VISITBRITAIN REPORT
April 2008
1.
MARKETING
1.1
England Marketing
1.1.1 England Domestic Marketing
The New EnjoyEngland.com homepage went live on 1 April 2008 making it easier for
consumers to navigate to targeted content on destinations and experiences, and includes a
Flash-based carousel and interactive map. It also launched with the first in a series of videocasts on the site, dubbed “Enjoy England TV - You write the Script”. The first is presented by
Simon Calder and driven by customer ideas on the best things to do in Brighton.
Since the launch of the Culture 08 Campaign in January 2008, the campaign has already
achieved 50% of the target web visits (25,000 to date).
A new radio advertising campaign to drive footfall into TICs during Easter to “discover
England's hidden secrets” was launched. The project to introduce tourism information into 30
Waterstones stores continues to be developed with agreement for sole use of Enjoy England
branding to ensure better standout. The roll-out from May will be supported by PR to maximise
coverage.
1.1.2 England International Marketing
The joint campaign with Liverpool 08 in France resulted in: 200,000 web- visits and 13,500 optins for the England Microsite www.visitengland.fr/liverpool08. Further joint activities with
Liverpool are planned in Germany and France in April and May.
The total number of visits to VisitEngland International sites and VisitEngland campaign
websites is over 1.5m visits in the year to mid-March 2008.
1.1.3 Britain Digital Development
Digital Development has successfully rolled out enhanced product search functionality to
enjoyengland.com and visitbritain.com, enabling users to search for attraction and
accommodation venues participating in the new “Green” accreditation initiative. Work is
progressing on the development of the LOCOG website detailing venues for training camps for
the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
1.1.4 Britain Marketing
The new Sage CRM system has been rolled out to all UK and International users. VisitBritain’s
first Vodcast has been produced and hosted to demonstrate a detailed view of the new CRM
system, and provide a detailed walk-through and ‘how to use’ the full functionality for the global
user group.
Digital Marketing and TripAdvisor have been working together to identify the best content
sharing platform. This will allow much greater exposure for VisitBritain’s Quality Assessed
Accommodation Scheme members on the TripAdvisor platform.
A ‘Green Travel’ channel has been added to visitbritain.com, featuring the best of green things
to see and do in Britain: http://www.visitbritain.com/en/things-to-see-and-do/interests/greentravel/index.aspx
1.2
MARKETING SERVICES
1.2.1 Partnerships Team
British Travel Trade Fair took place at the NEC in Birmingham on 11 – 12 March. in total the
number of overseas hosted buyers exceeded 200 from over 30 active markets. This figure is
consistent with the previous two years, but with an increased focus on emerging markets,
notably India (24 buyers) and China (20 buyers). Anecdotal feedback from the buyers and
VisitBritain escorts indicate a high level of satisfaction. The event also included an exhibitor
networking party with over 400 attendees.
1.3
OVERSEAS
1.3.1
AMERICAS
‘Be a Brit Different’ - USA
The second year of “be a Brit different” (BABD) launcheD in March. The overall objectives of
reinvigorating the US Market, revitalising the British brand, generating regional/seasonal
spread and reinforcing value for money remain the same, as does the core target audience
(baby boomers).
The first year of BABD showcased Britain, but with a twist. This year, the execution goes edgier
with new banner advertising to break through the clutter as well as to avoid the “sea of
sameness” of travel promotions. The campaign will be 100% online, driving traffic to the BABD
website. That website will include destination information, a RSS feed focusing on “What’s on
top of British minds today”, events, travel deals and the introduction of “My British Friends.”
These “friends will be based in Britain and will provide local information so that Americans can
learn about the culture, food, insider tips from a reliable source – their British friend. We will
also be reaching out to customers through social media, using our British friends as lead
characters.
Visit London PR Programme
An agency style arrangement has been made for the VisitBritain US team to undertake some of
the US PR activities for Visit London. A one year contract from March has been signed and
Rachel Kelly has been appointed as a PR Executive to work on the account. Activities will
include:
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Maintaining a presence / contact point for Visit London in the US
Support and advice with US media
Press trip support - leisure and business
Support for one-to-one media briefings and media tours
Ad hoc media enquiries outside London office hours
Paul Gauger will oversee all activities in consultation with Ken Kelling/Jacqueline French of
Visit London. The contract will be reviewed in February 09 with a view to extend if successful
for both parties.
