home of Brit cool with world famous galleries and theatres such as the Lowry centre and the Royal Exchange bringing the old and new of Manchester together. Local rival Liverpool comes in at sixth (452,000 staying visits).

Firmly placed in the top five with 551,000 overnight stays is Scotland’s style capital, Glasgow, which will see Olympic football matches take place at Hampden Park. Also Scotland’s largest city, it houses more than 30 museums and galleries and an annual programme of performing arts and festivals, and will play a key role in the Cultural Olympiad celebrations.

Cardiff at twelfth is the next highest Olympic city, with 260,000 overnight stays. Europe’s youngest capital and one of the fastest growing cities in Britain, Cardiff will also have the honour of hosting the very first event of the 2012 Games when Team GB’s women’s football team kick off the tournament at the Millennium Stadium. Fans can then explore the remarkable Cardiff Castle next door, before wandering amongst the best collection of Impressionist art outside Paris.

Newcastle (14^th) and Windsor (20^th) make up the final two Olympic towns in the top twenty most stayed in UK destinations for 2010. Foreign tourists were particularly lured to the North-East by its exuberant pub and club culture: a greater proportion of foreign visitors went to the pub (67%) here than any other area across the UK. Together with a spectacular coastline, Newcastle is enjoying more visitors coming to experience the likes of the awe-inspiring Hadrian’s Wall or marvel at the 20 metre high Angel of the North, one of the most viewed public sculptures in the world.

The recent Royal Wedding has helped highlight the great heritage experience that can be found at Windsor, and its international appeal will be boosted as it acts as the venue for the Olympic rowing and canoe sprint events. Within easy reach of London, Windsor’s royal connection – combined with contemporary shopping and fine dining – drew over 160,000 overseas visitors there last year.

Patricia Yates, Strategy and Communications Director for VisitBritain said: “The 2012 Games will see sporting battles take place across Britain, offering a fantastic showcase for the diversity and wonderful experiences that can be found in every area. In May, the Torch Relay will start on its 70 day journey covering almost 95% of the UK, inspiring each and every one of us as it winds its way around the country. We are then spoilt for choice as we host the London 2012 Festival, the biggest festival the UK has ever seen, with artists from all over the world converging on British towns, cities and villages to engage with the British public and tourists alike.

“It is clear that next year presents us with some real opportunities to showcase Britain to new audiences around the world. Our GREAT campaign will be launching in key global cities, raising the aspiration to travel to Britain and backed up by GREAT offers from our commercial partners to encourage visitors to come now.”

The latest figures released today saw Bath climb up seven spots to become the eleventh most stayed in town, while Southampton has entered the Top 20 for the first time. Over 300 towns have had at least 10,000 overseas visits since 2007, this includes the likes of Coventry, Fort William, Exeter, Stirling, Hastings, Gloucester, Shrewsbury, Ullapool, St Ives, Kendal, Truro and Fishguard.

TOURISM RECEIVES WELCOME INJECTION OF FUNDING TO ENCOURAGE OVERSEAS VISITORS TO CHOOSE GREAT BRITAIN

The Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has today announced that VisitBritain will benefit from a further £27 million of funding to help promote Britain in key overseas markets in a concerted effort to drive greater numbers of visitors to the country over the next four years.
Funding for the national tourism agency will be made available to capitalise on the international attention the UK will receive during 2012 – the year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This will be in addition to the existing £100 million match-funded marketing campaign being run by VisitBritain, and means that over the next four years inbound tourism to the UK aims to attract an extra 4.6 million visitors, spending an additional £2.3 billion across the country and supporting the creation of almost 60,000 new jobs.
This initiative is part of the GREAT campaign launched by the Prime Minister in September to show the world that Britain is a great place to visit, to live, to invest and to do business with.
Chief Executive of VisitBritain Sandie Dawe said:
“This additional funding means we will be able to run the largest tourism marketing campaign in our history. We will be taking the GREAT brand into some of the most dynamic, fastest growing and economically important cities across the world to encourage a greater number of people to come and experience the very best of what Britain has to offer.
“New Yorkers will see our ads in their papers and on the subway as they travel to work, meaning 72% of our target audience there will have a myriad of opportunities to see our campaign. In India and Paris we will also be on cinemas screens, while in China we will reach over 15 million potential visitors through a combination of magazines, subway and station ads, as well as using various online platforms.
“Alongside the inspirational images that will inspire the world to put Britain on its destination wish list, tactical advertising with our industry partners will offer great deals to encourage people to visit now. This GREAT campaign aims to reinvigorate our appeal in mature markets such as the USA where we have seen decline in recent years, and it will help raise our profile in the vital emerging markets, securing growth for the future.
“Our targets are ambitious, but inbound tourism is already Britain’s third-largest earner of foreign exchange and we know more can be done. VisitBritain’s research indicates tourism has the potential to be one of the five fastest growing sectors of the UK in the years ahead, creating new jobs and helping sustain economic growth. Today’s significant announcement will go a long way to helping us achieve that aim.”

PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS SHARE THEIR INSIGHT ON THE BEST OF BRITAIN

New Premier League section on the Visitbritain.tv gives foreign fans a video guide to every Premier League club and ground

With the international break in force, Premier League players have jetted off all around the world to play for their national teams. But now, new video interviews released by VisitBritain show that the Premier League’s foreign contingent love living in the UK and want to share their experiences with their fans around the world.
Six players<http://www.visitbritain.tv/partner-channels/premier-league.html> – a mixture of long-term Premier League residents, as well as some new comers to the most watched league in the world – are the latest recruits to join Team VB, providing a welcome insight into the experiences they think overseas visitors should try when making the journey to Britain, extending our invitation to fans around the world.
VisitBritain joined forces with the Premier League in 2008 to help promote the home of football in key overseas tourism markets using links to Premier League players and clubs. Recent figures<http://www.visitbritain.org/mediaroom/pressreleases/plandvb.aspx> released by VisitBritain show that 750,000 overseas visitors came to see a Premier League match last year, spending nearly £600m in the process.
To make it even easier for foreign fans to visit and find out more about each of the 20 teams, a video guide to each club has been created on the Premier League section on VisitBritain TV at http://www.visitbritain.tv/partner-channels/premier-league.html.
Each of the videos, which are presented by John Dykes, the anchor of the Premier League Content Service, provide insightful history about the club and practical details on how to get to the ground on match day. As well as new promotional film that asks fans what they think makes the Premier League special, there is also a link to the Premier League’s official ticket information service for every Premier League Club.
Laurence Bresh, Director of Marketing, VisitBritain said: “I don’t think football fans in the UK realise just how much excitement our league generates across the globe. Many of the best players in the world want to ply their trade in the Premier League and we want to inspire their fans to come over here and enjoy all that Britain has to offer.”
The starting line-up for the 2011/12 season Premier League player interviews now includes:
·      Clint Dempsey: an integral part of the Fulham team since signing in 2006 and represents the USA market, our highest spending tourists in the UK (£2.1bn in 2010). He talks about his ‘love of Wimbledon’ and the desire to take his family to watch The Championships one summer, as well as a trip to Stonehenge to uncover the history and heritage of one of Britain’s world heritage sites.
·      Liverpool hero, Dirk Kuyt: the hard-working Dutchman has established himself as a fans’ favourite over the last five years. He adores spending time on the banks of the river Mersey and high on his wish list is to relax and unwind with a trip to the Lake District, and the inspiration for generations of writers.
·      Ahmed Elmohamady: Egypt’s ‘David Beckham’ is a rising star of Arabian football, with a potential 80 million following back home. The perfect example of a ‘sports tourist’, the Sunderland player loves the strong sporting infrastructure across the country and the incredible modern arenas like Old Trafford and Emirates Stadium.
·      Bringing a welcome touch of Brazilian magic to Tottenham, Sandro is clearly loving life in North London having just signed a new five-year deal at Spurs. Brazil is a market which has shown the fastest average growth in visits to the UK over the last few years, a massive 15% per year. But it’s the folklore of Nottingham that has really caught the imagination of the midfield maestro, home of Robin Hood and Nottingham Castle.
·      Premiership goalkeeping stalwarts, Ali Al-Habsi (Wigan) and Thomas Sørensen (Stoke), see Britain as their “second home” having both played here for a number of years. Part time ‘tour guide’ Sørenson goes on to say, “Get a car come over here for two weeks and go to Yorkshire, the Cotswolds and London- England is all about the pubs, little eateries and boutique places.”
Along with the videos from the newest members of the squad, VisitBritain’s new Premier League TV platform<http://www.visitbritain.tv/partner-channels/premier-league.html> will also house interviews from Brad Friedel, Andrey Arshavin, Brede Hangeland and Tim Howard.

RECORD HOLIDAY VISITS FOR SEPTEMBER AS TOURISM CONTINUES TO CLIMB

International visitor numbers and spending in the UK have risen in September, with the IPS figures released today showing 2.53 million arrivals with record numbers for holiday visits (970,000). The overall visitor arrival trend for 2011 remains relatively buoyant and is on track to exceed 2010 figures.

