The £1 million fund, to support tourism’s recovery in England, runs from mid-March to the end of June, enabling DMOs to tailor and align VisitEngland’s national ‘Escape the Everyday’ city-focused campaign to drive bookings of local tourism products.
VisitEngland Director Andrew Stokes said:
“VisitEngland is very pleased to be delivering this fund to support destinations locally as they align their activities to our national ‘Escape the Everyday’ campaign, encouraging more people to discover the fantastic array of tourism products on their doorstep and further afield.
"With the slower return of international tourists, now is the time to visit our wonderful cities and remind ourselves why they are such a draw. The funding will also support local businesses who have been working so hard to welcome visitors back and provide a stand-out experience.”
The most recent phase of the national tourism agency’s domestic campaign, ‘Escape the Everyday – Enjoy an English city break this spring,' which kicked off in February continues to have a focus on cities and city attractions which have been hit particularly hard by the lack of domestic and international visitors. The fund will support DMOs to create local and regional content, guides and itineraries featuring bookable experiences from local businesses aligned to ‘Escape the Everyday’, extending the reach of their own channels.
VisitEngland has estimated the loss to the economy in domestic visitor spending in England of about £77 billion, when looking at 2020 and 2021 combined.
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
- The grant scheme was open to all DMOs in England (including those who had received funding before) which met the eligibility criteria and could deliver the aims and objectives of the fund.
- The successful applicants to this round of the grant scheme are: Marketing Manchester; Visit Greenwich; Marketing Liverpool; Experience Oxfordshire; Visit West (Bristol & Bath); Visit Brighton (leading for Sussex); Great West Way; Marketing Peak District & Derbyshire; Marketing Cheshire; Newcastle Gateshead Initiative; Marketing Cheltenham (plus Gloucester).
- This fund follows the previous VisitEngland DMO marketing fund in early 2021.
