The tourism organisation has not yet put the business out to tender, but confirmed that it was in the early stages of talking to agencies.
Earlier this year VisitBritain cut 55 jobs as part of a global restructure that saw it consolidate its international and domestic arms under a single marketing director, Michael Bedingfield.
VisitBritain currently uses Steak Media to handle the online advertising for EnjoyEngland.com. It also worked with Start Creative earlier this year to redevelop the visitbritain.com site. How-ever, it does not retain an overarching digital agency for its websites.
The tourism body's advertising is handled by Saatchi & Saatchi; in May it appointed Team Saatchi to review Britain's identity, with the aim of devising a brand that will put it on a par with Australia's 'So where the bloody hell are you?' and the '100% Pure New Zealand' positionings. The identity will be unveiled at the end of the year. This will precede the launch of the 'Cultural Olympiad', a four-year celebration of British culture, which will start after the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Earlier this month VisitBritain signed a deal with EMI Music to promote destinations connected to rock and pop music, allowing users to download tracks by the record label's artists (Marketing, 8 August).
It is also using digital marketing to target specific audiences, such as budget travellers and couples.
Last week it emerged that the government is to pour £1m into a marketing campaign to boost rural tourism in England.
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