VisitBritain has announced that it is partnering with Hostelworld.com to target the important budget, independent and youth travel market as part of its £125m “GREAT Britain, You’re Invited” programme. The cooperative campaign between the two organisations will be rolled out early in 2013 and initially focus on the highly important German market.
The agreement with Hostelworld.com will see TV advertising rolled out across Germany promoting Britain as a must see holiday destination and encouraging travellers to explore the UK using the wide network of accommodation available on the number one hostel booking website.
Germany accounts for 10% of all visits to the UK, with nearly 3 million German travellers spending £1.25 billion in 2011. Holiday visits from 16-34 year olds from Germany have also been rising steadily over the last few years (up 17% compared to 2004), while there has also been 29% growth in the number of younger Germans staying in hostel/university style accommodation.(1)
The resilient budget and youth market is an increasingly important segment for Britain as the national tourism agency looks to attract an extra 4.6 million overseas visitors by 2015. With the global economic growth outlook still subdued, many travellers are understandably choosing their accommodation abroad based on cost. This was highlighted in a recent survey by Hostelworld.com and Lonely Planet which showed nearly 90% of those questioned would not be prepared to pay more than $US100 per night for a room and with a majority of respondents willing to reduce accommodation costs in order to have their holiday of choice.(2)
Director of Marketing Laurence Bresh said: “This campaign will allow us to build on the steady growth seen from the German youth market over the last few years, as well as helping us to target those more discerning travellers wanting cheaper accommodation options when planning a trip overseas.
“Hostelworld.com offers a great range of rooms for travellers coming to the UK, with a great regional spread providing the chance for visitors to experience our history and culture, and explore our lush countryside. Alongside that, not only can visitors get fantastic bargains and a great social atmosphere at each location, but they will find modern and innovative accommodation on offer these days that includes private rooms, ensuites and free Wi-Fi, so really ideal for backpackers, flashpackers, gap-packers or grey nomads looking to stretch their travel budget further.”
Adam Davidson, spokesperson for Hostelworld.com said: “We’re very proud to be Visit Britain’s partner of choice in this exciting initiative. As the most trusted hostel booking site (2) Hostelworld.com look forward to promoting the value that hostels represent and the opportunity this gives people to travel to the UK more frequently, stay longer and see more, than they would otherwise be able to afford to do. We expect to encourage an ever larger number of people to take advantage of this great value way of visiting Britain.”