The latest data for inbound tourism has been bolstered by growth throughout the year, despite relatively flat arrival figures during the peak months of July and August. There was a modest one per cent rise in arrivals in September, driven by record growth in holiday trips (up 5%) and a considerable increase in arrivals from North America (up 22%) where we have previously lost ground. These factors have helped total visits for the year so far to rise three per cent on 2010 levels.

Visitor spending for the month was up seven per cent on the low of September 2010, with £1.5 billion coming in to the UK economy from overseas. Building on the record spend seen in June and July, overall spend per visit is up four per cent from the previous year and has resulted in record earnings across Britain of £13.2 billion so far in 2011.

The latest figures come in a week that has seen VisitBritain receive £27 million to undertake a major brand building campaign in key overseas markets. This will see the national tourism agency extend the GREAT brand over the next year, with an advertising campaign in major cities worldwide to help increase efforts to attract an even greater number of overseas visitors during the Olympic year and beyond.

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive of VisitBritain said: “Today’s figures are an encouraging sign for Britain’s tourism sector, which can continue to grow over the next few years and which will be strengthened by the image boost that hosting next year’s Games will bring.

“The £27 million announced earlier this week is a welcome injection of extra funding and great news for tourism. It means we will be able to compete even more strongly on the world stage and will allow us to increase our efforts to attract an even greater number of overseas visitors.”
Tourism is the fifth largest industry in the UK and is Britain’s third largest earner of foreign exchange. VisitBritain believes tourism has the potential to be one of the five fastest growing sectors of the UK economy in the years ahead, creating new jobs and economic growth.

SECRETARY OF STATE LAUNCHES VISITENGLAND’S 2012 MARKETING CAMPAIGN AT WORLD TRAVEL MARKET

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.

AUGUST IPS FIGURES PROMISING FOR BRITAIN

As the UK moves up the world ranking to ‘third most admired country’ in the latest Anholt-GfK Roper NBI, figures released by the Office for National Statistics for August suggest that Britain’s strong inbound trend is set to continue.

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive at VisitBritain said: “These August 2011 figures show real signs of stability in what has been a strong 2011 to date. 3.1 million visitors enjoyed Britain this August with 2011 figures 3% higher than during the first eight months of 2010, due to strong results throughout the year.

“Visitor spending was at a record high for August, 3% higher than 2010. Following record levels in June and July, this has resulted in a 4% increase (£0.4 billion) in earnings so far in 2011, a total of £11.65 billion. Now as we are right in the mix of rolling out our biggest, most ambitious tourism marketing programme for 10 years we can see that Britain is recovering its international appeal with double digit holiday growth in the first quarter and promising figures during our peak Summer months.”

“Coupled with the UK’s recent improvement in overseas sentiment, these August figures provide us with a good platform to invite the world to visit Britain.”

UK Votes Stonehenge as the World’s Must-See Destination in Intel’s Seven Visual Wonders of the World Poll

LONDON, September 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ –
Stonehenge Rocks Travellers’ Socks to Land Top Spot

From the ancient and mysterious to the grandiose and awe inspiring, voters in Intel’s Visual Wonders of the World poll^[1] have chosen the world’s most visually stunning locations. The poll formed part of Intel’s campaign to find out what matters most to the UK in their Visual Life.

The top seven must-see locations, in the order of ranking, as chosen by voters from all over the UK are:

1. Stonehenge, England
2. Rome, Italy
3. Chatsworth House, England
4. Cape Town, South Africa
5. Pyramids of Giza, Egypt
6. Sahara, North Africa
7. Aurora Borealis, Sweden
8. New York City, USA
9. Gower Peninsula, Wales
10. Machu Picchu, Peru

The poll also showed how patriotic we are in the UK, selecting two UK locations within our top three. This was mirrored by the likes of the US, who voted for the Grand Canyon and the Golden Gate Bridge, Germany, who opted for Neuschwanstein Castle, and the Netherlands, whose Canals in Amsterdam topped both their country poll and the votes across Europe.

Natural beauty

The Visual Wonders poll also captured how male and female voters cast their favourites. Both men and women voted for Stonehenge as the must-see location in the UK, whereas mostly women voters opted for the romance and atmosphere of Rome, while mainly men chose the history and scenery of Chatsworth House.

The poll also had five categories: ancient, man-made, natural, religious and urban and interestingly the results show that the UK as a whole prefers natural beauty over the draw of urban life.

Partnering with Intel to create the Visual Wonders poll, travel deal experts Travelzoo confirmed the significance of aesthetic attraction for travellers and holiday makers. “What’s really interesting in Intel’s poll is the UK’s thirst to discover the landmarks of history that are near to them, and in some cases right on their doorstep,” said Joel Brandon-Bravo, managing director of Travelzoo in the UK. “The perfect getaway is no longer solely about the faraway beach; the rise of staycationing appears to have reignited our passion for the UK in recent years.”

“Intel’s Visual Wonders of the World poll has shown the passion that the UK has for our own visual landmarks”, says Gail Hanlon, marketing director Intel UK. “As part of our Visual Life campaign this year, which encouraged using technology to get the best out of the great things that surround us every day, the enthusiasm for each of the top ten results proves how important technology can be in sharing everyday experiences.”

The Winners

The mysterious structure of Stonehenge claimed top spot in the poll of must-see locations. This ancient creation is visited by thousands of people a year in the South of England and its popularity could be down to its imposing presence, or the shroud of mystery surrounding its purpose as ‘experts’ remain undecided as to whether it was used for human sacrifices or for charting the movement of the Sun, Moon and stars.

Rome, the city of ‘romance’ and ancient wonders came in at a close second place with the vast majority of UK female voters choosing its stunning architecture and romantic atmosphere as the reasons for choosing it as one of the world’s most desirable locations.

Set in the heart of the Peak District in Derbyshire, Chatsworth House landed third place in the poll. Construction of the first house at Chatsworth began in 1552 and the current site offers the captivating history of the house, scenic gardens as well as a farmyard and adventure playground, making it a consistently popular choice for men and women of the UK.

In fourth place was the sun-drenched city of beautiful people, Cape Town, in South Africa. A city famed for its near-perfect weather, Cape Town is a location surrounded by sea and mountains, including the legendary flat-topped Table Mountain.

Other top locations from across the world that proved the most popular among UK voters include the architectural brilliance of the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt and the sweeping sands of the Sahara in North Africa.

The spectral beauty of Sweden’s Aurora Borealis (the Northern Lights) were also in the top 10, alongside the vibrant buzz of New York City, USA; Gower Peninsula in Wales and the breathtaking views of Machu Picchu, Peru.

[1] Survey Information

This survey was conducted in June/ July 2011 via Intel’s Facebook pages. A total of 1,715 votes were cast globally: 67 in Germany, 237 in Hungary, 38 in Ireland, 130 in Italy, 246 in the Netherlands, 136 in Southern Africa, 133 in UAE, 99 in the US, 365 in UK and 264 in the rest of the world.

GREAT BRITAIN 3D SETS OFF ON WORLD TOUR TO INSPIRE VISITORS TO THE UK

 VisitBritain today unveiled the second phase of its global ‘You’re Invited’ campaign, as ten unique 3D artworks left London for a worldwide tour that will promote Britain overseas¹. The iconic artworks build on the high profile celebrity launch of the organisation’s marketing programme in June².

World famous 3D street artists Joe and Max were commissioned to create the interactive artworks for VisitBritain. This will allow members of the public to insert themselves virtually into some of Britain’s most iconic landmarks. The artworks will be displayed in ten key locations around the world, with those who have their photo taken on the canvas entering into a competition that will include a pair of British Airways Club World return flights to the UK.

As Britain moves towards 2012, the eyes of the world will be firmly focused on the country and what overseas visitors can experience when they are here. The 3D canvases provide an ideal snapshot of just some of the things on offer, highlighting Britain’s history and heritage, its countryside and natural beauty, culture, fashion, sports and a world-class welcome.

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain said: “Great Britain 3D is the first ever global tour of 3D art with the sole purpose of promoting a destination to an overseas audience. This is a fun, engaging and effective way of taking some of Britain’s most famous icons right into the heart of cities around the world.

“This marks an important new phase of our ‘You’re Invited’ campaign that is an open invitation to the world to come and join us before, during and after 2012. “Working in partnership with the industry, our aim over the next four years is to secure £2 billion of extra spending by overseas visitors across Britain. That will see a whole range of great deals and new products launched to encourage those considering a visit to Britain that now is the time to do so and turn their plans into actions.”

Tourism Minister John Penrose said: “The tourism industry is leading the way in growing our economy, but the best is yet to come. VisitBritain’s ‘You’re Invited’ campaign is a brilliant way of promoting our country to overseas visitors, and I’m really pleased that the Abbey Road zebra crossing – which I recently gave ‘listed building’ status to – is one of the iconic images chosen. The Olympics and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will put us centre stage next year, but it’s good to remind visitors of all the other amazing things that Britain has to offer.”

Drew Crawley, British Airways Commercial Director said: “We are delighted to be one of the lead partners with VisitBritain on this exciting and unique initiative. The launch of Great Britain 3D and the overall “Great Britain You’re Invited” campaign is a perfect opportunity for us to show the world why it is a great time to come to the UK and to fly with British Airways. Great Britain 3D will give our international audience a taste of one of the many iconic sights and experiences Britain has to offer. With our all year round attractive fares I am confident that customers will be tempted to book that truly British holiday with their journey starting when they board one of our aircraft.”

