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The government has unveiled a £40m marketing package as it

attempts to reverse the £2bn drop in revenue suffered by the UK

tourism industry last year.

The rescue plan will include a £25m advertising push designed to

tempt back one million visitors who were put off coming to Britain last

year by the foot-and-mouth crisis and the aftermath of the terrorist

attacks on the US.

Companies including British Airways, P&O, American Express, Hilton

Group, Avis and bmi british midland are partnering with the British

Tourist Authority (BTA) to support the campaign. The push was unveiled

by culture secretary Tessa Jowell on Monday.

The advertising blitz will focus on seven key markets, including the US,

which account for 60% of visitors to the UK. COI Communications roster

agencies Ogilvy & Mather, BMP DDB and Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO will

fight it out for the business, which will run between April and

September. A pitch will take place in mid-March.

Last year saw a 14% drop in overseas tourism revenues to about £11bn, while the number of foreign visitors plunged by 7% to 23

million.

AMV BBDO was responsible for the UKOK campaign, which is running in

seven key markets including the US, Canada, France and Ireland. UKOK

highlights the attraction of visiting the UK this year, focusing on

events such as the Golden Jubilee and the Commonwealth Games, which will

also be themes of the new work.

The government is also reported to be considering a revival of the

English Tourism Council's marketing function due to concerns that

regional tourism authorities are not doing enough to promote the country

as a whole. Regional bodies took responsibility for marketing in

1999.

Separately, London Tourism Action Group is understood to have shelved

its plans for a campaign aimed at Britons outside the capital. LTAG had

hired O&M and Zenith Media, the COI's standby agencies, to handle the

work.