‘UK OK' campaign battles strong pound
Neither foot-and-mouth nor 11 September had as grave an impact on UK tourism as the strong pound, the British Tourist Authority (BTA) said last week as it launched a £5m marketing campaign designed to win back overseas visitors.
The strong pound had affected Britain's ability to compete since 1999, said the BTA's chairman, David Quarmby.
The new marketing campaign will be conducted under the banner "UK OK".
Quarmby said the BTA will send out a reassuring message that Britain offers "quality, safety and real value for money".
Advertisements in print and on public transport will appear in the USA, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Some 1,200 special offers from participating businesses, including Jarvis Hotels, P&O Stena Line and British Airways, will feature on the Visitbritain Web site.
The Queen's Jubilee and the Commonwealth Games will be central to the promotion. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell dismissed as unfounded reports of low interest in organising Jubilee celebrations.
The number of overseas visitors to Britain fell by 3% between July 1999 and July 2000 and by 7.7% during July, August and September 2001, according to the Government's International Passenger Survey.