‘Britain - It’s Out There’ - Canada
The 2008/09 marketing campaign – “Britain: It’s Out There” was launched in February. The
objectives are to inspire Canadian consumers to see Britain in a fresh way, create an “It’s Out
There” feel about the destination, and deliver a sense that now is the time to visit Britain. The
main target audience is couples aged 35-65.
Brazil PR Success
Proxima Viagem Magazine, the second leading travel magazine in Brazil with a national
circulation of 70,000, featured a 23-page story on London luxury as their March feature and O
Estado de S.Paulo, a daily newspaper with a circulation of 400,000, published a 7-page story
on a rock and roll inspired itinerary around London.
B2B workshops in the USA
During February, VisitBritain has been on the road, holding trade events in New York, Los
Angeles and Chicago to promote our strategy for 2008/9. Encompassing ‘burning issues’ as
well as hot topics, the sessions also provided an ideal opportunity for the industry to meet the
relatively new team within VisitBritain USA.
VisitBritain USA participated in the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA)
annual conference in Seattle in January 2008. In conjunction with Visit London, Visit Scotland,
Visit Wales and Manchester/Liverpool, VisitBritain held a reception targeting approx 150
meeting planners in the Associations sector whom offer potential for bringing their Association
business to Britain.
Britain / France Promotion - Brazil
A joint trade campaign between VisitBritain Brazil, Maison de la France and Rail Europe has
delivered a brochure featuring suggestions and itineraries for Brazilians visiting Europe with the
aim of visiting two countries instead of one with Eurostar as the link between the two countries.
Visits to France exceed visits to Britain so this is an ideal opportunity to join forces with a major
competitor to generate incremental business to Britain. The brochure is designed for use by
travel agents, still a leading source of business in Brazil, and destination/product training will be
undertaken with the leading operators/agents to familiarize them with the product offering.
1.3.3
ASIA PACIFIC
Hong Kong
The Hong Kong market continues to develop strongly for Britain and 2007 was a record year
for outbound travel with the UK accounting for 5% of this. We estimate that about 250,000 visit
the UK, growing at circa 10% per annum. This is a 60% share of all Hong Kong visitors to
Europe and Britain remains the number one long-haul market ahead of Australia, USA and
Canada. There is a high level of repeat visitors (80%) with a long history of travel. Hong Kong
visitors are high spenders (over £900/visit) and deliver excellent regional spread.
The Hong Kong market is very well serviced by over 80 direct flights to the UK weekly,
including a low cost carrier (Oasis). The travel trade remain important with over 1,400 tour
operators and travel agencies, although booking and buying online has become much more
common in the last two years.
Key issues and actions:
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Maintain Britain as the top long-haul destination for Hong Kong via campaigns on and
offline, working through the press and trade.
Core focus on “Dynamic Britain” to contract and complement “Classic Britain” (British
quality). Need to recruit new visitors who perhaps have less historic links. In
particular, film, sport, music and fashion, coupled to experiences and journeys.
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Marketing partnerships are key going forward. Action: need to see specific plans for
“Dynamic Britain”, coupled to existing “Classic Britain partners”.
Equestrian Olympics - need to develop a joint VB/VL plan to present Britain and
London to the Olympic community in Hong Kong for the Games. Action: Hong Kong
office will work with VB and VL in London to develop an engagement strategy.
In general, the Hong Kong market is in excellent shape and we need to maintain preeminence of Britain and maximise the Olympic-related opportunities.
Korea
The Korean market remains a recent success story for VisitBritain with visitors having doubled
in recent years and quadrupled over the last ten years to circa 160,000 visitors. Korea is a little
like Japan over a decade ago as GDP growth (+4.7%) and a new and more confident
generation take to the skies. Currently the outbound market is 13m, but this is expected to
increase to 19m by 2011. Local markets such as China, Japan and Thailand enjoy most
visitors with the UK only 17th with a 1.2% outbound share. However, in terms of aspiration, the
UK is ranked 3rd out of 38 countries if money were no object.
