In a statement, The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said,
"We are pleased to formally announce new funding for VisitEngland alongside the other devolved National Tourist Boards of VisitWales, VisitScotland and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board to mount a national campaign to encourage more people to holiday at home during 2012; a very special year for the UK.
We have released £4m of extra cash to ensure the tourism industry benefits from the events and related publicity around the Diamond Jubilee and Olympics, and we are producing a destination marketing campaign to encourage the UK population to take pride in their country and take a holiday at home in 2012.
We want to deliver an unprecedented range of offers to the customer. There is no cost to industry to participate, we simply ask you to provide a strong offer and join together under a single message of “GREAT offers for 2012”.
We have already had a very positive response from hotels, B&B’s, restaurants, attractions and other sectors of the industry wanting to celebrate this special year with offers of 20.12% or better. Partners who have confirmed so far include De Vere, Travelodge, Millennium Copthorne Hotels, Best Western, Classic British Hotels, Hoseasons Group, Bourne Leisure, Superbreak, Shearings Holidays, Golden Tours, The Coach Tourism Council and The Eden Project.
Some firms are offering price discounts whilst others will provide fantastic value-added offers. These should drive demand under a single proposition, encourage consumer interest and deliver a long-term benefit starting in 2012. The UK domestic campaign in turn links to the international “GREAT Britain” marketing being delivered by VisitBritain overseas.
The TV advertising campaign will air in March and April and will be viewed on average 16 times by 93% of the ABC1 population. Please join us to make sure this is a GREAT opportunity to encourage the nation to take another look at the range of outstanding experiences on their doorstep.
Please log on to www.visitengland.org/2012offers to upload your offer. VisitEngland will be happy to answer any further queries you may have and can be contacted via: [email protected]