3D artist Joe Hill said: “To be given an opportunity to take my work on a global tour highlighting a country I love is a chance every street artist would dream of. We have been able to bring out the best of Britain and transform it into a living artwork that allows passers-by in different countries around the world to become a part of the artwork itself. This is all about getting people to participate and have fun in a 3D celebration of Great Britain, and I hope it means more people are encouraged to visit these iconic landmarks for real.”

Other partners involved in the second phase of the ‘Great Britain You’re Invited ‘campaign include: BMI, DFDS Seaways, Hilton Worldwide, P&O Ferries and Radisson Edwardian Hotels. Additional industry partners will be announced shortly.

750,000 FOOTBALL WATCHING VISITORS SPEND £595 MILLION WHILE IN BRITAIN

As the first fixtures of the 2011/12 Barclays Premier League season kicked-off around the country, new figures released by VisitBritain reveal that over 750,000 inbound visitors who came to Britain last year experienced a football game, spending a substantial £595 million in the process, the equivalent to £776 per fan1.

Visitors from Norway are most likely to come to watch Premier League football – one in thirteen of their tourists go to a match – and the most popular grounds are Old Trafford, Anfield and the Emirates Stadium.

For the first time, research by the national tourism agency demonstrates that Premier League football has mass international appeal and helps drives visits to the UK. It was for this reason that VisitBritain joined forces with the Premier League in 2008 to help promote the home of football in key overseas tourism markets using links to Premier League players and clubs.

Earlier this year VisitBritain launched a dedicated Premier League section on their website. This contains exclusive interviews with key international Premier League players on what they most like about living in Britain, as well as recommendations on what visitors should see and do while in the country2.

With matches broadcast live in 212 territories around the world it is no surprise that clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea are increasingly seeing their fan-base becoming truly global. Those taking in a  match in Britain are not shy of spending their money either – figures show that the average spend per visit for football loving overseas visitors is £776, considerably higher than the average for all inbound visitors of £563.

Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy & Communication at VisitBritain said:

“Not only do some of the best players in the world want to play in Britain, but their international fans want to follow them here to savour the atmosphere of a match.
“It is no surprise our international visitors come here to cheer on their sporting heroes and visit our world class stadia across Britain – from Old Trafford to the Emirates and Anfield to Wembley.

“Our partnership with the Premier League has enabled us to use football to connect with fans all around the world. It has given us access to some of the stars of the British game who have promoted Britain to their fans back home- and encouraged them to come and visit.”

Richard Scudamore, Chief Executive of the Premier League said:

“We know that that the Premier League is the most watched football league in the world and we put a lot of effort into connecting with our international fans, whether that is reaching out to them with tournaments like the Barclays Asia Trophy or the Barclays Premier League Trophy Tour. But nothing quite beats the excitement of match day, being inside a full Premier League ground and seeing a competitive match in the flesh, so it’s very encouraging to hear that so many international visitors want to experience football in this country”.

Around 40% of those going to a football match said that watching sport was the main reason for visiting the UK. The research also suggests that football works as a highly effective tool in enticing visitors to Britain at some of the quieter times of the year, with the greatest proportion of inbound visitors going to a football match between January and March.

Holiday visitors from Norway have the highest propensity to include ‘going to a football match’ (one-in-thirteen), followed by visits from the UAE. Among visitors who come here to visit friends and family it is those from Japan, China and Australia that are most likely to include going to a football match, with Norwegian business visitors once again topping the charts.

In terms of volume the market with the largest number of visits is Ireland, accounting for 164,000 of the total 767,000 visits that include football among the activities. Norway (77,000) is in second spot, followed by the USA (56,000), the Netherlands (41,000) and Germany (39,000).

The most popular venues for watching football were in the North West of England and in London, with 15% of all inbound visitors who said they had gone to a football match having done so at the current Premier League Champions ground Old Trafford. The top six most visited grounds by overseas fans were: Old Trafford (114,000), Anfield (89,000), Emirates Stadium (88,000), Stamford Bridge (54,000) and White Hart Lane (38,000). Figures also show that 23,000 fans had visited Wembley Stadium.

VisitBritain continues to build on the strong relationship it has with the Premier League. Following an initial two year partnership, an agreement with the Premier League was extended in 2010 for another three years to help position Britain as a welcoming destination for football fans from around the world.

VisitBritain launches BritAgent programme- “Great Britain You’re Invited 2012”

A new BritAgent online training programme has been launched to help agents around the world showcase thousands of exciting events happening throughout 2012 as well as during the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

 Developed by VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, “Great Britain You’re Invited – 2012” will give agents specialised product and destination knowledge, and help them to sell Britain as a great place to visit in 2012. BritAgent will increase productivity and maximize sales by arming the travel trade with the necessary tools needed to meet their clients’ needs and expectations.

Along with giving details of all the Olympic events taking place, the programme covers topics such as accommodation and transport during the period of the 2012 Games. It will also provide inspirational ideas for amazing things to see and do across the UK, as well as information and planning for other events occasions taking place next year, such as the Diamond Jubilee and World Pride.

Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications said: “This programme is an important part of our efforts to tell the world that Britain is the place to be next year. Whatever your customers are here for you can be sure they will have a great time in Britain.

“We hope that the “Great Britain You’re Invited – 2012” training programme will become a vital tool to help our travel partners manage the visitor demand we anticipate over the coming years and that it will help increase the level of service they can provide.”

Sign up now by visiting http://www.britagent.com

Registration opens for VIBE 2011

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, will once again be holding their annual VisitBritain International Business Exchange (VIBE) at the Hilton London Metropole Hotel on Wednesday 5 and Thursday 6 October 2011.

This one and a half day event is a fantastic opportunity to get up to the minute knowledge on Britain’s 21 key international inbound tourism markets direct from the people who are working in those markets to assist delegates with their marketing and strategic planning for the year ahead.

Through the course of the event, delegates will have the opportunity to meet with their overseas market specialists from around the world – North America, Europe and Asia, as well as the BRIC markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China – and their specialists in Digital Marketing, Social Media, Press and PR.

Delegates will also have the chance to meet our UK staff to establish how they can benefit more from working with our organisation. A series of in-depth seminars will be held as well as a meet and network with the VisitBritain team and industry colleagues.

Hilton Worldwide Becomes Founding Partner in Landmark British Tourism Programme

Partnership aimed at boosting Great Britain’s international tourism in a joint effort between VisitBritain and world’s preeminent hospitality company

LONDON, UK & MCLEAN, VA – (16 June, 2011) - Hilton Worldwide today announced a founding partnership with VisitBritain, the UK’s national tourism agency, to drive awareness of Britain’s tourism offer, including the hospitality company’s 90 plus properties across the U.K.

The deal builds upon Hilton Worldwide’s continued growth in the UK and the Government’s renewed focus on tourism as one of the key industries to help drive the economy and create employment opportunities, with more than 16,000 people set to be employed within Hilton Worldwide hotels across the U.K. by the end of 2013.

Simon Vincent, Area President Europe, Hilton Worldwide, said, “Great Britain is one of the world’s outstanding destinations, for both business and leisure travel, and we are proud to be working alongside the Government in showcasing this to the world. Together we share an incredibly rich heritage, exceptional experiences, wonderful locations and people that know true hospitality.”

The global £100 million programme is aimed at encouraging greater travel to the U.K. with key objectives of; 4 million extra overseas visitors and £2 billion more visitor spending in the UK.

Working on the theme ‘You’re Invited’ the programme aims to encourage travellers to discover the many and varied experiences available across the U.K. during a period of celebration, with numerous global events taking place in the coming years, including the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Hilton Worldwide will work with VisitBritain on a multi-channel marketing, sales and public relations programme, initially over a two year period, for an undisclosed sum of cash and value-in-kind.

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive at VisitBritain, said: “Partnering with Hilton gives us the opportunity to showcase England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland due to their fantastic Britain wide reach of hotels. Being a strong global brand means that their name is familiar with the international audience we are targeting.

“Our aim is to give potential tourists a reason to visit now and having Hilton as a founding partner as we launch VisitBritain’s wider £100 million marketing programme will allow us to do just that.”

John Penrose MP, Tourism Minister, recently attended the opening of one of Hilton Worldwide’s latest luxury U.K. properties in London Syon Park, A Waldorf Astoria Hotel. He said, “Hilton Worldwide’s support for our marketing campaign to promote Great Britain as one of the very best destinations for holiday and business travellers is well-timed. The next couple of years will see this country front and centre on the world stage as never before. Companies with a global presence and reputation will make a huge difference to the campaign and we are delighted to have them on board.”

Hilton Worldwide has more than 90 hotels in the U.K. across six of its brands including Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, Hilton Hotels & Resorts, DoubleTree by Hilton, Hilton Garden Inn and Hampton by Hilton.

The company has more than 20 hotels in its U.K. pipeline including Hilton Heathrow Terminal 5, which is due to open later this year. By next summer, it will also open a combined Hilton and Hampton by Hilton at St George’s Park, the new home of English football, and the recently announced conversion of the Caledonian Hilton Edinburgh to a Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts property.

