Britain as a visitor destination is in the global media spotlight with Her Majesty The Queen’s historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations kicking off today, and VisitBritain is taking the opportunity to promote ‘destination Britain’ and inspire travel from Canada.
With all international travel restrictions lifted for all passengers arriving in to the UK since March 18, boosting consumer confidence in visiting Britain, tourism businesses across the country are ready to welcome back Canadians and provide a stand-out experience.
VisitBritain’s latest research shows pent-up demand for international travel from Canada. Seventy-seven per-cent of those it surveyed from Canada were keen to take an international leisure trip in the next 12 months, 51% definitely would and, of those, 56% had not yet booked or decided where to go, valuable opportunities for VisitBritain to influence decision-making, destination-choice and bookings.
Flight bookings and arrivals to the UK from North America are also continuing to show strong recovery. Arrivals from North America to the UK in the week to 15th May 2022 were at 78% of 2019 levels with latest available data showing that this is set to increase to 86% for the week of the Jubilee.
Buckingham Palace, London. Ferdinand Stohr/Unsplash Photo
“As the world’s media turns its attention to the historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations and to some of our most iconic destinations including Buckingham Palace, where landmark events are taking place, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity to highlight our outstanding tourism offer and the amazing experiences that Canadians can only have in Britain,” VisitBritain SVP Americas Paul Gauger said.
“Canada is a very important inbound tourism market for the UK, we know there is pent-up demand for travel and our royal legacy and pomp and pageantry are proven tourism draws. The Jubilee celebrations, set to be watched by a global audience of hundreds of millions, will also show our hospitality, creativity and warm welcome to the world, boosting tourism to Britain.”
The official Jubilee celebrations, taking place during an extended Bank Holiday weekend from Thursday 2 to Sunday 5, include Trooping the Colour, the Platinum Party at the Palace and The Platinum Jubilee Pageant. It is estimated[3] that about one billion people globally will watch the show-stopping Jubilee pageant.
There is also a host of Jubilee inspired events, exhibitions and experiences happening across Britain in 2022. From ‘Superbloom at the Tower of London,’ with the Tower’s moat transformed into a spectacular field of millions of flowers, to The Royal Mews in London where visitors can see the Queen’s carriages, cars and horses. There are also dedicated Jubilee exhibitions throughout the summer and into autumn including special displays at the official Royal residences.
VisitBritain’s latest international consumer research, published in March, shows the draw of Britain’s history and heritage in driving inbound tourism. The chance to explore Britain’s history and heritage was the top motivator for Canadian international travellers keen to visit Britain this year, closely followed by dining out and visiting Britain’s iconic attractions.
VisitBritain is using the reach of its global channels to highlight the Jubilee celebrations and associated experiences and destinations throughout 2022. It has a dedicated Jubilee content ‘hub’ on its global website, promoting Britain’s royal heritage, destinations and experiences with a contemporary twist, telling the stories of places and inspiring visitors to discover more, travel further and stay longer.
VisitBritain’s international GREAT Welcome to Another Side of Britain’ campaign has been rolling out in Canada since February, highlighting messages of welcome and showing that Britain is full of exciting experiences to come and enjoy right now.
In 2019 there were 874,000 visits from Canada to the UK, with those visitors spending a record 1.17 billion CAD.
