enjoy tourism in england, here and now 2007

28-30 November 2007

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, launches a section of its website, www.enjoyengland.com/monopoly, designed to inform consumers of all they can enjoy in the English locations that feature on the new Here and Now version of Monopoly.

VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, launches a section of its website, www.enjoyengland.com/monopoly, designed to inform consumers of all they can enjoy in the English locations that feature on the new Here and Now version of Monopoly.

Although Monopoly has said "the towns and cities represented are clearly the places people feel most passionate about”, VisitBritain takes issue with the board’s placement of Liverpool as the lowest rated ‘property’ on the board, taking the place of Old Kent Road.

The tourist board has created a special ‘Monopoly’ page on its website, www.enjoyengland.com, to raise potential visitors’ familiarity with all the English destinations. In particular it aims to remind people that far from being the least valued place, Liverpool will reap the rewards of international attention as it celebrates European Capital of Culture in 2008. 

Patricia Yates, head of publicity and PR, says: “I think it’s fantastic that more than a million people were inspired to vote for the places they live in or visit to appear on this latest version of Monopoly. However, some of choices indicate we still have work to do to remind people that many of England’s destinations have undergone a great deal of change in recent years.” 

The places on the Monopoly Here and Now Board 2007:

According to VisitBritain’s research, international visitors have a different picture of England’s towns and cities.

Brown

Liverpoolreceived 625,000 visits from overseas in 2006. It is now the sixth most popular destination for international visitors with visits rising 229% from 15^th place in 2002 since 2003’s announcement of its success at European Capital of Culture.

Leedsreceived 292,000 visits in 2006, despite reports that Chelsea Davy dislikes the city. Prior to 2001, Leeds didn’t even make it into the top 20 most popular destinations with visits below 150,000, so has seen a 95% increase at least.

Pale Blue

One of the ‘wild card’ locations, Middlesbrough is the first Yellow Pages directory to receive a fantastic new look thanks to a new partnership between the Yell Group and VisitBritain. Six pages of information will inspire directory users to discover great days out on their doorstep, in their area and further afield.

Pink

Manchesteris consistently in the top three most popular destinations for international visitors (except 2002 when Birmingham replaced it) with 912,000 in 2006 – up 69% from 1999. Six of 2006’s top paid attractions in England are in Greater Manchester. The Lowry alone receives an estimated 850,000 visits every year.

Orange

Lincoln’s cathedral is the sixth most visited paid attraction in the East Midlands with visits up 4%. It has benefited from being a filming location for 2006 blockbuster The Da Vinci Code and in 2008, The Young Victoria will use it as a double for Westminster Abbey in the re-enactment of Queen Victoria’s coronation.

Red

Keele, another ‘wild card’ location, made it onto the board thanks to a campaign led by the local university. Although less familiar than other destinations on the board, an estate in Keele,northern Staffordshirewas given to the Knights Templars by Henry II, probably in 1168-9. With apopulation of 3,664, most of whom are students, its name comes from the Anglosaxon for Cow-hill

Yellow

Birminghamhas seen international visits rise 56% to 779,000 in 2006 from 500,000 in 1999. Fourth most popular destination, it will once again host the showcase for British tourism, the British Travel Trade Fair on 11 and 12 March 2008, which headlines the second British Tourism Week from 10 March.

Green

International visits to Nottingham have risen by 22% since 1999 to 219,000 in 2006. Sherwood Forest is one of the projects hoping to win The People’s £50 Million Lottery Giveaway (www.thepeoples50million.org.uk). If it wins,Sherwood: the Living Legend will increase the size of the ancient oak forest; provide environmentally friendly visitor facilities; and create one of the biggest walking, cycling and horse riding networks in Europe.

Royal Blue

In Exeter, you will find theworld's narrowest street. Parliament Street, which dates from the 14th century, is approximately 1.2m (45") at its widest and less than 0.64m (25") at its narrowest. You can also find the Exeter Book, an original manuscript and one of the most important documents in Anglo-Saxon literature. Dating back to the 10th century, it is one of four manuscripts that between them contain virtually all the surviving poetry in Old English including a series of riddles,a handful of which are famously lewd.

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For further information, please contact:
Patricia Yates, Head of Publicity and PR on 020 8563 3262, mob: 07971 497003

Elliott Frisby, Corporate PR Manager on 020 8563 3035, mob: 07951 996241

Notes to Editors

·        VisitBritain is responsible for promoting Britain as a world class tourist destination and for developing England's visitor economy through Enjoy England campaigns and initiatives.

·        UKresidents took 101 million trips, spending £16.2 billion in England in 2006.Since its launch in 2003, Enjoy England has been responsible for £450m of incremental spend on short breaks in England. In addition to national TV advertising campaigns to inspire British visitors to share their secrets of England, the current portfolio of campaigns focuses on city breaks, outdoor activities, food and drink and indulgent escapes. Enjoy England also markets England in France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

·        Visit the England press centre at www.enjoyengland.com/presscentre.