The limitation to the market is very constrained aviation with only Asiana and Korean Air flying
direct to London, but at a lead cost in excess of £800.
Key issues and actions:
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Many of our competitors have a strong set up in Korea (Australia, Canada, France,
Italy and Switzerland). Action: need to consider the distribution of resource in the
context that Japan receives 20% of VB’s Asian resource for 10% of the business.
Key to the future of the market are direct flights from a UK carrier. Action: need to
prepare a case as to the future of the market.
Korea is a massively mobile-orientated market (alongside Japan). Action: need to
further develop our mobile website (with Japan) and need a committed web
development plan.
Japan
Japan remains a challenge for Britain. In the mid-1990s Japan was our 3rd biggest long-haul
market with over 600,000 visitors , but now occupies a declining position with about 320,000.
In general, outbound travel is in decline (-2%), but this disguises strong regional growth (to
China, Korea and Thailand) and serious decline long-haul (to Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii,
US and Europe) with UK down -9% and France down nearly -20%. Reasons for this include a
relatively weak Yen (now 200:£1), a less travel-orientated younger population, reduction of
investment in the market over recent years, concentration of the travel trade with the top seven
controlling 77% of outbound sales (JTB and HIS almost half). Limited slots at Narita does not
encourage a “low cost carrier” model. While BA and Virgin only take a handful of online direct
bookings, while price reductions are often retained by the wholesale market.
VisitBritain has excellent insights into the market and continues to outperform the market with a
more modest decline. We have just concluded three years of Happy Britain reflecting British
experiences to key Japanese segments (baby boomers/Dankais and Makeinu/office ladies).
The three year campaign generated £9m of PR, over 2m web visitors and 330,000 consumer
walk-throughs, with over 50 partners contributing to the success. In 2008 we move into the 150
year celebration of Japan and Britain with events and exhibitions. VisitBritain are partnering
Maison de la France who also celebrate 150 years.
Key issues and actions:
We have a strong VB team (of eight) in Japan who have done well to maintain our share of a
declining market. However, we have slipped to 19 in the ranking of Japanese destinations with
China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Thailand and Taiwan now in the top ten. Although the Yen
does not help, Britain has lost its fashionable status and lacks the “buzz” of newer destinations.
The poorly-perceived welcome and terrorism issues also play against us. Furthermore, the
Japanese travel trade still sell Britain as a traditional (heritage/culture) destination. In many
ways the Japanese market does not see Britain as an energetic and vibrant destination.
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Need to communicate a more energetic and vibrant Britain.
Establish a better value equation (e.g. Oyster cards/free museums).
Encourage the trade to redevelop and better present the British product.
Roll out the Welcome Promise to counter recent negativity about Heathrow and Glasgow.
Action: we need a new three-year plan for Japan to take us beyond “Happy Britain” to a more
motivating proposition of “safe experiences” combining the traditional virtues and values of
Britain with a more specific interest and experience offer.
The plan needs the following: a product development and trade marketing strategy for the
travel trade; a combined Britain and London brand positioning strategy; and a communications
and marketing plan to deliver the updated product and brand position.
South Asia Middle East & Africa
A classic Britain cross-regional multi-channel lifestyle campaign was launched in March that will
potentially reach 300 million people. The campaign consists of a 45 second Britain TV
commercial (TVC) and a second shorter 15 second Britain TVC with a flight offer from British
Airways attached. The TVCs will be shown during prime TV slots (i.e. premier of Casino
Royale) on the Star Network across South East Asia, Hong Kong, India and the Middle East.
The second element of the campaign is the distribution of a campaign brochure in women’s
magazines across Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and India. Traffic from TVC and brochures
are directed to a campaign micro-site.
India
VisitBritain India has just finished its biggest ever hosted buyers programme to the ENC region
and BTTF. 42 buyers and 4 media representatives from across India were jointly hosted by
ENC and VisitBritain. This shows how VisitBritain goes about developing trade work in an
emerging country and also our commitment to working alongside strategic partners. This
programme sits within a wider marketing campaign agreed with ENC.
