Business Plan - VisitBritain · PDF fileVisitBritain Business Plan 2014/15 Page | 3...

VisitBritain Business Plan 2014/15

Page | 1 VisitBritain Business Plan 2014/15

Business Plan Financial Year 2014/15



Contents

1. Executive Summary 2

2. Our business 3

Organisation and capabilities 3

Corporate priorities in 2014/15 3

Our strategy 4

3. The context 5

Industry Size 5

Government priorities 5

Britain’s image and competitive position 5

Access 6

Priority markets for inbound tourism 6

Tourism landscape 7

Economic conditions 8

Geopolitics 8

Britain Tourism Strategy 9

VisitBritain’s contribution 9

4. Our activity 10

Inspiring travellers from overseas to visit and explore Britain 10

Maximising public investment through partner engagement and commercial activity 10

Using our global network to support tourism promotion overseas 11

Advising Government and industry on tourism and competitiveness 12

Managing our business to deliver greater efficiencies and impact 15

5. Performance measurement 16

6. Financial Information 20

Budgets 20

7. Appendix 21

Significant assumptions 21



Executive Summary

VisitBritain is focussed on its mission: to build the value of tourism to Britain, working in partnership with the industry, wider

government, nations and regions to generate additional visitor spend. 2014/15 is the final year of the four-year, £100 million

programme, match-funded by the private sector. Our priority, therefore, is the successful execution of the fourth year of the

programme, and at the same time to play our full part in the continued delivery of the GREAT programme.

Overall, VisitBritain’s planned activities in 2014/15 will generate £700 million of incremental spend by visitors to the UK.

Hosting a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012 changed the world’s perceptions of Britain. In 2014/15

VisitBritain will continue to deliver the tourism legacy of the Games by building on those better perceptions, converting

interest into bookings, and tackling impediments to Britain’s tourism competitiveness.

In April 2013, VisitBritain set out a long-term tourism strategy with the objective to attract £31.5 billion in spending from 40

million overseas visitors to Britain by 2020, and thereby create a further 200,000 jobs across the length and breadth of the

UK. To do this, we are working with others to build on our international image, engage further with the travel trade, broaden

the product range on offer for tourists and make it easier to get to Britain.

Our 2014/15 campaigns will continue to address the recommendations in the Britain tourism strategy; to showcase ‘London-

plus’ experiences to consumers, to ensure Britain is sold by the trade and to raise awareness of the ease of access to

Britain as a whole.

We will work with partners to make best use of the major events taking place in 14/15 to showcase Britain, particularly the

Ryder Cup, Glasgow Commonwealth Games, and the Grand Depart of the Tour de France.

Partnerships are critical to our success. Their investment doubles the Government’s investment in tourism marketing.

Partners provide bookable product, they convert interest into action and they extend the visibility, duration and impact of our

campaigns. Partner marketing activity will remain at the heart of VisitBritain’s business in 2014/15. In the field of PR, social

and digital, we will focus on the quality of coverage as well as the volume with activity aimed at digital and broadcast media.

Digital and social media continue to drive innovation both in the way consumers choose and book their travel, and in the

way a tourist board can interact with, learn from, and meet the needs of those consumers. We will continue to invest in

digital and social media. VisitBritain’s retail activities provide an important route to market for many attractions and

experiences across the UK. We will continue to develop our retail activities. In 2014/15 we intend to grow revenue to £16.6

million through new initiatives and business channels, which will enable us to maximise reinvestment in VisitBritain’s wider

activity.

In 2014/15 our business to business (B2B) activity will extend the range of Britain product promoted overseas, and its route

to market. Over the course of the financial year we will also review our B2B platforms and build on strengths in 2014/15,

whilst preparing to implement improvements in 2015/16.

Tourism remains an essential part of the growth agenda for the Government, capable of delivering economic growth for

Britain and jobs right across the nation. In 2014/15 we will continue to act as the strategic body for inbound tourism to

Britain, and support the delivery of a suite of strategies by continuing to provide world-class insights, research and

evaluation as a service to the tourism industry, and to underpin VisitBritain's decision making and competitive analysis.

As we enter the final furlong of the four year campaign, VisitBritain can look back on three successful years promoting

Britain to the world. The pace, quality and impact of our activity remain undiminished, and this year will see VisitBritain

complete its marketing programme in style, whilst laying the foundations for further achievements in 2015/16 and beyond.



Our business

VisitBritain’s mission:

“To build the value of tourism to Britain, working in partnership with the industry and nations and

regions to generate additional visitor spend.”

Organisation and Capabilities

VisitBritain is the strategic body for inbound tourism, responsible for marketing Britain worldwide and developing Britain’s

visitor economy. Our mission is to build the value of tourism to Britain.

A non-departmental public body, funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), our four-point strategy

aims to increase overseas visitor spend to all parts of Britain and improve Britain’s ranking in the eyes of international

travellers. We have a global footprint, thanks to our strong digital presence, and a network of offices in key inbound tourism

markets – those that offer the best short-term return and best long-term investment.

Focusing on 22 international markets (and market clusters) we invest in the high volume/high value markets of Europe and

North America as well as in the growth markets of the Gulf and Asia Pacific and in emerging tourism markets such as the

Brazil, Russian, India and China. Collectively these source markets generate 71% of spending by international visitors to

Britain. We are customer-focussed. We know what consumers overseas want, and how to inspire them to choose to visit

Britain. Our overseas network ensures we have market experts, able to deliver on the ground, where it matters.

Working with partners in the UK and overseas, we aim to ensure that Britain is marketed in an inspirational and relevant way

around the world – partners include government agencies, such as UKTI, FCO and British Council, airlines and operators,

global brands such as Samsung and the English Premier League, as well as the official tourism bodies for London, England,

Scotland and Wales. VisitBritain operates an online shop, which is forecast to raise revenues of £16.6 million in 2014/15.

