VisitBritain targets Scandinavian ‘buzzseekers’ with new campaign
VisitBritain has launched a digital campaign with Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) to boost inbound tourism to Britain.
The £150,000 campaign, which kicked off today, will run for five weeks in Denmark, Norway and Sweden, to promote travel to Britain and drive visitor growth to and beyond central London.
SAS, which already flies into London Heathrow, will launch a new flight to Stansted on April 1.
The campaign aims to shine a spotlight on destinations outside of Zone 1, encouraging visitors to discover the London boroughs of Greenwich, Hackney and Richmond as well as the city’s famous attractions and landmarks.
It’s also aiming to promote cities and towns within a two-hour radius of London, including Brighton (pictured above), Oxford and Windsor.
"The campaign marks the first time VisitBritain has partnered with SAS to focus on Scandinavia," VisitBritain Europe director Robin Johnson said: "It is great to be partnering with SAS for the first time, amplifying our campaign to convert the aspiration to visit Britain into actual bookings and promoting our message of welcome.
"We know that visitors from Scandinavia rate Britain highly for its famous sights and monuments and our campaign highlights the fantastic destinations and attractions that travellers can discover within a short journey from central London. We are showing that Britain is a great destination to visit right now, encouraging visitors to travel further and stay longer."
Scandinavian Airlines Head of International Marketing Will Reed said: "We are delighted to establish a partnership with VisitBritain and be teaming up for this campaign. We know our travellers fly every week in their thousands to visit London and by partnering with VisitBritain we aim to share more of the easily accessible places and hidden gems, either inside or outside of London, to explore and experience somewhere new."
The content will run across VisitBritain and Scandinavian Airlines’ online and social channels, including dedicated campaign pages.
The campaign targets repeat visitors to the UK and travellers who VisitBritain terms ‘buzzseekers’ and ‘explorers’, those who seek adventure and authentic experiences as well as holidays filled with interesting activities and learning experiences.
Latest official figures show that from January to September 2018 there were 1.6 million inbound visits from Scandinavia to the UK, who spent £918 million in the country.
VisitBritain’s target is that for every pound invested in the campaign, visitors will spend an additional £25 as a result of its activity.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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