Virgin Trains Offers Complimentary Upgrade for Forces on Armed Forces Day, Saturday 25 June 2011

Virgin Trains will support Armed Forces Day on 25 June 2011 by offering members of the armed forces a complimentary upgrade from Standard to First Class, space permitting. If appropriate, one accompanying passenger can also benefit.

The suggestion came from Virgin Trains’ Train Manager, Steve Ward, who is based at the company’s Liverpool depot. Steve said: “I have a soft spot for all our men and women in the forces. I just feel these people accept the call to put their country and its people before themselves, and for this we should be grateful. Armed Forces day is a chance to say thank you.”

Train Managers will make an onboard announcement, subject to seats being available in First Class. To claim the upgrade a valid HM Forces Railcard must be produced.

VISITBRITAIN APPOINTS JOSS CROFT

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, has appointed Joss Croft as Head of Marketing.

Joss is a key appointment for VisitBritain as it prepares for the roll out of its £100 million public/private marketing programme over the next four years.

Laurence Bresh, Director of Marketing said: “I am delighted to have such an experienced professional leading our marketing team. Joss will be ensuring the marketing programme is relevant and compelling for consumers, delivers for our commercial partners and on the Government targets of 4 million additional inbound visitors spending £2 billion across Britain.”

Joss also draws on his recent experience at VisitBritain as Regional Director for Europe, Head of Business Visits and Events and manager of Strategic Partnerships. He previously worked in sales and marketing for Futuroscope Poitiers, Disneyland Paris and the London Tourist Board.

In February 2010 he was awarded Industry Personality of the Year by the readers of Meetings and Incentive Travel.

VisitBritain and American Express tourism partnership on the cards

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, has formed a partnership with American Express, to jointly market Britain as a tourist destination.

The substantial deal between the two parties gives VisitBritain and its partners the ability to reach millions of American Express card members around the world with enticing offers and travel information. This partnership forms part of VisitBritain’s overall effort to boost visitor numbers to the country by 4 million, as well as raising the profile of Britain as a travel destination in key overseas markets.

American Express is the latest company to enter a partnership with VisitBritain and contribute towards the £100million marketing programme.

VisitBritain’s four-year programme, to be launched in key inbound tourism markets later this year, aims to deliver:

• 4 million extra overseas visitors,
• Spending £2billion here in the UK

The American Express partnership will extend the reach of VisitBritain’s global marketing activity.

To support the UK travel and tourism industry, American Express has created UK Inspiration, an online portal providing exclusive offers and insider knowledge from some of UK’s most influential fashion, food, entertainment and travel bloggers. VisitBritain will contribute up-to-date destination content, images, and blogs for the site.

UK Inspiration will provide travellers from key tourism markets, such as the US, France, the Middle East, China and Australia, with a range of dining, shopping, travel and entertainment offers to drive spending in these industries and further boost inbound tourism.

VisitBritain and American Express will promote the partnership via joint marketing, public relations, social media and the use of American Express foreign exchange outlets.

Laurence Bresh, Director of Marketing at VisitBritain said: “We’re delighted to be working with American Express. This partnership gives us the opportunity to showcase Britain and to present ideas and offers which encourage potential visitors to travel now. Partner marketing deals such as these are key to providing an international platform for tourism destinations and businesses across Britain.”

Mark Roper, Vice President and General Manager UK Merchant Services, at American Express said: “With the world’s eyes on Britain following the Royal Wedding, there has never been a better time to encourage tourists from around the world to experience the best the UK has to offer. We’re excited to be working with VisitBritain to create UK Inspiration and provide a boost to the all important travel and tourism industries.”

VISITBRITAIN REVEAL NEW USA FIGURES AS PRESIDENT OBAMA ARRIVES IN BRITAIN

America remains a key market for British tourism
·         The US remains by far our most valuable inbound market – American visitors spent £2.1 billion in 2010
·         In 2010 there were just under 2.7 million visits to the UK by US residents, down from its peak of 4.1 million visits in 2000
·         45,000 passenger aircraft departures from the USA heading to the UK, representing a seat capacity of 11.2 million

On the day President Obama visits the UK, national tourism agency, VisitBritain releases new figures which cement America’s position as one of the most important markets for British inbound tourism.
In 2010 there were just under 2.7 million visits to the UK by US residents, sitting third behind France and Germany respectively. But the US by far maintains its top spot in terms of market value for inbound tourism, worth £2.1bn in 2010- nearly double that of the Germans in second place.
Although the figures remain high, there are challenges which need to be tackled. Inbound tourism from the USA has declined over the past decade. It peaked in 2000, when there were 4.1 million visits. The US now ranks third in terms of arrivals but it was positioned first continuously from 1998 to 2007. Both traditional European competitor destinations and emerging destinations in Asia are increasingly competing with the UK’s share of the American market.

Recapturing this market is a priority for VisitBritain, .A  four-year £100million marketing programme, taking advantage of the recent Royal Wedding, and next year’s Diamond Jubilee and 2012 Games, looks to revitalise Britain’s appeal in this core market and encourage Americans to visit now to join in the mood of celebration. Feedback from VisitBritain’s travel industry panels in the US in early 2011 have been positive, with increased bookings, and more capacity on air routes to the UK.

In general, US visitors are familiar with Britain, and perceptions of the ‘Britain Brand’ are consistently positive among potential US visitors, ranking the UK 6th out of 50 on ‘Tourism’ dimensions.
Some of the main barriers to travel to Britain largely revolve around logistical dynamics such as not having a passport, a lack of annual leave, financial concerns and not wanting to fly long distances. Americans rate ‘taking foreign vacations’ as a lower priority than ‘taking vacations in my own country’ (9th versus 16th out of 17 options in the Nation’s Brand Index, NBI)
Cost is an important factor in holiday decisions. When asked to rate the expected expensiveness of a one-week holiday in the 2010 NBI survey (including the cost of getting there) Americans rated Britain as less expensive than both France and Italy, however on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 – not at all expensive and 7 = extremely expensive Britain was rated with a score of 5.3.
Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications at VisitBritain said: “The challenge now is to rebuild visitor numbers to the high point of 2000. While just 33% of the US population have a passport, Americans who come to Britain once, tend to come again – over half of US holiday visitors to the UK are repeat visitors. We know that perceptions of Britain are consistently strong – we need to change those positive perceptions into a trip here.”

VISITBRITAIN SHOWS RESULTS OF ROYAL WEDDING ACTIVITY

• Global audience of over 2 billion people (source BBC) watched wedding ceremony, with VisitBritain content shown by key broadcasters around the world
• @VisitBritain twitter enters the top 1% of influential twitter users (Klout score)
• Love UK VisitBritain’s Facebook page, was the 6^th most “Explosive Page” on Facebook

National tourism agency, VisitBritain, today released initial results of its marketing activity around the Royal Wedding event on 29 April. VisitBritain’s objective was to build on Britain’s enduring appeal – a blend of heritage, pageantry and the contemporary. Capitalising on the global media interest in the Royal Wedding the agency aimed to secure maximum positive media coverage for Britain and increase its engagement with prospective visitors across digital and social media.

According to global internet service provider Akamai, the Royal Wedding was the sixth largest web event in history. Discussions started by @VisitBritain and mentions of Royal Wedding articles on the VisitBritain Super Blog, reached more than 2 million people in 48 hours pushing the Twitter Klout score (the standard measure of influence) over 71, taking @VisitBritain into the top 1% of Twitter users.

LoveUK, VisitBritain’s Facebook page, was the 6^th most “Explosive Page” on Facebook during Royal Wedding week according to All Facebook. In the five- day lead up to and during the Royal Wedding VisitBritain gained 127,546 new fans, almost doubling the Love UK membership to over 255,000, with the content viewed by over 1.3 million people. Sentiment within the posts from LoveUK fans around the world was consistently positive.

Visits to the on line VisitBritain Media Centre and Royal Britain section doubled within a week and many international broadcasters were hosted on trips around the Britain. From the USA, VisitBritain helped Entertainment Tonight to visit St Andrews in Scotland and NBC TODAY with a trip to Anglesey. Combined audiences for these two shows alone were over 10 million

Ideas and content was also provided to the Oprah Winfrey show and our US-based staff appeared as commentators, talking about heritage and pageantry of interest to visitors and locations relevant to the royal couple on numerous Fox News panels in the build up to the event.

VisitBritain staff conducted scores of broadcast interviews with good coverage secured in the key tourism growth markets such as Brazil, from where Olympics rights-holding broadcaster, (Record TV) assisted by VisitBritain dedicated an entire week to covering Britain. All of China’s main broadcasters were in Britain for the week leading up to the 29^th April. The VisitBritain press team assisted press and broadcasters from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France and Italy who made visits here weeks before the day itself, a reflection of the great interest in our culture and heritage.

Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain said: “Our strategy was to use the interest in this event – and the ensuing global media coverage – to showcase Britain and boost its appeal to visitors. Our history and pageantry and our ability to welcome and host a global party was seen by millions of prospective visitors around the world.

