VisitBritain kicks off next phase of campaign in France, Germany and GCC countries to boost tourism to Britain

October 2023

National tourism agency VisitBritain is kicking off the next stage of its marketing campaigns in France, Germany and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries to boost tourism across Britain’s nations and regions with a focus on off peak and shoulder season travel.

The multi-million-pound GREAT Britain advertising campaigns invite visitors to ‘See Things Differently’ showing Britain’s exciting and dynamic destinations and experiences alongside a warm British welcome. Underway from end of October until early 2024, with partnership activity extending beyond this, the campaigns are using a mix of destination images and short films highlighting Britain’s countryside, coast and cities, showing visitors ‘there’s always more to explore’. It builds on VisitBritain’s ‘Spilling the tea on Great Britain’ campaigns launched earlier this year to show that ‘whatever your cup of tea, we’ve got it.’

In this phase of the campaigns, the creative content highlights Britain’s ‘wild coastlines,’ promoting seaside spots never more than a few hours away; ‘countryside adventures’, showing Britain’s diverse landscapes; and ‘vibrant cities’, telling the stories of its bustling cities and contemporary culture.

VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said:

“We want to drive urgency to visit and this new leg of our campaign shows the breadth of exciting experiences and destinations across Britain, tapping in to motivations for travel. From surfing along our wild coastlines to experiencing our remote landscapes or our bustling, vibrant cities, we’re showing visitors that there’s always more to explore in Britain.

“As well as inspiring international visitors to discover more of our nations and regions we’re working with partners in market to convert that desire to visit to drive bookings now.”

The advertising campaigns across France, Germany and the GCC are using a mix of channels including cinema, TV/ video on demand (VOD), print, social media, audio, billboards, and digital display advertising – for example billboards in the Paris Metro, digital billboards along Dubai’s Sheikh Zayed Road and a full take-over of advertisement space in Berlin’s Friedrichstraße station. Content also drives online traffic to VisitBritain’s consumer website with ideas and links to activities, attractions and experiences themed around how to ‘See Things Differently’ in Britain using #lovegreatbritain.

VisitBritain is working with partners including Tripadvisor in France and Germany along with online travel marketplace Wego in the GCC to amplify reach and drive conversion as well as paid content partnerships to extend the campaigns’ reach into 2024.

VisitBritain is also calling for tourism businesses, attractions, and destinations to get involved by sharing local experiences that promote a different side of Britain across their own channels using #lovegreatbritain.

VisitBritain’s latest inbound tourism forecast shows continued strong recovery in overseas visitor spending. Its latest forecast for 2023 is for overseas visitor spending in the UK of £30.9 billion, up 9% on 2019. It estimates 37.5 million visits to the UK, 92% of 2019 levels.

VisitBritain’s ‘See Things Differently’ campaign is part of the UK Government’s GREAT campaign.

Further information:

• VisitBritain’s marketing campaigns in France, Germany and the GCC are a continuation of its ‘Spilling the Tea’ on Great Britain campaigns which first rolled out in February this year under the umbrella of ‘See Things Differently.’
   
• The campaigns have been developed based on VisitBritain’s research into motivations for travel now, with discovering new and surprising experiences high on the wish list for its target audiences and markets.
   
• The full list of locations and activities seen in the campaign are:

England

• Bamburgh, Northumberland
• Bath, Somerset
• Birmingham, West Midlands
• Brighton, East Sussex
• Bristol
• Coventry, West Midlands
• Lake District, Cumbria (Alpacaly Ever After)
• Leeds, West Yorkshire (Afternoon Tea at Issho)
• Liverpool, Merseyside (Oh Me Oh My roof garden)
• Liverpool, Merseyside (Crosby Beach)
• Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear
• Yorkshire Moors, North Yorkshire
• Saffron Walden, Essex
• Seaford, East Sussex
• Whitby, North Yorkshire

London

• Covent Garden, London
• Little Venice, London
• Notting Hill, London
• Richmond, London
• South Kensington, London (Science Afternoon Tea at the Ampersand Hotel)
• Tottenham, London (The Dare Skywalk at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium)
• Tower Bridge, London (London Kayaking Company)

Scotland

• Achmelvich, Scottish Highlands
• Cairngorms National Park, Scottish Highlands
• Caledonian Canal, Scottish Highlands
• Edinburgh
• Elie, Fife
• Glencoe, Scottish Highlands
• Loch Ness, Scottish Highlands

Wales

• Cardiff (Cardiff Castle)
• Eryri (Snowdonia), Gwynedd
• Porthcawl Beach, Bridgend
• Freshwater West; Pembrokeshire
• Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire
• The Gower Peninsula, Swansea

VisitBritain is also developing a new multi-million pound GREAT Britain marketing campaign for the USA, the UK’s largest and most valuable visitor market, as well as Australia, with a focus on screen tourism. More to follow on these campaigns soon.