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Tourism

Tourism

For more information about the GREAT campaign and the information found in these scripts, please contact Annette Craze: annette.craze@cabinetoffice.gov.uk

  • There were 31.2 million visits to the UK in 2022 with international visitors spending £26.5 billion, supporting 3.1 million jobs and 200,000 small businesses in every nation and region (Source: VisitBritain, 2023).

  • Tourism is the UK’s third largest service export. It is also a positive enabler for investment in other industries, as visitors to the country are 16% more likely to invest in Britain and British businesses (Source: VisitBritain, 2021).

  • Film/Screen tourism is a significant draw for visitors to Britain and an increasingly valuable part of our global tourism offer. Screen tourism provides valuable opportunities to shine the spotlight on regional destinations, drive urgency visits across Britain and appeal to a global audience. VisitBritain’s research shows that films and TV are powerful motivators for travel. More than a third, 34%, of visitors considered ‘visiting locations from my favourite TV/film shows filmed on location in Britain’ as a dream activity to do in Britain.

GREAT Tourism

The GREAT international tourism campaign extends messages of welcome, highlights unexpected experiences and demonstrates a diverse, dynamic Britain ready for visitors

It is highly effective in putting Britain at the front of mind for potential visitors. For example, the campaign generated £210 million additional tourism expenditure as a result of its 2023 marketing campaign. Of the additional visits created by GREAT, 65% of nights are taken outside of London, compared to 47% of nights by those who were not influenced by the campaigns (Source: VisitBritain, 2023).

VisitBritain’s GREAT campaign in 2024 will be harnessing screen tourism, a valuable and growing part of our global tourism offer, with Britain in the starring role. The aim is to inspire international visitors to choose Britain by showcasing film and TV locations, destinations and visitor experiences, as well as our creative industries, telling the stories of our regional diversity to drive tourism across more of our nations and regions. VisitBritain’s research shows that films and TV are powerful motivators for travel.

For further information, please see: www.visitbritain.com/gb/