“This marks the start of our 4-year marketing programme. With events such as the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the London 2012 Games in prospect, we want to take a message of warmth, fun and celebration to the world and send out an invitation to visit Britain.”

Keele Conferences & Events Launch ‘Off Campus’ Event Service

Keele Conferences & Events, Staffordshire has launched a unique service that provides event support and management to its association clients, as their annual conferences and events travel around the country.

Keele Event Service is headed up by Senior Conference Management Executive, Sharon Faulke, who was instrumental in its development. She explains; “The service is essentially an extension to the event management and delegate booking support that we would provide whilst the clients are using our venues. But instead we travel alongside them to provide this same level of support at other locations.”

Sam Rooney, Head of Keele Conferences & Events adds; “This is a service that we have evolved into offering, both as a result of reacting to feedback from long term clients and also from understanding the needs of transient business. It reflects the importance we place on delivering a consistently high level of customer service and on helping our clients to grow and develop their events, regardless of where they are located.”

Keele Event Service forms part of a broader association support package offered at Keele Conferences & Events, which includes full venue support and the development of a total booking management services.

The Keele team will be showcasing its full range of services as well as unveiling its latest marketing literature ‘Choice’ when it appears at the Academic Venue Show at the Emirates Stadium, London on 11^th May.

VISITBRITAIN LAUNCHES ROYAL WEDDING PREDICTOR

Is it going to rain? Where are they going to honeymoon? How many people will turn up on the day? VisitBritain gives you a chance to have your say on the big day.

With the wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton just weeks away and the world’s media full of speculation about the big day, VisitBritain has invited its fans on Facebook (facebook.com/loveUK) to offer their own predictions to interact with its global audience and further showcase Britain overseas.

The details have been the subject of speculation online and in the media, as fashionistas, Royal watchers and commentators look for clues: Who has designed Kate’s wedding dress? Where will the royal couple honeymoon? What car will Prince William arrive in?

The aim is to bring thousands of new fans into the Love UK group – so that they can be inspired by Britain messaging every day – engaging them around the fun events that will take place on Prince William and Kate’s big day.

“People are looking forward to seeing the finer points that will make the big day that much more exciting and fun,” said Justin Reid, head of digital for VisitBritain. “Royal Wedding Predictor will be a good way to engage with our growing community of fans overseas – and to help celebrate the fantastic culture and heritage of Britain that makes us such an attractive place for potential visitors.”

The Royal Wedding Predictor application will record fans’ predictions and let them invite their friends to share what they think the right answers will be.  After making a prediction, fans will be able to see the predictions other people made – their friends, people from the same country and from around the world.

Social application developer, Betapond, which built VisitBritain’s innovative and highly regarded Top 50 Places Facebook application, built the Royal Wedding Predictor.  Richard Delevan, managing director of Betapond, said: “We’re delighted to have worked with VisitBritain on this project. It’s an honour to have a small part to play in such a big day for fans of Britain. Once again, VisitBritain shows why it’s a leader in using social media for destination marketing: they consistently give their fans the ability to be part of a wider community in a fun and engaging way.”

VisitBritain has grown its Facebook community by 300% since last autumn. It expects that by engaging with fans in this way it will accelerate that growth even further.

Beat the Brochure: Brits’ Ideal Hotel is ’22 Minutes From Airport’

ROMFORD, England, April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A new Travel Industry Survey has Revealed What British Holidaymakers Really Want From Their Holidays: a Hotel 22 Minutes Away From the Airport.

A recent travel survey has unveiled what British holidaymakers want most from their ideal holiday this year, with the old favourites, sun, sea and sand still proving to be the most popular desires for travellers. However, the results of the survey also reveal that British holidaymakers are becoming much more specific when it comes to their holiday wants, with such variants as temperature, the time of year and the duration of the holiday being the most important aspects to many holidaymakers, say Beat The Brochure (http://www.beatthebrochure.com/).

Daniel Ox of Beat The Brochure says: “This new study, which questioned 2,000 British holidaymakers, has shown that Brits are becoming a lot more specific in their holiday wants, with a two-week family break in Europe being the most popular choice for travellers. While this choice may not come as a surprise to many holidaymakers or travel insiders, what really makes this poll interesting is the fact that the study pinpointed the perfect temperature for the respondents, which was 27 degrees, with the respondents stating that they wanted to get at least nine hours of sunlight a day on holiday.”

As well as these exact specifications for the temperature and hours of sunlight per day, the poll revealed that British holidaymakers don’t want to travel too far from home, as they were only prepared to take a flight that would last a maximum of five hours, which would keep them in Europe. While they didn’t want to stray outside of Europe, where they could choose holidays in the Canary Islands ( http://www.beatthebrochure.com/holidays/Canary_Islands/default.asp), they also didn’t want the arrival airport to be far away from their hotel or resort.

Ox continues: “According to the survey, British holidaymakers want their hotel to be a 22 minute drive from the airport, which they would travel to in a hire car. Once settled on the hotel, the respondents also stated that they wanted to spend at least 4 of the 14 days sunbathing by the hotel pool, while a another four days would be spent on day trips to local attractions, sightseeing, and a further two days would be spent shopping for gifts and clothes. So while the respondents are set on some very exact criteria for their holiday, they were happy to book very traditional European breaks, such as Ibiza holidays ( http://www.beatthebrochure.com/holidays/Balearics/Ibiza/default.asp), which shows that Europe is still a very popular choice for British travellers.”

Travelmatch: Number of Brits Travelling Solo on the Up

LONDON, April 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A Survey has Shown That British Travellers are More Willing Than Ever to Travel by themselves. Online Holiday Experts Travelmatch Believe This Shows That Tourists are Reluctant to Let Obstacles Stand in the Way of Their Adventures Abroad

A recent survey has shown that British tourists are increasingly willing to embark on holidays by themselves. This data comes from travel insurer LV, who found that over the past two years the amount of people willing to go on such trips has doubled. Alex Francis of Travelmatch.co.uk comments on the results: “This data mirrors are own observations that many people are willing to go abroad on city breaks and beach holidays by themselves. We think this is fantastic news as solo trips to resorts like Lara Beach ( http://www.travelmatch.co.uk/holidays/lara-beach-holidays.html) and other exotic spots can be very rewarding.”

The survey by LV (http://www.lv.com/) held more positive news regarding such trips: 60% of people said that they had enjoyed their holiday, while 10% claimed it was the best ever. The most popular type of solo trips were city breaks, while beach holidays also proved to be very popular. Only 3% of respondents were negative about their experience.

Francis believes that this can be partially attributed to the particular appeal of solo trips, he comments: “Travelling alone can be somewhat daunting, yet it is also highly rewarding as it is a great way to meet new people and go on unexpected adventures. At Travelmatch.co.uk we are big supporters of solo tourism, as we believe it is very exciting and unique way to see the world.”

Francis states that though solo travel is appealing, the primarily motivation for such trips has more to do with the allure of travel. He concludes: “People in this day and age love to travel, and they will take any opportunity to get abroad and have an amazing time. Yet for one reason or another it is sometimes difficult to find someone to go abroad with; our customers don’t let this stand in their way and they are happy to get out there, even if they can’t find anyone to accompany them on their holidays to Turkey (http://www.travelmatch.co.uk/holidays/turkey-holidays.html) and other amazing spots around the globe.”

easyJet and VisitBritain invest £18 million to boost UK Tourism

easyJet has formed a partnership with VisitBritain, the UK’s national tourism agency, to jointly market Britain as a tourist destination over the next four years.

VisitBritain to Host TripAdvisor Content

LONDON, March 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A new partnership agreement now allows VisitBritain.com users to benefit from user-generated content provided by TripAdvisor(R), the world’s largest travel website.

In the new partnership, TripAdvisor content relating to key British tourist destinations is available on VisitBritain.com- a family of 30 websites in 21 different languages. Users of the website can now see the top ten attractions and restaurants for popular British cities and holiday destinations, as decided by millions of TripAdvisor travellers.

This announcement follows successful TripAdvisor partnerships with other official tourism bodies in London, Scotland, Germany, Austria and more, further highlighting the importance and trust of user-generated content and its growing presence in the travel industry.

Justin Reid, Head of Digital and Social Media at VisitBritain, comments: “As Britain’s national tourism agency, we aim to attract visitors from all over the world and help those visitors have the best possible holiday.

“By partnering with TripAdvisor, not only are we making it easier for travellers to find the best of Britain but we are providing them with a platform to see what other customers recommend.”

Pollyanna Vincent, Partnerships Manager UK for TripAdvisor, comments: “We are delighted to partner with VisitBritain and look forward to our trusted content helping travellers experience the best that the UK has to offer.”

TripAdvisor Reveals Largest Analysis of UK World Heritage Sites Ever Conducted

- Blenheim Palace and Edinburgh Old and New Towns Top ‘Best Condition’ and ‘Most Recommended’ Lists Respectively

LONDON, March 29, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, today reveals the UK results from the biggest analysis ever conducted of UNESCO World Heritage sites. Blenheim Palace topped the ‘Best Condition’ category, while Old and New Towns of Edinburgh took first place on the ‘Most Recommended’ list.

