Memorandum submitted by VisitBritain
VISITBRITAIN
As Select Committee Members will know, VisitBritain,
the tourism authority for Britain, markets Britain to the rest
of the world and England to the British—building the value
of tourism by creating world-class destination brands and marketing
campaigns. These campaigns are supported by an overseas network
covering 30 key markets around the world. VisitBritain works closely
with the British Council and other organisations avoiding duplication
and ensuring the best value is obtained from public funds by working
in partnership through the Public Diplomacy Board.
VisitBritain was created on 1 April 2003. It
was formed by the merger of the British Tourist Authority and
England Tourism Council (which led to the launch of the first
domestic marketing campaigns unit for England in over 10 years).
The organisation remains legally constituted as the British Tourist
Authority under the Development of Tourism Act 1969. It is a Non-Departmental
Public Body (NDPB), funded through the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport, and receives £35.5 million each year for
international marketing, and (since the merger with the ETC) £10.4
million for the domestic marketing of England.
VisitBritain generates £1.1 billion pa
in incremental export earnings for the British economy, which
supports over 27,000 fulltime equivalent jobs—this contributes
approximately £200 million pa for the Exchequer through VAT
and Air Passenger Duty receipts alone. VisitBritain generates
approximately £50 million in additional domestic tourism
expenditure. Through efficiencies and rationalisation, VisitBritain
has been able to expand its presence recently into Russia, Poland,
China and South Korea. In 2005-06 VisitBritain will be developing
a presence in Malaysia, Thailand, Mexico, Czech Republic, Hungary,
Turkey and Greece.
VisitBritain also operates the flagship Britain
and London Visitor Centre at 1 Regent Street as a "one stop
shop" for travel information offering free brochures and
travel advice for the whole of Britain and London. VisitBritain,
VisitScotland and the Wales Tourist Board together make up the
family of British National Tourist Boards (NTBs).
GRANTS FOR
MARITIME HERITAGE/HISTORIC
SHIPS AND
OTHER "TOURISM"
PROJECTS
There remains a common misconception that the
National Tourist Boards administer grants schemes for tourism-related
projects. England, Scotland and Wales tourist boards were all
granted the power to do so in the Development of Tourism Act (1969)
that set up the boards. Known as Section IV grants, the schemes
were launched in 1971.
Wales Tourist Board is the only NTB that retains
the grants scheme—during 2003-04, £14.9 million was
allocated in grants to 286 projects throughout Wales, creating
or safeguarding 1,042 jobs. Scotland stopped offering these grants
in 1995, although grants are now available there through the enterprise
network. In England, a Government review led to the ending of
the grants scheme in 1990.
SEABRITAIN 2005 AND
WATERSIDE ENGLAND—VISITBRITAIN'S
CONTRIBUTION TO
THE PROMOTION
OF MARITIME
HERITAGE
In September 2004, VisitBritain wrote to MPs
on the Select Committee outlining the plans for SeaBritain 2005,
but this is a good opportunity to update Members on our activity.
SeaBritain 2005 is a spectacular, year-long
festival of events celebrating all the aspects of our maritime
heritage and relationship with the sea, our coastline and estuaries.
The Trafalgar Festival 2005 is at the heart
of the SeaBritain 2005 celebrations, culminating in Trafalgar
Weekend, 21-23 October 2005 with official Nelson Commemorations
inspired by the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalagar
and the death in action of Admiral Lord Nelson on 21 October 1805—a
defining moment in British naval history. With the Trafalgar Festival
as its central inspiration, it was decided to use SeaBritain 2005
to broaden the scope of the celebrations and commemorations and
to take this unique opportunity to promote greater public awareness
generally about the sea and its impact on all our lives.
The National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, the
largest museum of its kind in the world, is leading the way throughout
the year with major exhibitions and displays. The campaign is
being primarily funded by VisitBritain and the National Maritime
Museum, and supported by the following organisations to ensure
a coordinated effort:
Royal Navy; Official Nelson Commemorations
Committee; The National Trust; Royal Yachting Association; The
BBC; The Royal National Lifeboat Institution; The Chamber of Shipping;
The Baltic Exchange; English Heritage; Seatrade; Lloyd's Register;
The Marine Society; Sea Cadets; Sea Vision UK; Trinity House;
International Festival of the Sea; Department for Culture, Media
and Sport.
The aims of SeaBritain are: to raise awareness
of Britain's maritime and coastal heritage; to encourage participation
in maritime sport and leisure activities; to promote the UK coast
and its islands as a tourism destination and travel by sea for
European visitors; to promote an understanding and involvement
with the marine environment and marine conservation; to raise
awareness of the contribution made by the sea and seafaring to
the UK economy and culture; to develop maritime learning materials
designed specifically to link with the National Curriculum; and
to leave a legacy in 2006 and beyond
VisitBritain's participation takes a number
of forms. We have provided a highly experienced senior member
of marketing staff to be seconded to the National Maritime Museum
to co-ordinate the campaign, and she will remain there for over
a year.
The centrepiece of SeaBritain 2005 is its website
www.seabritain2005.com which features all of the events and activities
planned, including street parties, sea-shanty festivals, river
races and regattas, concerts and seafood extravaganzas. Events
have been submitted from across the country, and can be easily
added to the database online—thus any local events can be
publicised nationally. This initiative is giving them an international
platform on the web. More than 450 events have been so far advertised
on the website, and the list grows daily with events all round
Britain, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands. The site is
also championing over 350 maritime attractions, museums and exhibitions
open during the year, and a permanent display has been installed
in the heart of London at the Britain and London Visitor Centre.
Profile-raising work has also been carried out at the recent Daily
Telegraph Schroders London Boat Show.
Running parallel to SeaBritain 2005, is VisitBritain's
Waterside England campaign which aims to persuade British residents
to enjoy, experience and explore England's seagoing maritime heritage,
which is the basis for the whole campaign. The campaign taps into
and stimulates our interest in all things waterside—seaside
breaks, rivers and canals, activity holidays, maritime heritage
attractions, cuisine and relaxation.
Waterside England was distributed to Members
some time ago, and a further copy is attached. It includes a SeaBritain
2005 supplement featuring some of the events planned.
The campaign launched in July 2004 and will
run until December 2005, promoting all things wet and wonderful
to domestic tourists—covering the coast, inland waterways
(including rivers, canals, the Broads, lakes, and reservoirs),
maritime heritage, water sports, and seafood. Major partners in
the campaign are waterscape.com, who promote the inland waterways;
Tourism South East, whose major products are maritime heritage
at Portsmouth and Chatham and the lovely south coast of England;
and Bristol, who represent overseas trading heritage, exploration
and the engineering genius of Brunel. The online presence for
Waterside England is at www.visitengland.com/waterside.
Waterside England is promoted through PR, field
marketing events, advertising, targeted inserts, and online promotions.
Plans for 2005 include the Outdoors Show at the NEC. Our partnership
with waterscape is extremely supportive of maritime heritage—the
whole inland waterway network is a historic icon/feature in its
own right—and our work to promote the Norfolk Broads are
other areas clearly benefit our distinct maritime heritage.
I hope this draws the attention to Select Committee
Members of the work of VisitBritain that contributes to promoting
and thereby supporting the features of our great maritime heritage,
which is a vital part of our international and domestic tourism
offer, especially in this crucial year.
7 February 2005
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