United kingdom Daily news: Rupert Grint's 'holiday at home' campaign has had limited effect

Jumat, 11 Mei 2012

Rupert Grint's 'holiday at home' campaign has had limited effect

Rupert Grint's 'holiday at home' campaign has had limited effect

By Travelmail Reporter

PUBLISHED: 07:03 EST, 11 May 2012 | UPDATED: 07:36 EST, 11 May 2012

It was a publicity drive launched in a blaze of ticker-tape and celebrity endorsements.

But the much-heralded push to encourage Britons to holiday at home this year â€" which only commenced in March â€" has had disappointing results, according to new figures.

Magic touch: Rupert Grint was part of the campaign, talking about surfing breaks in Yorkshire

Research conducted by the YouGov poll agency on behalf of currency card provider Caxton FX, suggests that the â€˜Holiday at Homeâ€™ campaign has had no effect on two thirds of the UK.

Sixty-seven per cent of those surveyed revealing that they still plan to take their main holiday abroad this summer.

Worryingly, a further 13 per cent said that they had not even seen the advertising blitz.

And four per cent admitted that the campaign had been counter-productive â€" and that it had made them less likely to take a break in Britain.

Two thousand UK adults were questioned as part of the survey.

The drive hit TV screens and billboards two months ago, and featured several famous faces, all of them urging the viewer to spurn the continent this year and spend their hard-earned time off in one of the home nations (see the video at the bottom of this page for footage from the campaign).

Harry Potter star Rupert Grint could be seen extolling the virtues of Bridlington in Yorkshire, while the likes of Stephen Fry, Julie Walters and Downtown Abbey actress Michelle Dockery also weighed in with positive input.

Spear-headed by VisitEngland, with the assistance of the tourist boards for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the campaign was designed to capitalise on the appeal of the London Olympics and the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations.

Running with the tagline â€˜No wonder holidays at home are so greatâ€™, and costing Â£5million, it has been the countryâ€™s most expensive ever domestic tourism drive.

The campaign has had limited suc cess in the North East and North West of England, with 19 per cent of people in both regions stating that they are now more likely to holiday at home as a result of seeing one of the adverts.

Stately: Stephen Fry was also part of a publicity drive that has cost Â£5million

But Scotland has proved more impervious. The least positively affected area of the UK, here, one in ten have admitted that the campaign has made them less likely to stay in Britain this year.

James Hickman of Caxton FX, comments: â€˜In spite of substantial investment, it seems that Brits are still committed to holidays abroad.

â€˜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.â€™

At the time of the launch, Jeremy Hunt, the secretary of state for culture, media, sport and the Olympics, spoke about the campaign in glowing terms:

'This is the first time we've had a national domestic tourism marketing campaign.

'It is completely measurable â€" we will know how many nights are booked as a result of this campaign.

'As an industry and as a government, we will know whether this type of campaign works and what the return on investment is.

'That in itself will provide an important template going forward in terms of upping our game in marketing.'

However, the drive provoked criticism from ABTA, the Travel Association (formerly the Association of British Travel Agents), which voiced concerns that the adverts would stifle demand for summer holidays at a time when many tour operators are struggling.

'We are very concerned that the government is sponsoring a marketing campaign that appears to actively discourage UK holidaymakers from taking a foreign break,â€™ said Mark Tanzer, the CEO of ABTA.

â€˜Iâ€™m sure the public want to make up their own mind about where to go on holiday.

'The outbound tourism industry employs hundreds of thousands of people throughout the UK and generates Â£27 billion annually in direct spend, making a fundamental and significant contribution to the economic health of the country.'

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