On Oct. 14-17, more than 150 North American buyers, U.K. suppliers and travel trade media convened in Austin, Texas, for Destination Britain North America (DBNA) 2018.
With the common goal of increasing North American travel to the U.K., the 10th annual event employed the tried-and-true format of timed one-on-one meetings — 4,872 meetings to be exact — providing travel advisors and tour operators the opportunity to learn about commissionable offerings in destinations from Bristol to Wales.
In addition, specialized seminars presented information about emerging trends in tourism as well as strategies for marketing Great Britain to tech-savvy travelers, the boom in food and drink-related tourism in Great Britain and projects in the works by the Discover England Fund (DEF).
Discover England Fund
According to Andrew Stokes, England director for VisitEngland, the government saw an opportunity to develop the many wonderful places all over England and make them more accessible to international visitors.
“There’s a recognition that we are incredibly fortunate that London is one of the great destinations of the world — and we wouldn’t want it not to be so — however, one of our challenges is the fact that people come to London and think they’ve done England,” Stokes said.
Enter the Discover England Fund, a three-year, $51 million fund to support 56 projects throughout England. Now in year three, many of the Discover England Fund projects are ready to be introduced to the American travel market.
“One of the key success criteria of the Discover England Fund is that it’s not a marketing campaign only promoting existing product, but that we have created new bookable product,” Stokes explained.
Tara Didi, product development and distribution manager for VisitBritain and Discover England Fund, outlined some of this exciting new product such as England’s Great West Way, a 125-mile corridor between London and Bristol that includes many of England’s most iconic destinations including Windsor, Stonehenge and Bath; England’s Originals, which brings together 15 of England’s top destinations through five carefully curated itineraries that transport visitors into the heart of England’s historic cities; and England’s Literary Greats, which has built on the success of VisitEngland’s 2017 Year of Literary Heroes campaign to create brand-new itineraries based on Jane Austen, William Shakespeare and Robin Hood (which is expected to get a boost from the release of the new Hollywood blockbuster starring Jamie Foxx as Little John).
Participants learned how to make a Laverstoke cocktail, courtesy of the Bombay Sapphire Distillery.
Credit: 2018 OlkerPhoto for VisitBritain“I Travel For …” Campaign
With an emphasis on encouraging people to reflect on the passions that inspire them to travel, this year’s event was centered on VisitBritain’s “I Travel For…” campaign, which identifies several passion points that resonate with U.S. travelers, and then highlights uniquely British experiences that match those passions, including Local Flavor (authentic food and drink), The Undiscovered (off the beaten path), Thrills (adventure and excitement), Stories (local people and culture) and Inspiration (history, literature and architecture).
“‘I Travel For…’ is aimed at fully integrating the consumer experience by looking at it from the consumer’s point of view,” said Gavin Landry, executive vice president of the Americas for VisitBritain. “So, what we’ve done is introduce a bookable product feature on our website that highlights products that are aligned with these passion points.”
VisitBritain Tourism & Advisory Council
Another exciting announcement shared with DBNA attendees was the creation of VisitBritain’s first-ever U.S. Tourism & Advisory Council composed of VisitBritain leadership — Landry; Paul Gauger, senior vice president for the Americas; Sheelagh Wylie, chief marketing officer for the Americas; and Carl Walsh, director of travel trade for North America — as well as travel industry leaders including Paul Barry from Avanti Destinations, Jeremy Palmer from Tauck, Zine Belhonchet from Rail Europe, Chuck Imhof from Delta Air Lines, Stephen McGillivray from Travel Leaders Network, Wendy Olson Killion from Expedia and Guy Young from The Travel Corporation.
During the event, the VisitBritain Tourism & Advisory Council met for the first time.
Credit: 2018 OlkerPhoto for VisitBritain“The Tourism & Advisory Council consists of members of the industry who will talk to us about our strategy and our way forward in terms of market and what we’re trying to accomplish, and also give us advice in terms of what’s trending,” Landry said. “It’s an esteemed group, and one from which I think we can benefit greatly.”
According to Landry, one of the trends discussed during the first meeting of the council was the idea of engaged versus voyeuristic tourism. Landry explained that, because Great Britain is English-speaking, it offers travelers the opportunity to have an engaged and enriched experience by talking to locals and getting “behind the scenes.”
The Council will meet again at Visit Britain’s ExploreGB 2019 event, which will be held on May 8-10 in Harrogate, Northern England.
In her welcome remarks, Karen Bell, Consul General in Houston, stated what she considered to be the “big picture” of the event.
“In a world where it increasingly feels that people — and perhaps also countries — are turning a little bit inward, there’s nothing more important than what you do, which is bringing people together and giving them opportunities to experience the fabulous culture that we have in the U.K.”
The Details
Visit Britain
www.visitbritain.com