London has been confirmed as the host city for the Annual Congress of the Travel Agents
Association of India, the main umbrella trade body in India. This is the first time this congress
has been held outside India. Over 400 delegates are expected to attend in September. Visit
London is the key sponsor. VisitBritain is supporting.
UAE
Our Shop Til You Drop’ campaign (version of campaign running in Thailand, Singapore and
Malaysia) was launched in January and runs until the end of April. It has enticed, amongst
others, four families to travel to the UK and France, who have splurged on six first class tickets
and a week each in the UK and France in 5 star hotels. The estimated price of this single
booking for airfares and hotels alone is £70,000. Data capture is also going well, with over 500
names collected so far for follow-up marketing. February footfall for London’s West End shops
was up 5% year-on-year, defying the national drop in High Street footfall, which was down 5%.
Middle Eastern tourists ranked as the top tourist group. Luxury retailers report high spenders
with some record transactions of £30,000 plus. According to Global Refund Index the Middle
East market has retained its first place within the top ten nationalities. In total the Middle East
accounted for 33% of all Global Refund sales for February.
Emirates announced plans to operate a double daily from Dubai to Heathrow from December
2008. Emirates currently flies 14 times a day to 6 UK destinations.
South Africa
No further decisions have been announced about the possible introductions of Visas for
travelling to the UK. The media efforts by VisitBritain and the High Commission have helped to
clear some of the confusion that has been caused by early media reports. Further to this, the
current working holiday visa scheme is also set to be scrapped. This will be replaced with a
youth migration permit which basically works on a points system. VisitBritain and the High
Commission are working together to develop plans on how to inform agents and media over
coming months.
1.3.4
EUROPE
Liverpool, Capital of Culture 2008
Nordics
The VisitBritain stand at TUR, Sweden’s biggest travel show held in Gothenburg in March this
year, had a strong focus on raising awareness for Liverpool 08.
Germany, Austria & Switzerland
The Liverpool 08 theme has been consistently integrated in all consumer, trade and PR
communication over the past few months and VisitBritain Berlin has supported eight individual
press visits, resulting in press coverage worth £2.2m advertising equivalence.
France
VisitBritain, VisitEngland and Liverpool have joined forces in the French market to make the
most of the opportunity to promote Liverpool through PR work, raising the profile of the city as
the ultimate short break destination in 2008. Key results to date include a successful launch
event at the British Embassy in Paris attended by 62 journalists; partners secured such as
easyJet (to fly journalists to Liverpool) and EMI (to promote the January launch event and
Ringo Starr’s new album); 20 individual press visits to Liverpool; two group press trips and the
creation of a special package in conjunction with Gaéland Ashling (a French tour operator).
This integrated approach has resulted in just over £2.3m worth of media coverage to date.
Benelux
Nine Belgian press trips have been organised to date to promote Liverpool 08, including a radio
station and a TV station. VisitBritain and VisitEngland have assisted eight journalists from the
Netherlands with trips to Liverpool. In October the Benelux team organised a joint fam trip to
Liverpool with five Belgian and four Dutch trade partners. On the consumer front, special
Liverpool web pages have been produced and regular Liverpool updates are included in enewsletters.
Spain
An online Liverpool 08 campaign targeted at DINKS and SINKS sports fans was run in the
Spanish market from November of last year until March of this year. Campaign themes were
2008 Capital of Culture, music and sports. The campaign elements were banner ads in
mainstream and sports-related online media, and PPC with Google and Yahoo. A campaign
micro-site was also created taking advantage of the interest created in Spain as a result of five
Spanish footballers and a Spanish coach at Liverpool FC. Press work to supplement the
Liverpool 08 campaign has been impressive with 15 press trips organised and 78 broadcast,
radio, online and print articles generated, resulting in media coverage equal to £2.8m
equivalent advertising value. On the travel trade front, VisitBritain participated in the launch of
Ryanair’s new hub at Valencia airport in October, coupled with the launch of a direct flight
between Valencia and Liverpool. Liverpool sales missions have also taken place in Madrid and
Barcelona and the VisitBritain stand at FITUR, Spain’s premier travel show, included a
Liverpool theme.
Europe’s “Made in London” Campaign
Made in London, our first pan-European campaign is coming to a close across Europe.
