Coronation celebrations put ‘destination Britain’ in the global tourism spotlight
VisitBritain is harnessing this valuable opportunity to promote Britain’s tourism offer and warm welcome globally.
As international anticipation builds for the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III and Her Majesty Queen Camilla, VisitBritain is seizing the opportunity to promote ‘destination Britain’.
VisitBritain’s latest global consumer research shows the importance of Britain’s historic culture for inbound tourism. Our research and insights shows, the chance to explore Britain’s history and heritage is among the top sought-after activities for potential visitors, as is visiting Britain’s iconic cultural attractions.
VisitBritain is harnessing this valuable opportunity to promote Britain’s tourism offer internationally, and promote messages of warm British welcome – a key influence globally in destination choice.
In numbers: Britain’s historic tourism highlights
Windsor Great Park was the UK’s most-visited attraction in 2022, with 5.6 million visits (ALVA annual statistics 2022). It received around 1.5 million visitors from 2019 to 2020.
The Tower of London was the UK’s most visited ‘paid for’ attraction in 2019 (three million visitors), while Westminster Abbey saw 1.5 million visits that year too.
Windsor town was the second-most visited day trip destination by inbound visitors (after London) in 2019.
More than 11 million inbound visits a year to the UK include a visit to castles and historic houses, with these visitors spending £9.2 billion in total on their trips.
Visits to religious buildings topped eight million, with those visitors spending £6.7 billion during their visits.
In 2022, 10 English Heritage attractions enjoyed their most visitors since records began, and a further six attractions saw their biggest crowds in over a decade.
In 2019, according to the Royal Collection Trust, the Royal residences saw a record 3.3 million visitors – generating £49 million.
How we’re promoting Britain ahead of the Coronation and beyond
International campaigns
As part of our international GREAT Britain campaign ‘Spilling the Tea’, we’ve launched ‘His MajesTEA’, which is being highlighted internationally alongside Britain’s history and heritage, parks and gardens, in the run-up to the Coronation and beyond.
The campaign plays on Britain’s love of tea, through destination images and short films to tell a fresh and exciting story about the experiences on offer – showing visitors that ‘whatever your cup of tea, we’ve got it’.
Promotion across our channels
We’re using the reach of our global channels to highlight the Coronation celebrations and associated experiences and destinations throughout 2023.
Our global media centre hub is also featuring Royal-inspired destinations and experiences, telling the stories of places and inspiring visitors to discover more, travel further and stay longer – as well as a dedicated Coronation content hub.
We’re also working with the travel trade and media in-market to sell Britain with Royal-inspired content packages.
UK trade and industry
New VisitEngland content showcases events across the Bank Holiday weekend and beyond: from major exhibitions to castle sleepovers and bespoke afternoon teas.
Coronation-related activity across our global network
Partner activity with British Airways
British Airways and VisitBritain welcomed tens of thousands of visitors to London over the Coronation weekend with a giant celebratory mural on the London Heathrow flight path, designed by local children. British Airways celebrated the Coronation with other events including a flight from Heathrow to Cape Town crewed by staff with variants of the name Charles and Camilla, and lounge access at Gatwick and Heathrow for customers with the surnames ‘King’ or ‘Queen’.
‘See Things Differently’ in the GCC
We attended Arabian Travel Market (ATM) in Dubai, which was also attended by Simon Penney, HM Trade Commissioner for the Middle East and Pakistan, and HM Consul General to Dubai. We met with trade across the Gulf Cooperation Council states (GCC) to highlight the See Things Differently campaign and encourage bookings to Britain, with the Coronation a major hook.
A royal visit to Hamburg, Germany
On his recent state visit to Hamburg, HM King Charles was presented with a tin of ‘His MajesTEA’, part of the ‘Spilling the Tea on Great Britain’ international marketing campaign to inspire international visitors to discover more about Britain.
A royal celebration in Sydney
We hosted a Coronation and Eurovision street party gathering 60 members of the Australian travel industry, airlines, media and public diplomacy partners to celebrate our rich royal heritage. The event highlighted the importance of the Australian market for inbound travel to Britain, showcasing key events and reasons to visit in 2023. The British High Commissioner to Australia delivered a video welcoming guests and celebrating the strong cultural ties between the two countries. Attendees were able to sample some of the best of British goods including VisitBritain x Tregothnan’s His MajesTEA tins.
Coronation timeline
Saturday 6 May
The Coronation takes place in the morning at Westminster Abbey with a ceremonial process in the Gold State Coach, followed by a traditional appearance with the Royal Family on the balcony. There will be 57 screening sites in public areas across the UK.
Sunday 7 May
The Coronation Concert is staged and broadcast live in the grounds of Windsor Castle, featuring a diverse Coronation Choir to reflect all sectors of society. ‘Lighting up the Nation’ will see iconic UK locations illuminated. Coronation Big Lunches includes 50,000+ street parties, taking place in communities all over the country.
Monday 8 May
The UK has an extra Bank Holiday to mark the occasion. The Big Help Out sees volunteers around the country get involved in projects to help improve their communities.
