VisitEngland, the official travel promotional agency for England, has acquired GBP2m in sponsorship from the UK government.
The fund will be used for promoting tourism in England and an extension of the Holidays at Home campaign to encourage UK residents to take holidays in the UK.
The chief executive officer of VisitEngland, James Berresford, said, ‘The fantastic events of 2012 have provided tourism with an unprecedented opportunity to raise the profile of England as a destination and build on the swell of national pride that the Diamond Jubilee, The Torch Relay, London Festival 2012 and The Games have ignited in us as a population.
This, I am confident, combined with our continued marketing efforts will help to inspire more Britons to take a break in this country.
We will continue to work closely with our destination partners to amplify the Holidays at Home are GREAT campaign at a local level to continue to grow the visitor economy.
We know the trend to take a break at home is strong. Overnight domestic Holiday trips were up by 6 percent last year and I am confident with this additional support from Government we can ensure that an overriding legacy of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games will be through tourism.’
VisitEngland has previously announced a new partnership project to offer local destination marketing and theme-based campaigns, encouraging British holidaymakers to take holidays on home soil. Destination based themes will be offered in 2013, and will include campaigns focussing on heritage, coastal, countryside, and culture, including sport and literature.
