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Official Launch Of Regional US Marketing Campaign

23.04.2007

The official launch of the regional US marketing campaign will take place at Bristol International Airport on Tuesday 24 April 2007.

The campaign is funded by the South West RDA and is aimed at attracting leisure business from the US via US travel agents. It involves recruiting and training a select number of travel agents based across the US, but especially around the New York area, to become experts on South West England.

A new website has been created www.mysouthwestengland.com which promotes the region using a series of itineraries featuring top places to visit and other attractions which will appeal to the US visitor. It also highlights a range of hotels across the region who will work with the South West England Specialists. The website will be promoted to the travel agents' clients and is therefore both consumer and travel agent friendly.

The aim is to build good relations with the South West specialist agents, to help them to build South West England packages, market them to their clients, and to monitor an increase in bookings to the region.

Research shows inbound visitors to the UK as a whole, (the USA, France and Germany) deliver approximately 11% each of the total market while in the South West, the USA delivers over 15% of foreign visitors, ahead of France at 14% and Germany at 12%, of the 17 million nights spent in the region by overseas tourists each year.

There has been a 6% growth in the number of inbound visitors from the US to the UK in 2006 and VisitBritain anticipates this growth to continue in 2007. International air travel from the US in February was 6.9% up on the previous year, and most indicators of the state of the US domestic travel industry are positive.

Passport issues rose 20% in 2006 and we have seen new transatlantic routes opened up - our own new daily service from Bristol International Airport to Newark operated by Continental airlines has been a great success and offers tremendous potential for further development.

Sue Shapiro of Shapiro Travel Resources based in New York is a consultant to the project, and has been helping to developing the website and set up the agent's training programme, said;

"This website is one of the best destination websites I have seen, and I've been in the US travel industry for 30 years! It's just what the agent needs to help them package this beautiful region."

The campaign promotes the New York to Bristol Continental flight route as well as connecting flights from other destinations in the UK, and within the South West. It also promotes train travel to and around the region.

The travel agents' training programme also includes seminars for agents in New York at the time of the Cotswolds Food Week (May 2 - 5) when a series of events promoting Cotswolds food will be taking place in New York.

John Hallett, Director of Destination Bristol, who are responsible for delivering the regional campaign, said;

"The US travel agent still has such an important role for the US consumer planning to travel to Britain, and if we can make them more aware of the wonderful product we have in this region, we could really see an increase in business from the US."

Robin Barker, Deputy Chief Executive and Marketing Director of South West Tourism, said;

"The US is the number one overseas market for the South West, bringing in approximately £124 million to the region in 2005 and, importantly, longer staying and higher spending visitors who help support tourism businesses throughout the region.

For too long, the region has benefited from being just one night as part of a UK tour. This initiative is designed to lengthen stays and spend, at the same time offering an improved experience to the visitor."

-ENDS-

Notes to Editor
1. Destination Bristol, formerly the Bristol Tourism and Conference Bureau is a not for profit partnership between Bristol City Council and Business West. Destination Bristol is the destination management partnership for Bristol and South Gloucestershire and leads the marketing of the area as a travel destination. The aim of the organisation is to work with members and partners, to increase business competitiveness, support employment and economic growth, and raise the profile of the Bristol city-region as a European-class travel destination.

For more information please contact:
Kerrie Grist
Marketing Executive
Destination Bristol
Tel: 0117 946 2205
Email: kerrie.grist@destinationbristol.co.uk