The profit is reinvested into our marketing activity.

We also act as an advisor to Government and industry on tourism, particularly on issues which affect the UK’s international

competitiveness, providing policy solutions, market intelligence and customer insights.

Corporate priorities in 2014/15

• Delivery

– Successful execution of the fourth year of the £100m marketing programme, and the continued delivery

of the GREAT programme; contributing £700 million of incremental spend by visitors to the UK;

– Work with partners to leverage the major events (specifically the Ryder Cup, Glasgow Commonwealth

Games, and the Grand Depart of the Tour de France) taking place in 14/15 to showcase Britain.

• Business improvement

– Implement a new Britain marketing strategy;

– Maximise the potential in terms of reach and engagement through the procurement, design and

implementation of new digital platforms;

– Extend the range of Britain product promoted overseas, and its route to market;

– Implement a new partnerships strategy, including partnerships with key regional gateways.

• Policy

– Continue to raise the profile of tourism with key opinion formers within and beyond the tourism sector;

– Collect and analyse market insights to support the industry, guide our activity, and allow us to advise our

Ministers;

– Highlight VisitBritain’s contribution to the sector.



• Organisational

– Maintain emphasis on the importance of evaluation processes and data-based decision making

throughout VisitBritain’s activities;

– Continue to develop our business acumen and grow commercial income from retail;

– Ensure that VisitBritain continues to improve operational effectiveness, and leadership, and develops as

an organisation which recognises, rewards and develops its staff.

Our strategy

Our long term strategy is to:

• Inspire travellers from overseas to visit and explore Britain;

• Use our global network to support the promotion of British tourism overseas;

• Advise Government and the industry on tourism issues, particularly affecting our global competitiveness;

• Maximise public investment through partner engagement and commercial activity.

In support of this strategy, in 2014/15, VisitBritain will:

• Prioritise fewer, bigger activities which achieve higher returns on investment (ROI);

• Leverage GREAT funding, and look for opportunities to extend GREAT activity into non-GREAT markets;

• Design evaluation in at the outset of our activity planning, to focus spend on outcomes, rather than just outputs;

• Align marketing strategy with the competitive situation Britain faces in each of our source markets, through the use

of insights provided through our overseas network, to ensure that we are delivering additional visits and spend, as

well as tackling long term competitive issues.

Our delivery targets

In 2014/15, VisitBritain will deliver:

• £700 million of additional visitor spending

• Our tactical marketing campaign will generate £500 million of additional spend

• GREAT campaign-funded activity will generate a further £200 million of spend

• These activities will result in 1.17 million additional visitors to Britain

• Advertising Equivalent Value worth £500 million in positive PR coverage for Britain



The context

Industry Size

Tourism plays a central role in supporting and creating new jobs – the sector was responsible for a third of the UK’s net new

jobs between 2010 and 2012 (Deloitte 2013).

The sector is currently worth £127 billion a year to the UK economy, and is forecast to grow to £257 billion of Gross Value

Added (GVA) annually by 2025, equivalent to 10% of total forecast UK GDP. In 2013, tourism provided jobs for 3 million

people throughout the UK - 9.6% of UK employment (Deloitte 2013).

So, tourism is a major part of the British economy. And it is an essential part of our wider success as a modern global

economy. In our globalized world, our brand, the experiences we have to offer and the welcome we afford are part of our

currency as we seek to attract an ever larger population of students, investors, traders and tourists - travellers all.

Inbound tourism is worth £20 billion a year to the UK economy. It is the UK’s fifth largest source of export earnings. It will

continue to be the fastest growing sector of the tourism industry – with spend by international visitors forecast to grow by

over 6% a year across the rest of this decade.

Government priorities

Tourism is crucial to the Government’s plans to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and rebalance Britain’s economy.

The Government Tourism Policy, published in March 2011, has three main objectives:

• To fund the most ambitious marketing campaign ever to attract visitors to the UK in the years following 2012

• To increase the proportion of UK residents holidaying in the UK

• To increase the productivity of the tourism sector, making us one of the world’s top five most efficient and

competitive visitor economies in the world

The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games provided a platform to showcase Britain to the world, and create a meaningful

legacy for tourism as well as for the wider economy. This led to the establishment of the GREAT Britain campaign, which

sees VisitBritain working together with the Department for Culture Media and Sport, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,

UK Trade and Investment, and the British Council, to show the world that Britain is a GREAT place to visit, study, invest in

and do business with.

The GREAT campaign remains central to the overseas promotion of Britain, and to VisitBritain’s activity. Evaluation of the

performance of the campaign shows that in its first year it delivered £200 million of additional spending by visitors to Britain.

As a result of this success, in December 2013 the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced a 50% increase in annual

funding for the campaign, raising investment to £45 million in 2014/15 and 2015/16.

Britain’s image and competitive position

The market place for global tourism is getting tougher. Absolute numbers of international visits passed the 1 billion mark in

2012, but Britain’s global position has been in decline. The growth in global travel over the last two decades means that

Britain is competing against more destinations, for a larger number of potential visitors.

We are outspent by our competitors. Tourism Australia will spend the equivalent of £250 million this year. VisitBritain’s

budget (including GREAT funding and our grant-in-aid) is around £50 million.

Britain generally enjoys a strong and positive image overseas. This does not always translate into a desire to visit. Britain is

admired for its role in business, commerce, history and culture, but not necessarily seen as a vibrant and fun holiday

destination. Britain is an improving destination for your ‘future self’, not a fun destination for your ‘current self’.



Britain’s image overseas is heavily shaped by London. London is a huge asset for Britain – a global city that people around

the world know and aspire to visit. 57% of international visitors spend their time only in London, and having visited they can

subsequently feel that they have ‘done’ Britain.

