'Holiday at Home' campaign failing to make an impact
12th May 2012
Research shows over two thirds of Brits not affected at all by £3m advertising campaign
Research conducted by YouGov for prepaid currency card provider Caxton FX shows that the government’s multi million pound 'Holiday at Home' advertising campaign has had no effect on 67% of the people surveyed.
Over 2,000 adults were surveyed, of which 13% hadn't seen the campaign and one in 25 people were actually less likely to holiday in Britain after seeing it. This figure rose to one in ten people in Scotland. The campaign had the most positive effect in the north of England – a fifth of people in these regions are more likely to holiday in Britain following the campaign.
James Hickman, Managing Director of Caxton FX commented: “In spite of substantial investment, it seems that Brits are still committed to holidays abroad and with the pound currently very high against the euro, holidays abroad can offer good value; especially for those people who would prefer to avoid the Olympics this summer!"
Tourism and heritage minister John Penrose and James Beresford of VisitEngland defended the campaign to promote domestic tourism in the face of criticism at the ABTA Travel Matters conference last week. Penrose said the campaign was designed to mitigate an "imbalance" in the marketing investment for domestic tourism in favour of overseas tourism.
He continued: "We spend [...] between £100m and £150m, partly through taxpayer money and partly through industry investment, on the outbound market, but we have done nothing for the domestic market."
Have you seen the campaign? What do you think of it? Let us know...
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