This from DCMS press release website.

http://www.culture.gov.uk/role/search.asp?Name=/pressreleases/role/2002/dcms027

Department for Culture, Media and Sport 2-4 Cockspur Street London SW1Y 5DH www.culture.gov.uk

27/02 25 February 2002

FUNDING ANNOUNCED FOR BRITAIN'S BIGGEST EVER TOURISM CAMPAIGN Plans for a new international campaign to boost the British tourist industry were unveiled today, by Culture Secretary, Tessa Jowell. The campaign will be funded and managed by a unique coalition of Government and tourist industry organisations.

The campaign, which will cost up to £40 million, will spearhead the tourism industry's recovery in 2002 and future years. Its core will be a TV led advertising campaign to promote Britain, focusing on heritage, countryside and cities, with a particular focus on Royal Heritage and the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002.

Launching in April, in seven markets, it aims to bring back one million extra visitors to Britain this year. It will run in the USA, Canada and five European countries which together account - in a normal year - for 60 percent of visitors to this country. The extra one million visitors will spend an estimated £500 million.

The campaign will set out all the attractions Britain has to offer its visitors and give people practical help in planning and travelling to Britain.

Three agencies have been short-listed to work on creative element of the campaign which will be jointly managed by the British Tourism Authority and contributing partners from the tourism industry. Those already part of the coalition include the members of the British Hospitality Association (including Hilton, Thistle, Jarvis, Six Continents, Whitbread and Million Copthorne), P&O, the BAA plc, British Airways, American Express, Avis Europe and Stena Line.

Speaking today, Tessa Jowell said. "The Government will give up to £20 million for this new initiative. I am confident it will be matched pound for pound by the tourist industry. Together, that adds up to the largest ever promotion of British tourism. This coalition of Government and the private sector will send a message around the world: Britain's an unbeatable holiday destination - especially in 2002. And the price is right.

"This is a real chance to help British tourism recover from the body blows of foot and mouth, and the aftermath of September 11th."

David Quarmby, BTA Chairman said: "This is a ground –breaking partnership between the industry, government, BTA and the national tourist boards. The huge resources to be deployed will enable Britain to get its message across in what has become a fiercely competitive world market place.

Lord Sterling, Chairman of P & O and Chairman of the Queen's Golden Jubilee Weekend Trust, said: "The Queen's Golden Jubilee gives this unique campaign a marvellous opportunity to encourage foreign visitors to return with confidence this year, and share our celebrations and rich heritage, plus everything else the UK has to offer.

"The major private sector companies involved with tourism will play a key role. The blueprint for the future will rest on the success of this dynamic campaign."

Notes for Editors

1. The new campaign will run in the US, Canada, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Ireland. It will launch in April and run until September 2002.

2. In 2001 there were 23.4 million visitors to the UK, who spent £11.3 billion, this is a drop of 14 percent on the previous year's figure. 3.The campaign will be run by a partnership led by the British Tourist Authority of more than 20 travel and hospitality organisations in the UK. Alongside the core campaign, these partners will integrate part of their own overseas product marketing by linking messages and campaign branding.

4. £19 million of funding will come from the Government: £1 million to exploit the tourism aspects of the domestic UK market. The industry's contribution will be at least £5 million in cash, and up to £15 million worth of related marketing activity.

5. COI Communications has short listed three agencies to develop creative options: They are: AMV, Ogilvy and Mather and BMP.DDB.

6. The British Tourist Authority's role is to promote Britain abroad in order to raise the value of overseas visitors' spending in the UK.

Press Enquiries: 020 7211 6267/6269 Out of hours

telephone pager no: 07699 751153 Public Enquiries: 020 7211 6200 Internet: http://www.culture.gov.uk

Million Visitor Campaign - Tourism Industry Partners

London Tourist Board

Teresa Wickham, chairman of London Tourist Board and Convention Bureau, said: "LTB is delighted to be a part of this major industry and government initiative to bring visitors back to Britain throughout 2002 and beyond. London's tourism industry is still experiencing a substantial downturn and only a long-term marketing effort can address this. Over the last month, LTB has been running its largest ever marketing campaign in the UK and the time is now right to start comprehensive promotion of Britain and London overseas."

BAA plc

Mike Hodgkinson, chief executive, BAA plc, said: "We are delighted to contribute to this valuable campaign by government and the many strands of Britain's tourism industry, to attract foreign travellers to Britain for this Golden Jubilee year."

National Express Group

Supporting the campaign on its objectives, Philip White, Chief Executive of National Express Group, one of the UK's leading transportation groups operating bus, coach and rail services said: "The UK provides a unique culture and diversity of experience to overseas visitors all year round. It's important that visitors realise that it's business as usual with the UK offering the leisure and business traveller endless opportunities.

Avis Europe plc

Mark McCafferty, Chief Executive Avis Europe, said: "We are delighted to be supporting British tourism with our industry partners, the Government and tourist authorities. Tourism is an important part of our national and local economies and the industry employs thousands of people in the UK, so our investment in this campaign will help the communities where we do business."

· Tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK, worth approximately £75 billion in 2000, comprising:

Spending by Overseas Residents £ billion Visits to the UK 12.8 Fares to UK carriers 3.2 Spending by Domestic Tourists Trips of 1+ nights 26.1 Day Trips 32.7

· It accounts for 4.7% of GDP and employs 2.1 million people.

Inbound Tourism to the UK:

· The 25.2 million overseas visitors who came in 2000 spent £12.8 billion in the UK. · The total number of visits for 2000 was 25.2 million, a -1% change compared with 1999, and an increase of 2% in spending to £12.8 billion. · The UK ranks fifth in the international tourism earnings league behind the USA, Spain, France and Italy. · The top five overseas markets for the UK in 2000 were:

Visits Spend Millions (£m) USA 4.1 USA 2,752 France 3.1 Germany 887 Germany 2.8 France 684 Irish Republic 2.1 Irish Republic 570 Netherlands 1.4 Australia 517

Employment:

· There are an estimated 2.1 million jobs in tourism related industries in the UK, some 7% of all people in employment in Great Britain. There are more jobs in tourism than in construction or transport. · Approximately 160,000 of these jobs are in self-employment.

2001 The US terrorist attacks of September 11th, which followed hard on the heels of the foot and mouth outbreak, have depressed travel to Britain. Final figures for 2001 confirm that inbound tourism lost £2billion, a drop of 16%.