London 2012 was the start of a rebalancing process. Hosting a successful Olympic and Paralympic Games has changed the

world’s perceptions of Britain. Perceptions of Britain’s ‘overall nation brand’ and ‘culture’ moved up one place, according to

the Anholt-GfK Nation Brands Index (NBI), and for the first time Britain is seen in the top ten for its welcome. The coverage

VisitBritain generated of all of Britain during the Games contributed to 75% of respondents agreeing that they wanted to see

more of Britain than London and 70% agreeing that Britain has lovely countryside. These gains were held in the full NBI,

published in November 2013.

2013 also saw the publication of the World Economic Forum’s Travel &Tourism Competitiveness Report, which saw the UK

improve its position from 7th to 5th in terms of overall competitiveness thanks to big increases in the scores for affinity for

tourism, attitude towards visitors and effectiveness of marketing – a testament to the impact of the GREAT campaigns, both

image and tactical.

Access

Seventy three per cent of our international visitors arrive by air and 40% of these pass through Heathrow. Despite the

challenges presented by capacity constraints in South East England, the aviation industry continues to change and develop.

Both Heathrow and Gatwick Airport handled record numbers of passengers in 2013. At Heathrow the annual tally reached

72.3 million passengers, 3.4% up on the previous year with load factors rising by one percentage point to 76.4% and the

deployment of larger aircraft leading to a jump in the number of seats per plane of 2.8%. The combination of higher load

factors and bigger planes meant that the higher passenger volumes were accommodated at Heathrow despite a 0.4%

decline in the number of aircraft take offs and landings.

Passenger volumes on BRIC routes rose at an above average rate of 6.9% and new long-haul routes were introduced,

including BA flights from Chengdu in China and Philippine Airlines flights from Manila. The trend towards larger aircraft being

used in order to absorb growing demand is set to continue - by June 2014 there will be 523 Airbus A380 arrivals at

Heathrow per month, compared with 416 in the same month of last year. June 2014 will also see the opening of the new

Terminal 2 at Heathrow.

Looking at overall airline seat capacity the statistics indicate the rate at which Britain is getting better connected to the BRIC

markets – in the first half of 2014 7,228 planes will touch down in Britain having taken off from one of the four BRIC markets,

delivering a 10% increase in seat capacity compared with the equivalent period of 2013.

Scotland has seen the announcement of a number of new long-haul air routes including Qatar Airways confirming that from

May 2014 it will operate five flights per week from Doha to Edinburgh and US Airways operation of daily flights to Edinburgh

from Philadelphia between May and October. The Scottish Government has decided to purchase Prestwick Airport in

Ayrshire.

APD explain is set to remain unchanged in 2014 for short-haul departures but will increase for destinations further afield –

the cost of APD for a family of four returning from Britain to Australia will reach £388 in April 2014.

In December 2013 the Airports Commission published an interim report on medium and long term proposals to alleviate

capacity constraints in the South East of England, including new runways at Heathrow or Gatwick. In the short term, regional

airports do have available capacity for new routes.

Eurostar had a strong 2013, carrying more than 10 million passengers for the very first time. The train operator has seen

particularly strong growth in demand from non-Europeans, particularly those from the USA, Australia, China and Brazil, who

are visiting both Britain and continental Europe. Eurostar has also confirmed that from December 2016 it will operate two

trains per day from Amsterdam to London with a journey time of four hours.



Priority markets for inbound tourism

Our focus is on 22 priority markets, or market clusters, which offer the best immediate return and best future prospects for

Britain. Together they account for approximately 76% of inbound visits and 74% of tourism spend.

Priority Inbound Markets, visits and spend 2013

(International Passenger Survey)

Market Visits (000s) Spend (£m)

USA 2,840 2,436

Germany 2,967 1,513

France 3,787 1,223

GCC region 529 1,173

Australia 993 1,018

Spain 1,716 776

Italy 1,521 760

Netherlands 1,735 627

Canada 704 559

Switzerland 832 547

Norway 771 445

Sweden 771 383

Poland 1,222 337

India 339 333

Belgium 1,113 311

Japan 243 306

Denmark 639 304

China 179 300

Russia 227 240

Brazil 260 227

Hong Kong 135 186

Austria 268 128



Tourism landscape

Tourism is a devolved matter and Visit Scotland, and Visit Wales remain the responsibility of their respective governments,

and work closely overseas with VisitBritain. We also work closely with London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s official

promotional organisation for London, responsible for attracting and delivering value to businesses, students and visitors to

the capital.

VisitBritain and VisitEngland continue to operate as one statutory body, albeit with separate executive, chair and board

structures, and distinctive roles and brand identities. DCMS ministers have announced that they intend to fund VisitBritain

and VisitEngland separately.. Both organisations are committed to continue sharing business services and co-location of

offices in order to minimise costs.

A referendum on independence for Scotland will be held in 2014.

Economic conditions

The UK economy has entered a period of pronounced recovery, and is forecast to be the fastest-growing G8 member in

2014. This would benefit British businesses and consumers. The Eurozone continues to present a mixed picture of strong

economic performance in the north, and slow recovering in some members, but France’s economy remains weak, and there

are significant deflation risks in Italy, both of which may set back the wider return to health of the Eurozone. This could lead

to Sterling appreciating against the Euro thereby eroding a price advantage that the UK has enjoyed since early 2009.

The price of oil had been expected to reduce in 2014/15 as production increases in Libya and Iraq, and Iran’s relations with

the West are normalised. It is possible that both India and China will continue to see a slowdown in economic activity which

would reduce demand and further depress the price of oil. In contrast, tensions between Russia and Western powers over

the Ukraine have introduced some volatility into energy markets. Russia is a major oil and gas producer nation.