Via its user reviews, TripAdvisor, in partnership with UNESCO, has collected over 34,000* responses from travellers who have visited the UK’s UNESCO World Heritage sites.

“The UK has 28 World Heritage sites to be proud of,” commented Emma O’Boyle, TripAdvisor spokesperson. “Those in the ‘Best Condition’ and ‘Most Recommended’ categories should be particularly pleased as these recognitions reflect the positive experiences and opinions of thousands of travellers.”

London and Scotland featured prominently in the results. Four London sites – Kew Gardens, Tower of London, Westminster Palace and Maritime Greenwich – appeared across the ‘Best Condition’ and ‘Most recommended’ lists, while Scotland’s Heart of Neolithic Orkney, New Lanark and Old and New Towns of Edinburgh also appeared in these categories.

Interestingly, Stonehenge, one of the UK’s most internationally famous attractions, and one of the seven medieval wonders of the world, featured only on the ‘In Need of Most Attention’ list and failed to appear on the ‘Most Recommended’ list.

Best Condition Sites

According to TripAdvisor travellers, these are the UK’s UNESCO World Heritage sites in best condition:

1. Blenheim Palace – Oxfordshire

2. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – London

3. Heart of Neolithic Orkney – Scotland

4. Durham Castle and Cathedral – Durham

5. City of Bath – Somerset

6. Giant’s Causeway and Causeway Coast – Northern Ireland

7. New Lanark – Scotland

8. Tower of London – London

9. Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Cathedral – London

10. Studley Royal Park including the Ruins of Fountains Abbey – Yorkshire

Most Recommended Sites

These are the UK World Heritage sites travellers most recommend:

1. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh – Scotland

2. Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Cathedral – London

3. Tower of London – London

4. City of Bath – Somerset

5. Maritime Greenwich – London

6. Durham Castle and Cathedral – Durham

7. Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, and St Martin’s – Kent

8. Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City

9. Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape

10. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd – Wales

Sites most in need of attention

These UK World Heritage sites are those most in need of attention, according to TripAdvisor travellers:

1. Cornwall and West Devon Mining Landscape

2. Hadrian’s Wall (Frontiers of the Roman Empire WHS)- Wallsend-on-Tyne to Bowness-on-Solvay, England

3. Dorset and East Devon Coast

4. Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine’s Abbey, and St Martin’s – Kent

5. Old and New Towns of Edinburgh – Scotland

6. Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City

7. Saltaire – Yorkshire

8. Ironbridge Gorge – Shropshire

9. Castles and Town Walls of King Edward in Gwynedd – Wales

10. Stonehenge, Avebury and Associated Sites – Wiltshire

The two year partnership between TripAdvisor, and UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre launched in October 2009 to raise awareness of and gain travellers’ support to preserve natural and cultural sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Within the partnership, TripAdvisor is also donating up to $1.5 million (USD) of support to the World Heritage Centre to help monitor the conservation of the world’s most important cultural and historic sites. TripAdvisor shares the feedback to the World Heritage Centre so that it may better engage UNESCO member states in matters of site conservation.

Etherlive to present future technologies for the live event sector

The Gathering invites forward thinking industry audience and expert panels

Etherlive intend to reinforce their reputation as live events’ most progressive technology provider by hosting The Gathering at Lord’s Cricket Ground on Wednesday 30th March.

The Gathering audience will be presented with a sneak preview of emerging technology trends and discuss the innovations that will characterise the live event sector over the coming months and years, keeping them ahead of the chasing pack.

Attendees to have confirmed include representatives from Jack Morton Worldwide, NESTLÈ, IMG and BBC. Themes to be discussed and debated include ‘Ticketing, Scanning and Cashless Payment’, a potentially industry changing development which could allow brands to track buying patterns, ‘Creating Event Stickiness Through Social Media’, ‘Apps and Content Delivery’ and ‘Crucial Communications’.

Speakers will include the brains behind Etherlive; directors Tom McInerney, Chris Green and Mike Lang, alongside industry figures such as Dale Barnes, Director, Advanced Technology at Virgin Media and Paul Pike, Director at Intelligent Venue Solutions.

Lord’s state-of-the-art Media Centre will provide an inspiring backdrop as demo zones put the latest devices into practice and there will be networking windows for the audience to make new contacts and swap knowledge.

Paul Pike, Director at Intelligent Venue Solutions said: “There are a number of new innovations that are set to revolutionise live events as we move forward in the 21st Century. I am excited at the opportunity of meeting with peers from the industry to look at the tools and solutions which will become available.”

Dale Barnes, Director, Advanced Technology at Virgin Media said: “I work with a whole raft of new technologies and it’s great to explore recent innovations and emerging developments with the panel and attendees. Etherlive has put together a fantastic line-up and I’m looking forward to an interesting discussion and an informative event.”

Tom McInerney, Director at Etherlive said: “As the live events demands on technology continue to increase many organisers are looking to appreciate how new systems can help them tackle the challenges of communications, connectivity and audience interaction. The topics we discuss during the day will touch on some of the key areas for industry; we look forward to discussing them, as well as considering their potential and possible pitfalls.”

New Survey Reveals Northerners are More Social Than Southerners!

LONDON, March 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — A recent online survey by Mydestinationinfo.com ( http://www.mydestinationinfo.com/) – a network of locally run travel information sites, in conjunction with YouGov, looked at how people use their devices (including smart phones, iPads, android tablets and a whole range of other devices). The survey revealed that 44% of holidaymakers who use a device in the North use it to check social feeds (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), whilst only 32% do so in the South.

We’re asking: Does this new research make Northerners a Coronation Street’s nosey Norris, or a sociable Steve McDonald?

It has long been supposed, that those in the North are a much more sociable breed than their Southern counterparts, with the connotation that Northerners have a greater sense of community. This research would appear to back this up.

Checking social feeds can be viewed as a way of staying connected with friends, family, colleagues, old school friends or random strangers. By checking social feeds you can quickly see what people in your network are doing and any news they may have.

This is the community of the modern age; the traditional sense of community where you would share stories in the post office or over a cup of tea, have now been taken over by sharing on Twitter or Facebook. Can we then say that the higher percentage of checking social feeds in the North is a modern day increased sense of community, thus making Northerners more sociable?

The availability and ever increasing usage of social media also allows us to connect with people that if we saw in the street, would probably cross the road. The person from school you always thought was destined for greatness, you’re now secretly happy to see that their stacking shelves for a living. If you saw this person in real life, you may have no time for them, but through social media, you can get a picture of what their life is like.

Can we then say that Northerners checking social feeds more than Southerners actually just makes them nosey? It’s not a modern day sense of a community, just a platform to help satisfy our natural curiosities. It is in fact a modern day version of Margot peering over the fence in The Good Life, or Betty from Emmerdale enquiring into the latest gossip in The Woolpack…

Whether you view Northerners checking social feeds more than Southerners as meaning that they are a sociable Steve McDonald or a nosey Norris, the increase and how we use social media undoubtedly throws up some interesting questions and debates.

Here are the figures for checking social feeds for the whole of Great Britain:

    North: 44%
    Midlands: 33%
    East: 36%
    London: 40%
    South: 32%
    Wales: 41%
    Scotland: 36%

All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 2205 adults. Fieldwork was undertaken between 14th- 16th February 2011. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of all UK adults (aged 16+)

http://www.mydestinationinfo.com/

OVERSEAS VISITORS SPEND £2 BIILLION ON TRIPS TO THE COAST

Nearly four million seaside loving foreign tourists spent £2 billion on trips that included going to Britain’s coastline in 2009, according to a new report from VisitBritain, marking British Tourism Week.

This new research comes as we prepare to launch the week with ‘Party on the Pier’ – a series of parties across many of Britain’s 55 much loved piers and jetties on Saturday March 12^th.

13 per cent of the 30 million overseas travellers who came to the UK in 2009 went to a coastal town or city (3.9 million)- ranging from Inverness in Scotland to Brighton on the south coast.

Scotland dominates the top three for coastal visitor numbers- Edinburgh attracted 768,000 foreign visitors. Glasgow 312,000 and Inverness 180,000.

Top English destinations were Liverpool, whose coastal attractions include the redeveloped Albert Dock and canal attracted 162,000. Brighton and Hove, which includes three piers and eight miles of coastline, had 128,000 foreign visitors and sits fifth in the table. Bristol attracted 119,000 and Cardiff’s dramatic coastline, which features the nearby golden coast of Glamorgan, welcomed 110,000.

Germans were the most prolific coastal visitors – making over half a million visits from Germany with well over 400,000 visits from French and American visitors. Interestingly Chinese and Russian visitors are much more likely to visit the coast (one in four visitors) than visitors from France and India (one in eight).

The American market is the most important for the Scottish destinations of Edinburgh and St Andrews, with, on average, 146,000 and 24,000 staying holiday visits a year respectively. Along the North West coast of England both Liverpool and Blackpool have more staying holiday visits from Ireland than from any other market, while Cardiff attracts higher numbers of holidaymakers from France than any other market.

Despite bordering the North Sea rather than the Irish Sea, Newcastle’s biggest inbound holiday market is from Ireland.

