The lure of a break overseas has proved so great for UK travellers that a multi-million pound “staycation” campaign has done little to alter their holiday choices.
The ad campaign organised by VisitEngland, and supported by the Welsh, Scottish and Northern Irish tourist boards, featured a host of celebrities including Stephen Fry and Julie Walters enjoying the delights of a stay on British shores.
But according to a survey by YouGov, the campaign has only impacted the travel choices of a third of holidaymakers, leaving two thirds holding fast on the their plans to travel abroad.
In answer to the question of whether the advertising had made people “more or less likely to take a summer holiday in Britain this year”, 67 per cent said it made no difference.
Just 13 per cent said it would it make them more likely to choose the UK this year, while an embarrassing 4 per cent also said that the campaign would deter them from taking a holiday in the UK.
Holidaymakers in north-west and north-east England seemed to take the most from the campaign, with 19 per cent saying they were likely to stay in Britain this summer.
Since its first broadcast two months ago, the advertising campaign has received criticism from those in the travel industry, such as the Association of British Travel Agents and a number of travel journalists.
In response, the chief executive of VisitEngland, James Berresford, said he was “confident the advertising campaign will help to inspire UK residents to discover the destination on their doorstep”.
A separate poll run by Telegraph Travel also found that the VisitEngland campaign hadn’t swayed 60 per cent of people from taking a foreign holiday.
One in four said they would be taking a staycation this summer, but 30 per cent argued that this was “not because VisitEngland told me to”.
However, recent figures from the Office for National statistics showed that staycations boosted Scottish tourism in 2011.
There was a 10 per cent increase in visits to Scotland from within Great Britain, and a 20 per cent rise in the amount spent by domestic visitors.
(Image: Thomas Gun)