The relaxation of restrictions on those in Bulgaria and Romania looking for work elsewhere in the EU, along with the

absorption of Croatia may have a discernible impact on 2014 headline IPS data. Were the picture to mirror that seen in the

year after the ‘A10’ accession then we could anticipate around 250,000 additional visits from these markets in 2014/15

(equivalent to about a 0.8% rise in overall visits), however the step change is not quite as great in that they have been within

the EU for the past few years, but subject to certain restrictions.

The US economy has entered 2014 performing strongly. The impact of sequestration in 2013 was reduced by quantitative

easing, but 2014/15 is likely to see a return to more conventional monetary policy. It is not yet clear whether economic

confidence will feed through to a renewed appetite for international travel, and if so whether that will be to ‘new’ destinations

in Central/South America, Asia and Africa rather than ‘old’ destinations in Europe. Further airline consolidation may impact

on both Trans-Atlantic schedules and fares.

The wave of Australian outbound travel which has benefitted Britain over the past couple of years – Australia has been

worth more than £1bn to the UK in both 2011 and 2012 - may dissipate as the Australian Dollar weakens a little, the

Australian economy slows as mineral prices soften, and Australians ‘feel they’ve done Britain’ for the time being at least.

Brazil, like other emerging economies, has already suffered a reduction in growth due to the reduction of investment

resulting from the tapering of quantitative easing by the US Fed. Whilst there has been a limited groundswell of public

enthusiasm in Brazil for the upcoming hosting of the World Cup and Olympic Games, but that may change and a sense of

national pride may result in a slowing in demand for outbound travel, as may any pressure on air fares to/from Brazil in 2014

due to demand to attend the World Cup. As such, seeing the sort of growth we’ve enjoyed in the past couple of years from

Brazil will be a challenge over the next three years.

Emerging markets more generally appear to be entering a period of economic turbulence. Recovering Western economies,

and the ‘tapering’ of quantitative easing in the United States mean that foreign investment into emerging markets has

reduced, leading to capital outflows and the weakening of currencies. Nonetheless, many observers remain positive about

the potential of emerging economies over the next 5-10 years.



Geopolitics

Geopolitical risk remains non-trivial; however tensions in the Middle East will be lower at the start of 2014/15 than in the

previous financial year. The civil war in Syria continues, but following the failure of the British, French and US governments

to secure a mandate for armed intervention in the summer of 2013, there seems little chance of western powers being

drawn in to the conflict. Multilateral negotiations with Iran in late 2013 achieved a breakthrough on Iran’s nuclear ambitions,

which in turn have opened the door to a limited reduction in sanctions and drawdown of tensions in the Gulf region.

By way of contrast, geopolitical risk is growing in North-east Asia and China, Japan, and other regional powers lock horns

over the South China Sea. Developments in late 2013, including China’s declaration of an Air Defence Identification Zone

(unrecognised by the US or Japan) and Japan’s decision to increase defence spending suggest that tensions are likely to

continue to run high.

The unexpected nature with which events in the Ukraine have escalated demonstrate the potential volatility of geopolitics.

Britain Tourism Strategy

In April 2013, VisitBritain set out a long-term tourism strategy with the objective to attract £31.5 billion in spending from 40

million overseas visitors to Britain by 2020, and thereby create a further 200,000 jobs across the length and breadth of the

UK. To do this, we are working with others to build on our international image, engage further with the travel trade, broaden

the product range on offer for tourists and make it easier to get to Britain.

The Britain Tourism Strategy is partnered with medium-term strategies for individual markets, which set out the strategic

challenges facing Britain in its desire to increase visits and market share in these markets.

VisitBritain’s contribution

VisitBritain continues to be more than just a marketing body. Our overseas network, research and analysis capacities remain

a unique asset for the British tourism sector.

VisitBritain builds the value of tourism to Britain by our international marketing, which attracts private sector investment and

our commercial activities. Our export platforms and business services achieve economies of scale significantly reducing

costs for our partners and saving public money.

We also help enhance Britain’s overall image as a country in which to work, invest and do business.

In 2012/13 the financial value of our work overseas was evaluated as £579 million.



Our activity

Inspiring travellers from overseas to visit and explore Britain

In 2014/15 VisitBritain will focus on global (multi-market), high-profile campaigns that deliver high awareness and Returns on

Investment (ROI), and allow VisitBritain to deliver economies of scale and reinforces our focus on marketing excellence,

innovation and creativity.

VisitBritain will continue to play a lead role in the GREAT campaign working with Government agencies and Departments to

position Britain as a great place to visit, study, invest in and do business with. We will deliver an inspirational campaign to

increase awareness of Britain as a tourism destination and to motivate potential visitors to choose to visit Britain, using

additional funding committed by Government across a balanced portfolio of markets that deliver value now, and in growth

markets. This will include some high profile above the line advertising.

GREAT activity and partnership campaigns are to be aligned even more closely, ensuring VisitBritain maximises all

marketing investment by utilising a targeted mix of partnership and solus funding to raise awareness and then convert the

interest into bookings for Britain.

We will concentrate GREAT campaign activity into fewer large-scale, high-impact city based campaigns which can be

extended into a larger number of markets through the redeployment of assets developed, and through partner marketing

activities. This will be complimented by an ‘always on’ digital and social media offering, accessible worldwide.

Our marketing will use the key triggers for travel to Britain– culture, heritage, countryside - supported by shopping, food,

sport, adventure, and music.

Our 2014/15 campaigns will continue to address the recommendations in the Britain tourism strategy; to showcase London-

plus experiences to consumers, to ensure Britain is packaged well and sold by the trade, and to raise awareness of the ease

of access to Britain as a whole.

VisitBritain must work with industry, government and stakeholders and take the lead on areas where it can contribute to the

overarching aim of achieving £31.5 billion in incremental spend by 40 million visitors to Britain annually by 2020 as set out in

the Delivering a Golden Legacy strategy, and with ever stronger global competition playing a key role in the UK

government’s race for growth.

