Unlock your gateway to reach new global and domestic travellers
VisitBritain Shop puts UK businesses in front of expansive network of visitors globally.
The busy summer travel season is now upon us.
According to the latest seasonal travel index by Tripadvisor, 81 percent of Brits were planning holidays between June and August, with 68% planning a domestic trip or holiday.
In fact, almost two in five people claimed they’d be setting aside a budget for a UK holiday in 2023, a figure that is only set to rise as this warm weather continues and we near the end of the school term.
With a growing number of travellers set to sweep the UK shores seeking out new experiences and unique adventures, now is the time for businesses and regional destinations to be looking at their marketing strategies and bookability – which is why we’re super excited to have once again supported the new ‘National Lottery Days Out’ voucher campaign.
The multi-million pound promotion was launched to drive more domestic tourism experiences by offering National Lottery players a £25 voucher, which can be used towards over 500 participating attractions via the VisitBritain Shop.
Since its launch on Sunday 2nd of July 2023, vouchers have been selling two to three times faster than the previous campaign, which this year includes a greater spread of regional tourism ticket providers.
This is the second time VisitBritain has joined forces with The National Lottery and we’re proud to say that TXGB is the technology that connects the majority of visitor attractions, activities, tours and experiences bookable by both domestic and international customers.
Backed by a UK-wide national advertising campaign, it is a great way for tourism providers to boost their visibility and reach.
The opportunity to participate in future initiatives such as this is just one of the many reasons to ensure your tourism product or destination region as a whole is tapping into the national tourism agency’s booking platform, the VisitBritain Shop.
The most recent Inbound travel Sentiment Tracker revealed 28 percent of international visitors plan to book trips via a destination website – which means websites such as VisitBritain, VisitWales and Tourism Northern Ireland are a critical part of the channel mix for tourism product providers looking to capture a wider audience.
The VisitBritain Shop currently showcases over 500 bookable experiences across over 300 UK destinations and areas of interest such as culture, heritage, adventure, city breaks, sport, food & drink, theatre and music.
The website’s multi-currency and multi-language solution enables customers from over 90 territories to transact securely, opening up the UK’s vast tourism industry to a wide variety of visitors.
Most experiences available on the VisitBritain Shop are powered by TXGB technology, enabling product suppliers to upload their real-time availability and dynamic prices for an ever-improved customer experience.
The power of community connectivity
With its impressive track record of driving bookings worth millions of pounds (over £27M bookings in 2019), the VisitBritain Shop continues to represent a valuable partner for UK businesses, generating substantial revenue and fostering collaborative campaigns that promote domestic tourism.
Two of the latest consumer campaigns – The National Lottery Days Out and This One’s On Us – drove over £5 million of additional revenue into the UK visitor economy.
Operated in collaboration with TXGB, the campaigns boosted visibility and awareness of hundreds of attractions, bringing new customers of all ages to different locations across Britain.
Over 63 percent of visits using the most recent This One’s On Us domestic voucher campaign took place outside of London, with the Yorkshire Wildlife Park in South Yorkshire and Dudley Zoo and Castle in the West Midlands featuring in the top ten sellers.
The campaign successfully generated bookings from over 250 UK suppliers.
The £20 off voucher enabled UK businesses to showcase their products to new audiences and importantly, increase their profit with visitors generating an additional average spend of £12.77 per trip.
Are you connected to the VisitBritain Shop yet?
From attraction tickets to day trips, walking tours to sightseeing cruises, theatre tickets and much much more, hundreds of businesses are already benefiting from connecting to the shop, and we want you to be a part of it.
Benefits of connecting to the VisitBritain Shop:
- REACH new domestic and international travellers all year round – including traffic from affiliated websites and global travel trade, thanks to VisitBritain’s international travel trade network, PR activities and presence in-territory
- EXPOSURE to new audiences through large scale national campaigns, seasonal and regional marketing activity
- COMMISSION gets reinvested into domestic and international marketing, and the running of travel trade events such as ExploreGB
- NEW CUSTOMERS – TXGB customer, Clacton Pier, reported 70 percent of shop ticket sales were from new customers, who then wanted to visit again
- REPEAT visits generated from increased visibility to new audiences
- DRIVE visitors and spend into your local region
- BUILD brand awareness for your venue by retailing your experience on the VisitBritain Shop website
Whether you are a destination management organisation looking to encourage your tourism businesses to diversify their distribution to drive regional visitor traffic, or you are managing a bookable product, now is the time to get connected and promote the many diverse experiences your region has to offer.
Existing TXGB customers can opt-in to the VisitBritain Shop throughout the year, benefiting from the various domestic and global campaigns taking place on the site.
Simply visit your TXGB dashboard, go to ‘My Channels’ section and search for the VisitBritain, select view and then opt in.
If you’re not yet connected to TXGB and wish to become bookable on the VisitBritain Shop, go to txgb.co.uk and click ‘Get Started’ to complete a simple application in under five minutes.
The VisitBritain Shop launches exciting new regional and national campaigns throughout the year – being featured already means you are best placed to be part of future opportunities to drive sales.
When these campaigns go live it is a great opportunity to make the most of your visibility by promoting the campaign and the VisitBritain Shop with your existing customers and social media channels.