For Bristol and all three of the southern seaside destinations included in the table we find that Germans are making a dash for a holiday on the beach in greater numbers than any other market, ranging from 36,000 visits a year to Brighton and Hove through to 10,000 visits to Cornwall’s premier surfing hotspot of Newquay.

The reports also confirms that the most popular time of year to visit the coast is during the summer months, with July to September accounting for 1.8 million of the annual 3.9 million visits. January to March is the least popular time for overseas visitors to head for the seaside with fewer than half a million visits.

Patricia Yates, Co-Chair of British Tourism Week said: “This new report shows how our coastal towns and seaside locations are an important part of our appeal to overseas visitors. “As we open British Tourism Week with parties on piers across the country this research reminds us all that visiting one of our great piers at a seaside town offers visitors a quintessential coastal experience which is unique to Britain.”

Spectrum Interactive and PrinterOn Launch Mobile Printing at UK Airports

- PrintSpectrum Internet Kiosks Powered by the PrinterOn Mobile Printing Solution

KITCHENER, Ontario, March, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — PrinterOn(R) is pleased to announce the successful launch of the PrintSpectrum public printing solution at 30 UK airport locations including at Heathrow (all terminals), Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Birmingham, Luon, Bristol, Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The PrintSpectrum service enables users to print directly from internet kiosks, as well as from any internet-enabled device such as a smartphone, tablet or laptop. With 130,000 pages printed at UK airports last year, the service has been extremely popular with UK travelers.

“Partnering with Spectrum Interactive has made it possible to roll out our solution to these UK locations quickly and successfully,” said Ken Noreikis, Vice President Sales & Marketing, PrinterOn Corporation. “Large deployments in key markets like this are necessary for increasing awareness and driving adoption of mobile printing worldwide.”

Users can print boarding passes, emails, attachments and web content simply by forwarding an email with attachment to a printer specific email address or by uploading a document via URL to a printing portal. A unique release code is displayed or emailed, which when entered on the printer’s 22″ touchscreen interface retrieves the print job. The user can then pay by credit/debit cards or coin. The job is then released to print, and when completed the file is permanently deleted from the print server ensuring total privacy.

Daniel Gray, Director of Travel Division for Spectrum added, “Public printing solutions have become an essential service for airport travellers, and thus equally important for our airport partners. This demand is exceptionally strong during periods of travel disruption, which recently has ranged from industrial strikes, to bad weather and even volcanic ash! Our airport installations are unmanned and remotely managed, with the printer, PC and touch screen built into a secure kiosk housing. We have successfully interfaced the PrinterOn product with our own kiosk management software, to enable full monitoring and management for the kiosk, payment for card and coin, and an easy public interface with touch screen. Our next developments include a stand-alone PrintPillar for areas with strong demand and a high density of handheld or laptop devices.”

PrintSpectrum pilot projects are currently underway at key airport locations, Premier Inn and Travelodge Hotels including London City, Heathrow and Manchester.

GoogleTM Street View trikes to capture the best of the UK’s piers for British Tourism Week

Google Street View, in collaboration with VisitBritain, will be capturing new imagery of almost all of the UK’s great British piers in celebration of British Tourism Week and ‘Party on the Pier’ 2011.

Google is supporting British Tourism Week by collaborating with VisitBritain to celebrate Britain’s iconic seaside landmarks. As a result of this collaboration, over the next few months Google will collect Street View imagery of the piers that will appear in Street View via Google Maps^TM, for use by both Britons and tourists alike.

Two Street View ‘trikes’ will be on show during ‘Party on the Pier’ on Saturday 12^th March – one at Weston-super-Mare and the other on Brighton Pier. Local media and public can see the trikes close up.

The great British pier has been an institution at our seaside for two centuries or more. Aside from promenades, buckets and spades, pop festivals and gastro pubs, few things can symbolise British seaside holidays as much as piers.

Developed in the early 1900’s, more than 100 of them once stretched out to sea around the country at the beginning of the last century – today, just 55 survive.

Once the imagery is live, these piers will be put right on the virtual map, tempting people at home and abroad to explore Britain’s seaside landmarks in an exciting new way. Piers which are being visited by the Google trike include Walton-on-the Naze Pier, Brighton Palace Pier, Brighton West Pier, Boscombe Pier, Eastbourne Pier, Weston Super Mare and Clevedon Pier. We hope to have most of the 55 current standing piers recorded by the end of the year.

The Google trike is a specially designed bike mounted with a camera. It comes replete with a very athletic cyclist in customised Google apparel. It has the same capability as the Street View cars for collecting street-level imagery and is designed to help Google make special imagery collections in places less accessible by cars, such as historic landmarks and coastal paths.

Images collected by the trike will be processed and carefully stitched together, a technological process that can take several months. They will be made available at a later date in Street View on Google Maps.

David Curtis-Brignall, Co-Chair, British Tourism Week said: “What better way to celebrate Party on the Pier and the fifth British Tourism Week than to have our great piers filmed for Google Street View.

“Using the expanded Street View service people can check out restaurant’s on piers before arriving, make travel plans, arrange meeting points on their favourite piers, get a helping hand with their holiday choices, or just get to know their pier better!”

Ed Parsons, Google’s Geospatial Technologist said:“We’ve seen a tremendous amount of enthusiasm from British people to get their favourite places onto Street View. Now it’s down to our super fit tryclists to get cracking and photograph Britain’s top piers so that people from far and wide can soon admire a large part of the country’s seaside heritage .”

Tim Phillips, Chairman of the National Piers Society said: “Any opportunity to promote the nation’s piers around the globe is very welcome and Google is to be congratulated for offering this easy visual check on arguably the best attraction of our outstanding seaside destinations!”

POSTER COMPETITION FAME FOR LOCAL TOURISM FACE

Peter Jamieson’s image of John Renshaw outside Buckingham Palace has been chosen as the winner and one of the “faces” of British Tourism Week 2011 (12-20 March). His photo sits alongside this year’s winners of the Outstanding Customer Service award from Scotland, Wales, England and Northern Ireland’s regions in a poster that will be seen in tourism businesses around the country and help highlight the wide range of roles, skills and opportunities that exist in the tourism and hospitality industries.

The poster can be downloaded from http://www.britishtourismweek.com/assets/BTW2011_poster_A4.pdf, where businesses are being encouraged to register events.

David Curtis-Brignell, Co-Chair of the British Tourism Week Executive Council, and photo competition judge said: “The aim of the British Tourism Week poster is to try and get across to people working in the industry as well as customers and Government the wide range of roles, skills and opportunities that exist in tourism. All kinds of people make up the “face” of tourism and we looked for photographs that capture this diversity. We were delighted with this year’s entries and congratulate Peter on being winner this year.

“As our 5th largest industry tourism in the UK affects everyone, everywhere and every day – and like the industry itself, British Tourism Week has something for all.”

Peter Jamieson, London registered blue badge guide and competition winner said: “As a long standing Blue Badge Tourist guide, promoter of the Blue Badge and inveterate taker of photographs, I am delighted that my picture of fellow professional, John Renshaw, has won first prize in the poster competition for British Tourism Week.

“People may wonder why I always have my rucksack on my back – because it contains my camera!”

British Tourism Week has announced a campaign to rally round the nation’s most precious seaside attractions – and highlight the jobs and growth generated by tourism.

Pier parties are planned across the country on Saturday 12^th March – from Weston-Super-Mare in the constituency of Tourism John Penrose and across the country from Cornwall in the south west to Herne Bay in the south east, Saltburn in the north east and including inland piers in Wales and the Lake District.

The week will also see a host of other activities on a tourism theme. Organisers are urging the industry to invite their local MP to gain a first-hand understanding of tourism businesses and the issues they face during the Week. They are being encouraged to ‘go back to the floor’ and visit attractions, accommodation providers or tourist information centres in their area.

British Tourism Week is now established as the important event in the tourism calendar. Over 100 events are being planned and organisers hope that every region and destination will organise something to showcase businesses or raise awareness of tourism experiences among consumers.

Visit www.britishtourismweek.com for more information on the week of events being organised around the country.

ABPCO supports BVEP challenge to Tourism Minister on Visit Britain cuts

ABPCO, the Association of British Professional Conference Organisers, has come out in staunch support of Business Visits & Events Partnership (BVEP) in challenging the recent government decision to cut Visit Britain’s activity in the global business tourism market.

The planned cuts will see Visit Britain significantly reduce its overseas presence and hand over the majority of support for business tourism initiatives to national tourist boards across the UK.  ABPCO Chair Rebecca Cadman-Jones commented: ‘The decision by Visit Britain to move away from business tourism is a huge blow to the conference industry and ABPCO members.  Support from our national tourism body is essential in ensuring that major conferences and events choose the UK, generating huge economic impact for the country.  ABPCO fully supports the BVEP in its challenge to the Tourism Minister John Penrose on this matter.’

In a letter to BVEP Chairman Michael Hirst, Visit Britain CEO Sandie Dawe MBE stated: ‘We will still continue to offer a bid support service to attract international conferences, conventions and major sporting events,’ yet how this will be realised is yet unclear, according to comments from Mr. Hirst following a meeting with Ms. Dawe.

