Government urged help boost UK tourism campaign

UK tourism body VisitBritain is urging the Government to release new funds to help it launch a promotional campaign in Europe and the US as official statistics showed a dramatic fall in visitors.

The organisation is due to launch a £6.5m campaign in the US an Europe in April, but has called on the Government to release extra funding to help it launch earlier to stem the fall. It says it has commitment from industry that companies will match any new government funding.

Visitors from the US were down 27% for the last three months of 2008, according to The Office of National Statistics (ONS). VisitBritain’s campaign will focus on promoting the country as a good value destination.

The call follows news that the agency’s US operation is looking to appoint up to five new agencies to its roster. The agencies will work on briefs to target specific visitor segments in the US, and in some cases will also be asked to handle media buying.

The agency is also due to launch a campaign in the Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa in April.