Holiday at Home campaign was a flop, says survey
The Government’s ‘Holiday at Home’ advertising campaign was a bit of a flop, according to a YouGov survey.
The campaign was launched in March by Visit England and regional tourist boards to encourage Brits to stay on home soil for their holidays.
It was heavily criticised by ABTA who said it was misguided and a waste of public funds (see earlier story).
According to an April survey of 2,000 adults commissioned by prepaid currency card provider, Caxton FX, 67% of Brits still plan to holiday abroad this summer.
A further 13% admitted that they hadn’t seen the campaign at all and, for one in every 25 people, the advertising campaign has actually made them less likely to holiday in Britain.
The survey found a regional split, with those in the North East and North West most positively affected by the advertising campaign – with 19% of people in both regions now more likely to holiday in the UK.
Scotland was the least positively affected area, where 9% said the advertising campaign has made them less likely to holiday in Britain.
Caxton FX MD James Hickman said: "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!"
Other findings from the research include:
– people in the West Midlands are the most cost-conscious, citing cost of accommodation (36%) and flights (30%) as the two top deterrents (after political unrest – 54%)
– Londoners, Scots and the Welsh also appeared to be frugally minded, with costs of flights featuring second in the lists for these Brits.
– the East Midlands has some of the most tech-savvy people, with almost half (43%) stating that a poor online review would be their biggest holiday turn-off; followed by a poor review from friends and family (35%).
by Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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