Designed by one of our roster agencies, the concept was rolled out in 12 European markets
(France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Austria
and Switzerland) to promote off-season short-breaks in London, along with key partners British
Airways, Visit London and in some markets, Radisson Edwardian Hotels.
Spain’s “Discover Wales” Campaign
VisitBritain and Visit Wales recently launched a campaign that will run over two financial years.
The campaign comprises online and offline elements and one particular highlight is the use of a
blog dedicated to Wales, launched in January to create a “buzz” and position Wales within the
Spanish blog-sphere, outside the VisitBritain and web environment, written by independent
“bloggers” who have credibility in the most transparent media format.
Events Update
Germany - ITB Berlin
ITB Berlin 2008 took place in early March and is the world’s largest tourism trade show with just
over 11,000 exhibitors and over 110,000 trade visitors this year (40% of these from outside
Germany). VisitBritain recruited 45 companies to our stand, ten of which were new exhibitors.
All four main strategic partners were present and their strong branding on the stand reflected
Germany’s status as an agency market. Liverpool 08 was the theme of a Press and PR
reception on the stand which was attended by 50 journalists.
Russia - MITT
Twelve partners joined VisitBritain on the Britain stand at MITT, the largest Russian tourism
and travel exhibition, in March. The exhibition saw over 40,000 visitors in four days and a
networking reception was organised in the British embassy and attracted over 100 Russian tour
operators. MITT is still one of the leading platforms for the tourism industry in Russia and
agents from all over the country attended.
France - “So British” Event
A successful workshop and networking event for the travel trade took place in Paris in February
2008. The event attracted 50 French buyers who had the opportunity to meet suppliers and
representatives from 25 British companies. The event had a musical theme and featured a live
acoustic set by Joey Ankrah, a Liverpool-based musician.
Belgium - “Meet the Media” Event
This event took place in Brussels at the end of January and brought together 72 Belgian
journalists and 22 destination and commercial partners. The event was a success with very
positive feedback from partners.
Commercial Update
VisitBritain Europe is working to increase group sales from our online shops. In Spain, visitors
to the shop are encouraged to contact VisitBritain for group discounts, and this has created
interest from travel agencies, associations and schools. As a result, group sales have now
risen to 57% of total sales, compared to 22% this time last year. In France we are continuing to
promote the shop via the key travel trade publications and total trade sales.
Russia – Continued visa issues
March 2008 saw another visa-related problem in Russia when, due to staffing issues, the visa
section in the British Embassy extended the lead period for biometric data collection. This
means that the whole process now takes six to eight weeks. This extension in the time taken
to process visas happened without any notice and led to massive losses to tour operators
having booked block seats and hotels for the Russian public holiday period at the beginning of
May. Whilst the situation is expected to improve from May, April and May will most likely see a
considerable decrease in visitors from Russia compared to the same period last year.
2.
COMMERCIAL & MARKETING SERVICES
2.1
Business Visits & Events
A successful ‘final’ British Travel Trade Fair was held at the NEC this year with much positive
feedback from visitors and exhibitors alike. Unaudited visitor numbers were down -1% on the
previous year, undoubtedly impacted by the adverse weather conditions and train
cancellations. Final show square meterage was 2,047.06 sqm, down -5% on the previous year.
Following the recent re-tender of the BTTF contract, the new show concept, Best of Britain,
was launched at this year's BTTF. Best of Britain will be a four-day event held at ExCeL in
London, with the first day (or day and a half) being a dedicated trade day (BTTF), followed by a
three-day (or two-and-a-half day) consumer show. Dates: 26-29 March 2009. Industry
consultation was not possible under EU procurement regulations during the tendering process,
but this is now proceeding to fine-tune the event offering and ensure it meets current BTTF
exhibitor and visitor needs, as well as those of our new target audience and other British
tourism and lifestyle products/suppliers. The management contract for BTTF has been awarded
to International Motor Industry Events Limited (as BoB Events Limited), which is the organiser
of the British International Motor Show. The IMIE team have extensive experience in both trade
and consumer events (RSVP, Destinations, BBC Good Food Show, Daily Telegraph House &
Garden Fair among others).
