1

Developing and promoting England’s world-

class tourism product

Lyndsey Turner Swift, Head of England Planning & Delivery

22nd March 2018

2

Our aims

• VisitBritain: Market the nations and regions of Britain overseas

to drive growth in international leisure and business tourism.

• VisitEngland: Maintain distinct activities to develop and market

England tourism.

3

Our ActivityVisitBritain Activity VisitEngland

• #OMGB – Home of Amazing

Moments

• I Travel For

Marketing & Digital Content • #OMGB – Home of Amazing

Moments

• Join the World: Discover the UK

• New focus, in line with Tourism

Action Plan

Business Visits & Events • New focus, in line with Tourism

Action Plan

• Inbound trends & Britain’s

competitiveness

Research • Statutory research & product

development research (DEF)

• 800 press trips

• Film Tourism – James Bond,

Fantastic Beats and Where to

Find Them

PR • 2017 – Year of Literary Heroes

• Film Tourism – BFG, Swallows &

Amazons

• Commercial partnerships Developing Partnerships • Regional partnerships

Business Support • Business Support Hub

• Rail Itineraries

• Food Hubs

Product Development • £40m 3-year Discover England

Fund

• BTIG

• Welcome Group

Engagement • English Destinations Forum

4

The Discover England Fund

5

• Announced by

Government in 2015

• Currently at the end of

Year 2 of 3

• £40million investment

• The fund will ensure that England stays competitive in

the rapidly growing global tourism industry, by offering

world-class English tourism products to the right

customers at the right time.

The Discover England Fund

6

Fund Objectives

• To grow tourism in the regions of

England

• To increase the competitiveness

of England’s tourism offer,

domestically and internationally

• To develop world-class bookable

tourism products in line with

market trends and in response

to consumer demands

7

Barriers to inbound growth that the Fund is

trying solve

• Awareness and lack of regional product

• International competitiveness and responsiveness to

customer demand

• Connectivity and joining up product for the

consumer (including travel and transport, digital)

• Last mile

• Aggregation and bookability (distribution channels)

• Fragmented delivery landscape

8

Grant funding to date

YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3

20 PilotProjects

6 Pilot ProjectsYear 1 Amplification

14 Large-Scale (2 yearprojects)Pilot Projects TBCYear 2 Amplification

Current Total40 Projects

£19.2 Million

9

DEF successes so far (Year 1 Projects)

• 160 bookable itineraries and

product clusters

• 39 fam trips (press and

trade)

• Over 1,200 individuals

engaged across a range of

product workshops and

events

• Sales of 1,365 passes and

packages

• Improved partnership

working among tourism

stakeholders

10

Large-Scale Project Examples

11

The Collection

Lead body: England’s Historic Cities

England’s Historic Cities have been globally significant

for 2000 years and represent some of the best of

England’s heritage product. Brought together for the

first time they provide a compelling reason for

international visitors to explore England beyond

London. Introducing The Collection, 15 significant

historic cities in regional England. Packaged with

London as the main gateway. Focused on rail as main

mode of transport. Encouraging exploration into city

hinterlands. Gathering together commissionable

product to support the travel trade.

Market: US (Eastern Seaboard)

Customer segment: Cultural Adventurers (age 25-39)

12

Growing Manchester as an international

gateway to the North

Lead body: Marketing Manchester

This project will increase the volume of visitors

coming through Manchester Airport by creating

itineraries that showcase the city, and excursions

that open up the North of England. Working with

destinations, travel trade and the tourism industry

and targeting the US market, Marketing

Manchester will lead a partnership to maximise

the potential of the North of England as an

international destination and gateway to the North.

Market: US

Customer segment (Mangrove): Lifestyle

Travellers

13

New Project:

East Of England Touring Route

Lead Body: Newcastle Gateshead Initiative

This project will create a 300-mile touring route that

spans the length of Eastern England from London to

Northumberland. Packaging up food and drink,

accommodation, attractions and transport options

along the route visitors will be able to book English

experiences.

Market: German

Customer Segments: Cultural Adventurers and

Mature Experience Seekers

14

• DMC integration

• Research and evaluation

• Overseas Product Development

Managers

• Relationship Management

• Business support toolkits

• Scoping further strategic options

• Looking into legacy options

VE/VB Central Activity

15Friday, March 23, 2018

Our marketing approach

16

Our audience

Explorers Buzzseekers

17

Our customers’ journey

PASSIVE INSPIRATIONACTIVE

IDEATIONEXPLORING OPTIONS BUILD ITINERARIES

GROWING ANTICIPATION

ON THE GROUNDSHARE AND ADVOCATE

JO

UR

NE

Y

Make them think of Britain differently Help them plan Help them shareHelp them travel

OU

R R

OLE

CH

AN

NE

L E

.G.

18

The “always-on” approachA

CT

IVIT

Y

19

Our approach to content

Broadcast

messaging

Own-channel

focused

Limited use of data

Content tailored to

audience

Distribution-led

Data and insight

driven

Help us with engaging content ideas, stories, experiences and

personalities!

20

Foreign travellers feel they already know exactly

what to expect from Britain

The world’s most wonderfully unexpected island

THE

PROBLEM

OUR

STRATEGY

Our brand strategy

21

Platform Idea

I TRAVEL FOR…

Travel Passions (per market)

I travel for adventure

I travel for fun

I travel for food & drink

I travel for culture

Expected/Unexpected

Link expected and unexpected to

travel passions putting people at

the heart

22

visitbrita in.com

Cool Cit ies

visitbrita in.com

365 DAYS

visitbrita in.com

Coastal + Country Life

23

www.visitbritain.com/jointheworld

• Influencer content

• Blog articles

• UGC imagery from Instagram

• Top-line inspiration with added

anecdotes and interesting details

• Send the user to various partners

to book/find out more.

Domestic campaign:

Join the World – Discover the UK

24

Industry Involvement

•Use the hashtags

#Lovegreatbritain and

#LoveUK

•Submit tailored

experiences, images and

video content to

domestic.marketing@visi

tengland.org

•Toolkit in progress.

25

English Tourism Week

Friday, March 23,

2018

26

For further information:

www.visitbritain.org

www.discoverenglandfund.org

www.englishtourismweek.org