British Airways, the UK based airline, will be offering complimentary hotel rooms to visitors to the UK as part of its endorsement of the Big British Invite promotion, in partnership with VisitBritain, the official tourism website for Great Britain.
The airline is offering two nights complimentary stay to customers that buy a roundtrip airfare between the US and the UK. The offer is valid until March 31, 2013, for travel from January 9, 2013, to May 31, 2013. Hotel accommodation is offered by the airline for roundtrip airfares originating in the US, during the promotional period.
VisitBritain has invested £5m in its partnership with British Airways to persuade travellers to visit Britain for Christmas shopping and to avail of the January sales, with special offers from the airline company. The campaign is running until March this year.
Christopher Rodrigues, the chairman of VisitBritain, said earlier, ‘This summer has shown what the country can do when we are united in a common cause. This country showed passion, professionalism, drive and energy to stage the best ever Olympic and Paralympic Games. The test now is whether we can maintain this to create wealth and jobs through a major tourism drive.’
The ‘The Big British Invite’ campaign features typical British citizens inviting tourists to visit Britain and experience its scenic places and experiences. The ambassadors for the campaign include Alan Kingshott, chief yeoman warder of the Tower of London, and Ed Burstell, managing director of Liberty’s.
British Airways is intending to fly 20 new routes this winter season, with destinations including Zagreb, Monrovia, Belfast, Bergen, Amman and Seoul. Among the offers on these routes for travel until March 15, 2013, are New York (JFK or EWR) to Johannesburg, for airfares commencing at $990, and from New York (JFK or EWR) to Amman for airfares commencing at $799.