Nearly 200 buyers attended Meet England’s first UK event, Unique England, in London. The
event was hailed a huge success both by partners (over 60 unique venues represented,) and
by buyers who enjoyed the relaxed, informative atmosphere.
The IMEX exhibition, dedicated to the business visits and events sector, takes place in
Frankfurt from 22-24 April. The Britain Pavilion this year has 24 partners (up from 21 in 2007),
including Visit Wales, Visit Manchester, The Mersey Partnership, Newcastle-Gateshead
Initiative, VisitBrighton, Destination Oxford, plus a good variety of venues and DMCs.
2.2
Publishing
As agreed at the February Board, the licensing agreement with the Heritage House Group in
relation to VisitBritain's consumer publishing brands is scheduled to be executed on 1.4.08.
with VisitBritain’s contractual position strengthened in those areas identified as of concern to
the Board – protection against closure of titles; protection of product quantity; VisitBritain
control over use of its brands; protection for VisitBritain’s broader online activities.
The BOV exhibition at the Oxo Gallery, timed to coincide with British Tourism Week, was very
successful and attracted nearly 19,000 visitors (2,000 up on 2007) and a record for this venue.
We are re-licensing In Britain, following notice being served by Archant, the incumbent
publishers, after a major internal reorganisation.
The Accommodation Know-How service has achieved its first-year subscription target, with
multi-user licensing deals being agreed with a number to key public sector and industry
stakeholders.
2.3
Business Development
Three new BMI ‘white label’ shops have now gone live - France and the Netherlands plus
English language rest-of-world. We are concurrently developing nine new white label shops for
Eurostar and P&O, all with April launch dates in markets including France, Holland, Germany
and Belgium.
The new Red Letter Days integrated ‘book & buy’ capability went live in February, allowing
bookable days out and experiences to be booked through EnjoyEnglandDirect with online
voucher fulfilment.
The ‘contracts pending’ list continues to grow with verbal agreements for shop platform
distribution having been reached with Visa VFS (Global), Clickair (Spain) and Thomas Cook
(India). Conversations are well advanced with Virgin (offline sales on London-Japan route),
STA and ExCel.
As was the case in Q3/4 of last year, the e-commerce shops are experiencing an uplift in their
daily takings totals. Annual online shop income is forecast to finish at 100% vs. 2006/7.
2.4
Quality
Following the February board, we have agreed a 12-month ‘contract variation’ with GSL which
has the effect of:
a)
deferring the requirement for a fundamental contract re-write until after the strategic
review.
b)
providing us with an agreement for 08/09 which is broadly comparable with those
which have covered the previous three years, with the addition of some new KPIs
which help us monitor performance variances more closely (and earlier).
Under this 'deferred' solution, the risk remains with VisitBritain in year four and would revert to
GSL in year five.
A three-part sustainable tourism accreditation programme was launched at BTTF:
Part One – Integration with national standards: is working to integrate sustainability into the
National Quality Assessment Standards and minimise any perceived areas of conflict.
Part Two – Entry Level Programme (Green Start): is a two-year entry level programme for use
primarily by accommodation providers and visitor attractions, designed to assist those that
have an interest in sustainability but are not sure how to put it into practice.
Part Three – Validation, recognises well established sustainable certification schemes, giving
their quality assessed participants full marketing benefits, both online and offline, provided that
the scheme operators adhere to a set of core criteria that ensures the scheme is rigorous, wellfounded and based on sound sustainable principles.
2.5
Business Services
The first-phase build has been completed on a new B2B e-CRM system which will go live in the
UK on 7 May. The new system will enable much improved relationship management
capabilities across the organisation and support an enhanced stakeholder communication
strategy for 08/09.
The current corporate website has been revamped to support this increased comms
programme.
2.6
EnglandNet
The Polling Service administration database now includes details of c.15,500 products, the
availability and pricing of which can be obtained through 34 consolidators (25 Regional/DMO, 9
commercial). Notably, Premier Inn (c.500 properties) has completed its Polling integration.
Overall, the National Tourism Product Database now contains details of c.42,000
accommodation providers, c.12,250 attractions and c.4,400 ‘live’ events.
