Destination Britain News in Brief: Thursday May 16
Wales is to get its own dedicated module on VisitBritain’s online training program as it aims to increase the number of visitors by 20% by the end of the decade.
The module, which is expected to be rolled out to international markets by the end of the year, will give Wales a stand alone presence on the BritAgent program for the first time.
While product has featured previously, it was incorporated into generic modules.
VisitWales product marketing manager, Clare Dwight, said it will give greater exposure to Wales to the 920 BritAgent registered Australia travel agents.
She said the tourism body will also return to World Travel Market in London this year after an absence of five years.
“More of our budget will go on travel trade activity,” Dwight said.
Australian arrivals to Wales in 2012 remained steady at 62,000.
Meanwhile, marketing efforts will focus on next year’s centenary of the birth of Welsh poet Dylan Thomas.
VisitEngland will appoint a part time staffer in Australia to drive sales of Rugby World Cup packages.
The tourism agency said the new recruit will be in place by the end of the year.
Anke Monestel, VisitEngland head of international operations, said the 2015 rugby extravaganza will be a key focus with plans being drawn up to work closely with the Australian travel trade.
A famil for the official ticket agents appointed in Australia will be held in November.
Meanwhile, Monestel said VisitEngland will again attend AIME next year after a successful first mission to the meetings and incentives trade show in February.
Australian arrivals to London fell 82,000 to 597,000 last year, a decline which saw it slip one place to 7th in the list of the UK capital’s top international markets.
Australia was leapfrogged by the Netherlands with London and Partners, London’s tourism agency, blaming the Olympics for the fall.
Expenditure fell $29 million to $470m, but Aussies retained their position as the fourth biggest spenders behind the US, Italy and France.
Overall international visitor arrivals into London climbed 1.1% to 15.46 million despite widespread predictions that numbers would fall because of the Olympics.
London and Partners PR manager Jo Geneen said the result was “exceptionally positive” given the downturn experienced by many other cities in the year they hosted the Olympics.
Geneen highlighted the September opening of the Shangri-La in the Shard, the 2015 re-opening of the Olympic Park and this year’s 60th anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation as reasons for optimism for further growth.
Meanwhile, the agency has appointed a London-based marketing manager to head up operations in Australia and the US.
Scotland is gearing up for a huge year for tourism in 2014 with its Homecoming celebrations at the core of its marketing campaign.
VisitScotland saw a 6% lift in arrivals in 2009 when it staged its first homecoming at a time when the world was in the grip of the Global Financial Crisis. Further growth is expected next year on the back of the celebrations.
The event seeks to attract people with Scottish roots to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors.
Under the slogan ‘Scotland welcomes the world’ the Homecoming will be supported by a series of festivals throughout the year with VisitScotland incorporating its previous marketing campaigns surrounding food, activities, arts and culture and natural beauty to further grow the appeal.
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