From the start of April, England’s new tourism body, VisitEngland, will work with key stakeholders to create and lead on the delivery of a national tourism strategy, optimise marketing investment and develop the visitor experience across England. A high profile marketing campaign, targeted research and activity to increase and promote quality are in place to help English Tourism achieve its full potential.
Despite the growth of overseas travel, domestic tourism remains highly relevant for the majority of the British population. VisitEngland research has shown that 63% of Brits expect to take an English break or holiday in the next year. Its research has also shown that there are barriers to travelling abroad – the main one being exchange rates affecting the affordability of certain destinations. Conversely, potential visitors to England from overseas see the exchange rate as making them more likely to visit.
Following the insights gained from its research, VisitEngland currently has a number of major marketing campaigns either live or in development to support the success of English tourism this year. This includes a £3 million campaign to be launched in April 2009 which will have a strong ‘value’ message and include television and national press advertising.
Tourist Information
Planning a trip and need help with travel bookings or creating an itinerary? Contact a Tourist Information Centre in the region you want to visit.
The work of the Insight team at VisitEngland currently includes ongoing research to help England’s tourism industry understand the impact of the credit crunch on both the domestic and international visitor markets. This research highlights the challenges and opportunities for the industry in the year ahead - while some 90% of the population are cutting back on their overall spend, the importance of holidays mean that these are more protected than many other areas, while 1 in 5 of those who took an overseas holiday last year have said that they would consider switching to the UK this year to save money.
Further Insights information (www.tourismtrade.org.uk/MarketIntelligenceResearch/)
VisitEngland’s work to drive excellence in the quality of England’s tourism experience also continues in 2009. At the heart of this is VisitEngland’s portfolio of Quality Assessed Schemes which currently include over 24,000 accommodation businesses across nine schemes – all visited in person by our assessors. Further Quality information
The annual Enjoy England Awards for Excellence, celebrating their 20th anniversary this year, showcase the very highest standards of quality in English tourism. These awards are organised by VisitEngland and generate a huge amount of positive interest in the best of English tourism. This year, the award ceremony takes place on St George’s Day, 23 April in York.
Further Awards information
Meet England - Business Visits and Events (www.meetengland.com)
Meet England is VisitEngland's official tourism guide to meetings, conferences and events in England. It provides a free online venue search facility for over 5000 meeting venues in England and gives helpful tips and new ideas to event organisers.
Image library
Search, browse and order images.
VisitBritain Corporate site (www.visitbritain.org)
Find out more about VisitBritain's role.