#OMGB: VisitBritain campaign to attract more international tourists

By Liam Garrahan

- Last updated on GMT

#OMGB: VisitBritain campaign to attract more international tourists
#OMGB is a new VisitBritain campaign that encourages visitors to the UK to share some of their ‘amazing moments’ on social media to encourage others from abroad to visit Britain.

With the aim of showing off what Britain has on offer, the campaign follows research by the National Tourism Agency which found that communicating a sense of emotion is a crucial element in attracting overseas visitors.

The project is currently aimed at the Brazilian, French, German and US markets, and starts with a three-month digital and print campaign.

At the launch of the US campaign in December, Culture Secretary John Whittingdale said:“Millions of people visit Britain every year, thanks to our incredible mixture of historic architecture, stunning scenery, iconic sporting events, unparalleled music scene, and world-renowned museums and galleries. 

“By asking visitors to share some of their amazing UK moments we want to build on their adventures and encourage others from abroad to experience the best of Britain.” 

Campaign phases

The first phase of the campaign, which is currently underway, sees visitors sent to VisitBritain’s campaign website where they will be invited to share content on their social media channel with the hashtag #OMGB (Oh My Great Britain), by doing so they earn the opportunity to win a holiday to the UK.

April will see the launch of the campaign’s second phase which asks visitors to upload images of their own ‘memorable moments and experiences’ in Britain, with the best being shared across VisitBritain’s Twitter, Instagram and Facebook accounts.

VisitBritain’s marketing director, Joss Croft, said: “From feeling the frost in the air as morning mist creeps over Hadrian’s Wall or the whistle of the wind in your ears as Europe’s fastest zip line whisks you over Snowdonia, from the roar of a football crowd to the briny tang of sashimi-fresh mackerel from a Scottish fishing boat, we want to showcase those moments when you’re part of something incredible and communicate the feeling of being there.

“We know that our audiences want to be part of fun, innovative and immersive experiences and we want to share these amazing moments to inspire even more people to put Britain at the top of their list as the ‘must-go-now’ destination.”

A smaller campaign will start tomorrow (19 January) which is aimed at VisitBritain’s priority nurture markets including South Korea, Indonesia, South Africa, Mexico and Singapore.

A VisitBritain study, released in November, shows that social media plays a major role in where tourists choose to visit​.

Inbound tourism is worth more than £26b to the UK economy, with the US, France and Germany among Britain’s largest visitor markets, making up 30 per cent of all inbound visits in 2014 and 27 per cent of the spend. Brazil is Britain’s second largest emerging visitor market, contributing to 0.9 per cent of all visits to Britain in 2014.

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