Underpinning any direct advertising to customers will be the work to ensure we take full advantage of the much wider reach

of our main intermediaries: the media, the travel industry and brand partners. We will provide them with all the information,

tools and content that they require in order to persuade consumers to choose Britain as their next travel destination.

We will continue to evolve our social media presence to create advocates for the Britain brand – particularly the so-called

‘Millennials’. We are moving to maximise the opportunities of the new technology at our disposal by engaging in a dialogue

with consumers.

We will ensure that when the customer does use our key communication channels – our redeveloped suite of digital

platforms and eCRM programme – the content will be flexible and tailored to their (increasingly individual) needs. When the

customer does not use our channels we will take our content to the places where they are making destination choices and

engage at critical moments, such as major portals, commercial partner sites, travel sites, video search engines and blogs

and independent Apps from the developer community. We will harness user generated content and 3rd party endorsements

to authenticate the experiences to be had in Britain.

We will adapt to rapidly changing media consumption habits and take our rich content onto growing mainstream mobile

platforms. We will do this by using a ‘small scale test and then wider deployment’ plan.

Perceptions of Britain have changed post 2012 – we need to adapt the overarching positioning of Britain and to reflect these

changes. This positioning will take into account three key drivers – the need to provide strong reasons to come to Britain



now, a greater sense of urgency, welcome and fun, and to build on the brand following the successful Games in 2012. We

will target first time and repeat visitors (and identify opportunities to increase the lifetime value of frequent repeat visitors).

The brand proposition will be flexed to take into account market and segment differences, and the products proposed will be

generated by top down open source insights (such as IPS, CAA and focus group research) as well as crowd sourced

insights through our data sets.

In the field of PR, social and digital, we will focus on the quality of coverage as well as the volume with activity aimed at

digital and broadcast media. We will also increase the distribution of high-quality proprietary and UGC video content. We will

track channel performance to establish the links between PR activity and user behaviours.

2014 sees Britain hosting the Commonwealth Games, Tour de France Grand Depart, the Ryder Cup, and celebrating both

the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dylan Thomas, and Shakespeare’s 450th birthday. VisitBritain will work with host cities

and nations to promote these events and generate positive PR overseas.

Activities

Partner marketing campaigns – raising non-government funding and executing tactical marketing campaigns in

VisitBritain’s international markets;

Sounds of GREAT Britain – using a GREAT consumer film to position Britain as surprising, but familiar; modern,

but based on a depth of history;

Countryside is GREAT campaign – promoting Britain’s natural beauty in partnership with UK National Parks;

Culture is GREAT campaign – promoting Britain’s cultural offering including film, theatre and TV;

Working with regional gateways and partners to increase visits beyond London;

‘Always on’ digital and social media including the development of a new suite of mobile first digital platforms that

engage and inspire potential visitors, and also deliver greater insight into consumer media and experiential needs;

A major study to segment the potential audiences for Britain to allow us to target the best prospects that will

deliver against our ambitions, at the right time, through the right channels, with the right messaging;

A strategic partnership with UKTI to deliver benefits for the Business Visits and Events sector.

Maximising public investment through partner engagement and commercial activity

Partnerships are critical to our success – they provide bookable product, they convert interest into action and they extend

the visibility, duration and impact of our campaigns. Additionally VisitBritain has experience working with brand partners,

especially in film tourism promotions. This important work, which helps to extend the reach of the Britain proposition to new

audiences, will continue with film, TV and music partnerships.

VisitBritain has a non-exclusive partnering policy in line with EU competition law. VB does have mandatory requirements for

different partnership types and weighted selection criteria by which it chooses partner participation across a range of

marketing activity ranging from 50/50 co-created activity to paid access to VB consumer, trade and PR platforms. This

weighting is fundamental to ensure VB’s partnering and partner-based activity contributes to our strategic efforts to attract

incremental visits and spend to Britain.

The key priorities by which VB weights its partner selection are as follows:

Priorities Description

Fit with VB Market approach

VB categorises its target markets based on the nature of the characteristics of the market. VB shapes its approach according to the challenges/opportunity.

Degree/Level of Connectivity

In-terms of:

Consumer reach within source market

Support for regional and seasonal spread

Value for Money

Compared with similar competitive products , and commensurate with quality of offer



Product/Market Fit Relevance to consumer taste and expectations

Additionality In terms of capacity, improved access, value of customer and spend

Marketing In Kind Partners which are willing to extend VisitBritain’s marketing to their own channels

VisitBritain will continue to develop its retail activities. In 2014/15 we intend to generate revenue through new initiatives and

business channels, which will enable us to maximise reinvestment in VisitBritain’s wider activity.

As our retail operations expand, ‘virtual footfall’ increases, providing the business case for us to expand the online shop

platform into new languages and markets as turnover grows.

Consistent with VisitBritain’s desire to inspire visitors to travel beyond London, we will continue to bring forward compelling

and appropriate products to sell on the VisitBritain shop, and develop the route to market for new UK product.

Activities

Retail

Partner with big brands / Developing business opportunities with third-parties to generate new and incremental

business which in turn lead to increased revenue

Optimise and enhance the TfL shop on the new platform, to increase revenue, profit and conversion rates

Promoting and selling sports tickets from the ‘white label’ website that has been created. This will be aligned with

big sporting events and VisitBritain marketing activities

Add BritRail booking fees to all bookings in certain markets, to increase revenue and margin without reducing

conversion rates

Sell VFS (the visa application centre operators) marketing opportunities to the UK trade, to take advantage of a

potential new stream of revenue with no cost of sale

Set up and send basket abandonment e-mails to customers, to increase conversion and revenue from customers

that drop out of making a purchase

Join an affiliate network to deliver incremental sales through affiliates

Ensure staff skills and development are relevant to their roles and updated as required so that we deliver better

results due to improved knowledge and experience

Carry out user testing in Australia and USA, to ensure that we put in place changes which improve conversion,

average basket value and revenue from these shops.