Rebecca Cadman-Jones continued: ‘Other countries enjoy significant support and representation from their respective tourism authorities in the international meetings sector; these new cuts could significantly impact opportunities for international events coming to the UK and consequently affect business for ABPCO members.  We must do all we can to ensure that the industry has the support to compete on a global scale.’

VISITBRITAIN WELCOMES CROSS GOVERNMENT SUPPORT FOR TOURISM GROWTH

VisitBritain welcomes the Government Tourism Policy, published today, and the continuing recognition of tourism’s ability to support the wider growth agenda.

Tourism is a sector with the potential to create new jobs and economic growth. It already contributes, both directly and indirectly, £115 billion each year to the UK economy, and employs 2.6 million people. Our 30 million inbound visitors make tourism the UK’s third largest earner of foreign exchange. And the industry has the potential to be one of the five fastest growing sectors of the UK economy.

The Policy sets out VisitBritain’s key priority; delivering a four-year match funded global marketing programme which takes advantage of the unique opportunity of the Royal Wedding, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the 2012 Games to showcase Britain and attract new visitors.

This campaign will attract four million extra visitors to Britain, who will spend an additional £2 billion, and stimulate the creation of 50,000 new jobs.

VisitBritain will also continue to provide research; market intelligence and analysis to inform the British tourism industry and to deliver on its statutory duty to advise Government on matters related to tourism, in particular those areas that affect Britain’s global competitiveness.

Our international network is active in 21 countries that deliver 80% of inbound tourism spend. This global footprint enables us to provide analysis and advice on the issues facing potential visitors and the barriers to inbound tourism growth.

The Tourism Policy also sets out a goal to make Britain one of the five most efficient and competitive visitor economies in the world.

Whilst the UK is a world class destination, tourism is an increasingly competitive business. Britain needs to focus on attracting visitors from key emerging markets such as China, Brazil India and Russia as well as anchoring our performance in the markets that deliver tourism revenues today such as the USA and Northern Europe. We should look at our key competitors and ask why France attracted eight times more visitors from China last year than Britain, and Germany six times more visitors.

The Tourism Policy picks up some key areas for improvements- the visitor visa application process and the welcome that visitors experience on arrival in the UK. Britain also benefits from uniquely strong international connections, with nearly 1,500 air routes. Capitalising on that strength is crucial and VisitBritain will continue to work with stakeholders from the aviation and maritime sectors, as well as the Home Office and Department for Transport on the Welcome to Britain project.

Sandie Dawe, VisitBritain’s chief executive said: “Today’s publication of a new Tourism Policy shows an understanding across Government of the potential for tourism to deliver economic growth and jobs throughout Britain.

“VisitBritain’s clear priority over the next 4 years is to deliver a £100m, match funded, global marketing programme, which will yield four million extra visitors to Britain, £2 billion extra spending within the economy, and stimulate the creation of 50,000 new jobs.

“Britain is a world class tourism destination, and it is vital that we continue to compete effectively. VisitBritain will continue to advise Government on tourism, particularly in areas that affect Britain’s global competitiveness such as visas and transport infrastructure.”

BoBI announces a record number of NEW NEWS stories and launches

Exhibitors at Best of Britain & Ireland Travel Trade Forum (BoBI) this March will offer trade buyers and journalists a record number of NEW NEWS stories and launches from unique attractions, hotels and destinations.

Details about brand new art galleries in Yorkshire and Hastings, a refurbished Royal palace in Scotland, West End musicals of major movies and a fascinating collection of new and refurbished hotels, museums and special exhibitions opening in 2011 and 2012 will be available to key buyers and press at the strictly trade-only event.

From The Queue at Wimbledon and the Titanic in Belfast to a Peter Rabbit egg hunt in Cumbria and five tourism champions from Wales, there will be plenty of new content at BoBI which this year is held at the NEC Birmingham.

Main Stage events include Question Time with John Penrose MP, Minister for Tourism and Heritage, James Berresford Chief Executive VisitEngland, Simon Gregory Director of Markets Tourism Ireland, Riddell Graham Director of Partnerships VisitScotland and Allan Bell MHK, Minister for Economic Development, Isle of Man.

Christopher Rodrigues Chairman VisitBritain, Emma Pennycard Albatross Tours and David Thornton Visit Peak District & Derbyshire will discuss how best to promote inbound and domestic tourism for the 46 non-Olympic weeks of 2012.The session will be chaired by the BBC’s Eric Robson.

The key travel trade associations and media are once again giving BoBI their full support. They will all have a strong presence at the show, the culminating event of British Tourism Week.

BoBI and VisitBritain host highly targeted VIP buyers from overseas and the domestic market. The buyers are responsible for buying product for both small individual groups and large coach tours from BoBI’s many exhibitors.

Key press and editors from home and abroad are offered complimentary train travel and accommodation to attend BoBI.

Door2Tour Reveals More Interest in Royal Ascot Than Royal Wedding

AYLESFORD, England, February 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Door2Tour.com, the events package consolidator, has revealed that packages for annual events like Royal Ascot and the Chelsea Flower Show are outselling the Royal Wedding up to five-fold according to latest figures. This all comes despite the Royal Wedding being billed as the Wedding of the Year that has already spawned countless memorabilia, caused a clamour for lookalike engagement dresses and made waves across the world.

The coach holidays and short breaks consolidator, which is currently selling ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ one- and three-day Royal Wedding tours (http://www.door2tour.com/royal-wedding-tours.aspx) to join the crowds lining The Mall on the day of the wedding, say that since the breaks went on sale last November, sales have not beaten those of annual events like Wimbledon and the Cheltenham Gold Cup. In fact, despite impressive initial sales and extensive publicity, it features just 7th on the list of the most popular events for 2011, behind popular man band Take That’s Progress Live concert (currently in 5th position) and Royal Ascot trips (currently in 6th position).

The Wedding has made up just 8% of all events sales for this year, compared to 29% for the Chelsea Flower Show ( http://www.door2tour.com/chelsea-flower-show.aspx). Only events like the British Grand Prix, Strictly Come Dancing, the X Factor and the French Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe have sold fewer to date.

In addition to achieving fewer sales than annual events, the travel company claims that there are more people travelling both domestically and abroad in the week leading up to the wedding (commencing 25 April) and over the wedding weekend than there are booked to travel to the Royal Wedding itself. Destinations that customers are choosing to head to instead include Scotland, South Africa, Lake Garda and Germany’s Rhine Valley.

Kate Glanfield, web manager of Door2Tour.com said: “When the Royal Wedding package first went on sale, we saw an initial clamour for those wishing to book, and it’s important to point out that our figures don’t necessarily mean that Royal popularity is waning – it just means that people aren’t necessarily choosing to travel to London to be a part of it. Our customers are predominantly UK-based, so most people are either likely to be steering clear of London and opting to watch at home, or will be travelling to London independently on the day to catch a piece of the action.”

“It’s interesting to see that even though the Royal Wedding truly is a once-in-a-lifetime experience, our customers would rather go to the likes of Royal Ascot.”

VisitBritain shows how far your social network takes you

New app puts social network to the test

Much has been said about the power of Facebook and other social networking sites in bringing people together. Now, for the first time, it’s really being put to the test by VisitBritain.

Youth travel organisation STA Travel along with Travel CUTS, Transat Holidays and Britain’s national tourism agency VisitBritain have launched a new Facebook campaign to inspire Gen Y travellers to visit the UK.

The Gen Y campaign competition will only be available to facebook users in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

Unite the Invite is a new Facebook app, that tests the power of your social reach. The premise is simple: You register, upload a picture of yourself and are matched with another Facebook user, who is also involved in this “social experiment”. Simply post their picture to your wall and ask your friends to share it. Your challenge is to find your match faster than anyone else. If you do, you’ll win an exclusive trip for two to London, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow, Edinburgh or Cardiff.

The site will also include visitor information for each city so you can find out everything you need to know during the trip.

Each participant is given a virtual invitation to the UK. But there’s a catch – you’re only given you half of it. The other half is given to the mystery person you have to find on Facebook. If you find them and unite your invite faster than anyone else, you’ll each win an exclusive UK adventure that has been organized by our travel experts.

James Bell, STA Travel Commercial VP said: “With the Royal Wedding just a couple months away the UK has never had more reasons to celebrate – and there’s never been a more exciting time to visit.”

“The idea that we’re all connected by six degrees of separation has intrigued people for generations,” says Laurence Bresh, VisitBritain’s Director of Marketing. “This campaign attempts to prove that theory.  And, to our knowledge, no other tourist board or travel agency has taken this approach to engage students and young professionals.”

Mike Dawson Travel CUTS president added: “We’re excited to be partnering with VisitBritain to launch this innovative tool to capture the attention of the dynamic and selective Gen Y market.”

The Unite the Invite Facebook campaign is also being supported by traditional consumer PR outreach, STA student Brand Ambassadors and blogger engagement with key influencers.

Unite the Invite launched on Monday February 14^th, 2011 and can be accessed by visiting www.facebook.com/LoveUK. The social experiment will run until Sunday March 13^th, 2011 at 11.59 pm EST. Prize details: The fastest pair to Unite their Invite will each win a trip for two to the UK and can choose from six different prizes: London, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Glasgow or Cardiff.

The Gen Y campaign will be launched in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.