Launching a three-year marketing strategy last week, Bedingfield said he hoped to boost the value of domestic tourism from its current level of £52bn a year through two major TV ad campaigns next year and better co-ordination of the marketing of England.
The first campaign, through WCRS, will break in January, the peak holiday booking season. It will showcase England as a world-class holiday destination and serious alternative to foreign spring and summer holidays. A second campaign will run in September 2004 to stimulate demand for autumn short breaks.
VisitBritain, which took over domestic tourism marketing from the English Tourism Council in April, also plans to increase business tourism via the first dedicated England Convention Bureau.
"(Overall) tourism has the potential to grow by a third, from £76bn to £100bn by 2010 and domestic tourism is 80% of that figure. Business tourism alone in England is expected to grow by more than a third within the next three years," said Bedingfield.
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