Working with the travel trade and using our global network to support tourism promotion overseas

VisitBritain has a global footprint, through a strong digital presence and using commercial partners’ assets. Our overseas

offices cover 22 markets that currently offer the best immediate return and best future prospects for Britain.

Thanks to our strong relationship with public diplomacy partners (FCO, UKTI and the British Council) and co-location

overseas with the FCO, we will extend the reach and influence of tourism, as well as continuing to boost Britain’s image

overseas.

Across all of our international markets, VisitBritain will continue to deliver ‘brilliant basics’, including the collection of market

research and insights, destination PR, a digital and social media presence, eCRM activity and key account management of

international travel trade businesses.

In 2014/15 our business to business (B2B) activity will focus on delivering improvements to the range of Britain product

promoted overseas, and its route to market. Over the course of the financial year we will also review B2B platforms and

build on strengths in 2014/15, whilst preparing to implement improvements in 2015/16. 2014/15 will see VisitBritain deliver a



full range of B2B events, including overseas trade missions, and participate in World Travel Market, International Luxury

Travel Market and other travel trade events. Hosted Buyers’ Market will evolve into a new event, ExploreGB.

Britain aims to attract 40 million visitors a year by 2020. 21% of projected growth is forecast to come from markets where

VisitBritain does not have a physical presence. In 2014/15 we will trial a new approach to ‘nurture’ tourism from the most

promising of these markets through making strategic, but low / no cost interventions, working with partners and ‘sweating’

our existing resources and assets. This will support HMG’s soft power, security and prosperity agendas, help Britain

achieve the 2020 ambition, and, in providing a model for scaling activity up or down as market conditions and wider HMG

priorities dictate.

Activities

Markets

Trade programme of packaging, incentives and sales support for tour operators, destination and product sales missions and trips, destination education programme, educational visits and inspirational and informative trade tools;

Support the GREAT campaign, using its themes and messaging throughout our activities;

Provision of insights, advice and tools to increase the ability of destinations and product to attract overseas customers;

Delivery of destination PR in VisitBritain’s overseas markets;

Maintain good working relationships with public diplomacy partners on territory using our influence to ensure

tourism is high on the agenda for Ambassadors and visiting Government Ministers;

Managing relationships on-territory with commercial partners;

Support the delivery of ‘nurture market’ tourism promotion pilots.

B2B

Continue to refine VisitBritain’s proposition to the travel trade to ensure that they know how VisitBritain can help;

Deliver a World Travel Leaders event in the UK during the summer of 2014 to showcase ‘London Plus’;

Review the BritAgent travel agent training programme to ensure that it fits the needs of the trade;

Develop the trade website, to ensure that it has inspiring content for overseas travel trade, is easy to use by our

staff, overseas and UK trade and has a 3-5 year development plan in place;

Update and evolve the business toolkit – including evaluation of its effectiveness in order to ensure there is a good

ROI;

Deliver all currently planned VB missions and events, including Explore Britain at the start of 2015;

Review B2B platforms to ensure they remain fit for purpose;

Put in place a system and process to answer trade enquiries across the organisation to a high service level and as

standard;

Continue to develop account management of key travel trade contacts, including putting processes in place to

ensure effective Key Account Management (KAM) of B2B partners through the Client Relationship Management

(CRM) database, and explore the potential for a ‘premium’ KAM service using senior VisitBritain staff;

Integrate Retail offers and activities into all relevant communications - increase trade sales to +10% of all online

sales on the VB shops.

Advising Government and industry on tourism and competitiveness

Tourism is seen as an essential part of the growth agenda by the Government, capable of delivering economic growth for

Britain and jobs right across the nation. We have published a long-term tourism strategy for Britain to deliver 40 million

international visitors spending £31.5 billion by 2020 – an ambition endorsed by DCMS ministers.

In 2014/15 we will continue to act as the strategic body for inbound tourism to Britain, and support the delivery of a suite of

strategies by continuing to deliver world-class insights, research and evaluation to support the UK tourism industry, and to

underpin VisitBritain's decision making and competitive analysis.



The Strategy and Communications division will lead and coordinate VisitBritain's engagement with UK stakeholders as part

of the delivery of the Britain Strategy, and support the extension of the range of Britain product promoted overseas, and its

route to market.

We will also maintain VisitBritain’s status as trusted advisor to Government on competitiveness issues.

Activities

Tourism Affairs

Engagement activity will demonstrate delivery for Government departments and, communicate VisitBritain’s

unique role in implementing a strategy to grow international tourism and maximize economic benefits;

Competitiveness and Britain Strategy implementation: Ahead of the market strategies’ expiration in 2015/16,

competitive assessments for each of VisitBritain’s overseas priority markets will be refreshed in FY 2014/15;

Annual benchmarking of all 22 market strategies will also be reported, highlighting progress compared with

previous years. Over the longer term, this work will feed into the next tranche of market strategies which will take

VisitBritain and stakeholders to the period to 2020, the milestone year of the Britain Strategy.

Corporate Communications

Development and delivery of VisitBritain’s external corporate communications strategy and programme, projecting

VisitBritain’s policies, activities, opportunities and achievements to our UK partner organisations - digital, social

media, offline, CRM system, scripts and content development, and the British Tourism Industry Group (BTIG);

Redevelopment of our corporate website - www.visitbritain.org - to maximise potential in terms of reach and

engagement;

Review CRM system to ensure fit for purpose for UK industry engagement;

Development and delivery of VisitBritain’s internal communications strategy, including greater use of social media;

Review intranet and scope future channel;

Oversee VisitBritain’s UK events programme for staff, the UK industry and overseas trade and provide guidance

for our overseas events;

Maintain VisitBritain’s strong reputation in crisis communications.