3.
STRATEGY & COMMUNICATIONS
3.1.1 Corporate PR
Corporate PR hosted a lunch for around 20 Westminster-based lobby journalists representing
newspapers spanning the regions of Britain including The Yorkshire Post, Western Morning
News, PA News and ITV Regional News. The event has already paid dividends as a large
amount of positive coverage has been generated around British Tourism Week and excellent
media contacts made.
Activity around British Tourism Week, including engaging the media in the lead up to the event,
and hosting journalists at the launch event itself. In support of this year's BTTF, corporate
PR briefed on key messages for the opening speeches including managing the attendance of
opening celebrity Tony Robinson and placing pan-Britain regional news stories and interviews
in the lead up to the event to encourage attendance and awareness. Individual meetings were
held with travel trade media to secure support for the announcement of the new look BTTF Best of Britain.
Corporate PR achieved extensive coverage around the effect of the weather over Easter on
tourism, including nearly all national newspapers, working in partnership with the RAC.
3.1.2 Global PR
There has been a flurry of TV crews arriving including: pan-Asian Jade TV covering the Torch
relay and other London stories; Central China TV, VisitBritain's most important media
partner, covering film locations in London, East of England, Yorkshire and Scotland; The Great
Outdoors travel programme from Australia visiting London, Manchester and Newcastle; and
TV3 New Zealand exploring London with a top rugby player and musician.
Press groups visiting this month include Middle Eastern journalists covering luxury fashion in
London; Swiss hunting ghosts and the undead in Yorkshire and Cumbria; and Australians and
South Africans exploring dynamic London, Glasgow and Liverpool.
3.1.3 England PR
England PR organised a successful media lunch in Dublin to launch the Spring campaign in
Ireland - Discover the Real Northern England (in association with ENC). More than 20
journalists attended. Coverage has since appeared in the Irish Times' new travel magazine with
a feature on Liverpool, plus coverage expected in the Irish Daily Star, Evening Herald, Herald
AM and Galway Advertiser series. Also in Ireland, the team scored a major broadcast coup with
a programme on Shopping In London on RTE travel show ‘No Frontiers’, which featured verbal
and on-screen mentions for enjoyengland.ie/citybreaks and full online factbox.
Ongoing PR support for Liverpool Capital of Culture and EE Culture 08 campaign has
delivered coverage in the Daily Telegraph, News of the World, thelondonpaper, Times
Online and Time Magazine. The Rural Escapes campaign was covered extensively in
the Independent magazine, 'The Information', with a front-page feature on 50 best spring days
out and Laurence Bresh quoted extensively as a panellist and credit for
www.enjoyengland.com/ruralescapes.
The EnjoyEngland Awards for Excellence are featuring the first consumer-voted for award this
year. The shortlist for the Best Day Out Award was drawn from recommendations on the
enjoyengland website with the final consumer vote run on TravelMail and promoted in the Mail
on Sunday.
3.2
Public Affairs
British Tourism Week
The second annual British Tourism Week (BTW) took place from 10-18 March, sponsored this
year by Arora International Hotels. BTW aims to raise the national and international awareness
of the size, value and importance of Britain's £85 billion visitor economy.
A launch event was held on Monday 10 March at Altitude, a new contemporary venue on the
29th floor of Millbank Tower in London where 150 guests from tourism businesses across the
country, including the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport & Minister for Tourism,
with messages from both HRH The Prince of Wales as Patron of British Tourism Week and
Prime Minister the Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP.
This kicked off a week which saw around 130 events take place nationwide, with the second
Wales Tourism Week (WTW) running concurrently and the third Scottish Tourism Week (STW)
overlapping from 4-11 March. With twice the number of events that took place in 2007, the
signature event was the British Travel Trade Fair in Birmingham on 11 & 12 March, others
included a BFI screening of tourism promotional films from decades past, MPs going ‘back to
the floor’ at tourism businesses in their constituencies and a series of free walking tours
organised by Blue Badge Guides.
In the lead up to BTW, Britain on View also organised their third exhibition of photography from
around the UK’s coast and countryside at the Oxo Gallery from 21 February-9 March, with
18,000 visitors in just over two weeks.