Research and evaluation

Maintain suite of Market and Trade Profiles, timely reporting of monthly, quarterly and annual IPS data, bespoke

research to underpin marketing decisions and competitive analysis;

Publish an annual forecast of inbound tourism;

Evaluate the effectiveness of: campaign activity, VB.com suite of websites, B2B activity with UK trade, B2B activity

with overseas trade, social media activity (at a minimum LoveGREATBritain) and consumer Electronic Direct

Mailings;

Participate in Anholt Nations Brand Index Study and commentate on results relating to global perceptions of

Britain;

Participate in CAA Departing Passenger Survey to monitor degree to which departing visitors feel 'welcome' in

Britain;

Add questions to ONS International Passenger Survey to better understand profile and behaviour of inbound

visitors;

Work with the ONS to review International Passenger Survey data on visitor spend .

Corporate PR

A central resource for key messages, and core scripts for the organisation;

Broaden relationships with business, political and economic writers and commentators, as well as sector press

outside of usual trade, and not limited to national outlets;



Well-planned schedule of external communications activity based on organisational aims including regular

briefings and selective use of speeches and events (industry and other);

Agree a series of controlled media interviews and/or Op/Ed pieces to raise profile of the organisation among key

audiences;

Re-establish connections to key media and target media to place VB as an organisation for comment on industry

and other matters (e.g. business);

Increase number of intermediaries who are promoting VisitBritain, delivering key messages and material through

their own channels;

Where appropriate provide support to boost media engagement at VisitBritain overseas missions, events & trade

fairs.

Managing our business to deliver greater efficiencies and impact

Good governance and an efficient business service to both VisitBritain and VisitEngland supports our organisational and

operational needs. Business services provide technology, human resource management, financial planning and

management accounting, office facilities management, legal counsel and board secretariat, risk and audit management,

operational policies and procedures.

We have well-regarded systems, policies and procedures in place to ensure that best practice is adhered to in all areas of

financial and non-financial governance.

In 2014/15, Business Services will oversee the achievement of VB’s efficiency targets, and work with the research team to

ensure evaluation is robust, and that VB spends money to achieve our planned outcomes.

Activities

Deliver cost effective customer orientated services to VisitBritain

Implement the recommendations of the Business Services review

Increase corporate productivity through the use of the most cost effective best of breed processes, systems and

software and hardware providing a stable and resilient environment Offering appropriate functionality to staff to

assist delivery of organisational objectives

Develop closer reporting relationship between quarterly management accounts and outcome reporting

Issue total rewards statements to demonstrate the overall value of reward package

Develop staff through targeted training

Conduct a ‘Pulse’ survey to ensure VB remains on course for successful Investors In People re-accreditation in

2015

Activate auto-enrolment for the British Tourist Boards pension scheme

Ensure IT systems are robust and secure and Cloud-ready

Achieve an overall systems uptime above 97%

Complete move of mobile services to Government framework, and replace mobile estate – Blackberry to Android

or iPhone

Work with the FCO on the renewal of arrangements for hosting government bodies in FCO locations overseas



Performance measurement

Category

Definition Measurement Tool Target

Marketing

Business generated – incremental spend and additional visits

Additional visitors and incremental spend directly attributable to VB intervention (decision to visit, enhanced length of stay, regional spread and spend per visit)

VB evaluation process £700 million in additional visitor spending (tactical campaign - £500 million, GREAT campaign - £200 million)

Image building

Awareness of VisitBritain activity, recall of said activity, and effect on motivation to travel

IPSOS-Mori brand tracker Increases in awareness, recall and motivation. ROI (when aggregated) of c 7:1 on pure brand and 14:1 on matched funded activity

Advertising-equivalent value

PR industry standard measurement of the benefit to a client from media coverage of a PR campaign. AVE commonly measures the size of the coverage gained, its placement and calculate what the equivalent amount of space, if paid for as advertising, would cost.

Measurement through Gorkana £350 million

Visits to family of digital platforms

Measuring the influence of VisitBritain’s consumer-facing digital platforms through unique visitor numbers, dwell time and social engagement

Analytics 7.5 million unique visits

Visits to content provided to 3rd parties

Unique visitors Partner reporting, analytics In-excess of 250 million content views

Data acquisition

Opted in, qualified customer contact details

VB e-CRM system In development

Social Media and Commerce

Engagement and reach of social messaging. Additional visitors and incremental spend directly attributable to VB intervention (decision to visit, enhanced length of stay, regional spread and spend per visit)

Social media analytics

VB standard evaluation methodologies

Reach of 2 million users

Contribution to overall incremental spend targets



Category


Global Network

Export earnings VisitBritain’s contribution to export earnings for UK-based tourism businesses resulting from the use of VisitBritain’s overseas network and trade missions

Annual survey of a representative sample of UK travel industry firms that interact with VB

£8 million of additional earnings by companies which use VisitBritain’s international network and trade missions

Industry satisfaction A measure of how effectively VB is helping the international travel trade package and promote British travel products

Annual survey of a representative sample of VB’s overseas travel partners to gauge VB’s performance

Satisfaction score of 80%

Nurture markets

Britain aims to attract 40m visitors a year by 2020. Forecasts suggest that 3.5 million of this total will come from markets where VisitBritain has no physical presence. In addition, VisitBritain seeks to support HMG's wider soft power agenda, and the promotion of trade links with 'emerging powers'

In development. Evaluated using methodology for partner marketing campaigns Evaluated using VisitBritain’s incremental visit and spend methodology and a balanced score card approach

In development. A measurable increase in visits and spend from non-VB markets Deliver greater returns on investment through maximising use of existing resources and assets

Advising Government and industry on tourism and competitiveness

Public affairs and political engagement

Parliamentarians to be informed and engaged with tourism issues Ministers in key Government departments – FCO, BiS, DfT, Home Office - champion tourism overseas

References to tourism in Hansard and in manifestoes

High profile of and support for VisitBritain and the wider tourism sector ahead of the 2015 General Election

Competitiveness and Britain Strategy implementation

Progress made on the implementation of the Britain Strategy

Publication of revised competitive assessments Publication of long-term business plan

Review of all 22 competitive assessments

Publication of VisitBritain long-term business plan

Stakeholder communications

Industry to be informed on and engaged with VisitBritain and inbound tourism Staff to be informed on and engaged with VisitBritain Positive coverage of tourism in UK and overseas at times of crisis

Ecorys Survey

Investors in People

Media monitoring

Industry partners able to make better informed decisions on market and product investment Engaged and motivated workforce Consistent tourism response and messaging at times of



Category


crisis

Research and evaluation

Our Research and Evaluation informs the tourism industry, and our marketing and B2B activity through robust analysis of the current and potential future market, the levers and the barriers to growth. By evaluating the outcomes from our activity we are able both to monitor progress against targets and to establish what is, and what is not, working effectively and thereby take appropriate action.

Annual survey of businesses with which VisitBritain interacts primarily measures the outcomes of that activity in terms of incremental visitor spend or export earnings, but in addition is used to capture the satisfaction of stakeholders with our market intelligence. Furthermore, during 2014/15 a group of ‘critical friends’ will be convened to work with us on revamping the market intelligence content (including how it is presented and structured) on the new VisitBritain corporate website. Retrospective analysis using IPS data to establish the forecast accuracy once full-year final data is released in April/May Regular surveys of consumers potentially influenced by VisitBritain activity to establish degree of recognition and influence on behaviour. For tactical activity surveys to take place within three to six months of the campaign ending and for ‘business as usual’ activity surveys to take place in the period April to June.

At least 50% of UK businesses with which VisitBritain works say that our advice and market intelligence has supported their decision making. A suite of Market and Trade Profiles enabling VisitBritain to demonstrate it is an authority on inbound tourism from each of our priority markets and bespoke research reports focussing on topics identified in the Competitive Assessments as crucial in delivering Britain Strategy targets Forecasts for the future volume and value of inbound tourism to Britain in both the short and long-term that clearly cite risks and opportunities to achieving the Britain Strategy targets Research and evaluation evidence is used to inform marketing choices, both tactical and the selection of campaign partners.

Corporate PR

Generate positive coverage about tourism’s value to Britain and the UK economy, alongside creating greater awareness of VisitBritain’s value to tourism in print, online and social media channels Communicate emerging findings on tourism generated by the Research & Insights team Enhance the organisation's recognition among media audiences and opinion-formers

Metrica media monitoring Build list of tourism advocates.

Increased share of voice for tourism on the international stage and in the British media - 600 pieces of coverage in national, regional outlets, including 70 in business sections. Broader relationships with business, political and economic writers and commentators, as well as sector press outside of usual trade,



Category


– particularly business, financial and economic sectors. Greater strategic coordination of the regions and destinations across Britain to develop and inform VisitBritain's corporate press & PR activity; Strengthen messaging with commercial and public sector partners through all aspects of the GREAT campaign.

and not limited to national outlets. Increased number of intermediaries who are promoting VisitBritain, delivering key messages and material through their own channels. Strong relationships with key media and GREAT partners by implementing series of executive roundtables on key issues facing the industry.

Maximising Public Investment

Partner engagement

Private sector investment and participation in the £100 million tactical marketing campaign

Standard accounting methodologies, and VisitBritain’s value-in-kind rate card and recording procedures

Non-government funding of £7 million, in cash and value-in-kind

Retail Revenues achieved through sales made, on and offline, by the VisitBritain shop

Standard accounting methodology

Revenue of £16.6 million in 2014/15

Managing our business

Business efficiency Improved efficiency and effectiveness

Overhead reduction IT upgrade

45% reduction from 2010/11

Cloud readiness



Financial Information

VisitBritain Budget 2014/15

Income

GIA - Core 19,691

GIA - GREAT Funding 17,000

GIA - Capital 192

Partnership Funding - Core 3,450

Partnership funding - GREAT 4,250

Retail - Gross Contribution* 2,254

Other Income 481

Total Income 47,318

Expenditure

Programme - Core 11,145

Programme - GREAT 21,250

Staff Costs 9,753

Staff Travel and Expenses 638

Property costs 2,026

Technology Costs 820

Irrecoverable VAT 700

Pension Deficit Recovery Plan 540

Contingency 80

Other Operational Costs 1,178

Learning and Development and Recruitment 240

Capital 192

Shared Services Allocation (1,244)

Total Expenditure 47,318

*Retail

Income 16,612

Cost of Sales 14,029

Marketing Costs 329

Gross Contribution 2,254



Appendix

1. Significant assumptions

Macro-economic Situation

Assumptions on global economy, UK economy and competitiveness and access to Britain will be as those used for

the Inbound Tourism Forecast 2014 paper presented to this Board.

Other key assumptions are:

Competitor Activity

The quality and quantity of competitor marketing in our primary source markets will continue at current levels

UK Inflation

UK inflation assumption 2.5% - from Treasury Forecasts for the Economy - October 2013

Budget Exchange Rates

A significant proportion of currency requirement can be matched to shop income. Major budget currency rates to

£1 sterling are:

o US Dollar 1.60

o Euro 1.23

Marketing Activity

There will be no occurrences that would lead to a significant change in Britain’s attractiveness as a destination

No commercial partner withdraws from the marketing programme

We achieve matched funding targets

Retail

Supplier relationships and terms of business will remain stable

Salary increase and bonus

Salary provision for pay award (due August 2014) and bonus payments (due April 2014) in line with Treasury

guidance.

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