Platinum Jubilee Kicks Off Celebrations In Britain
With Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations underway, Britain is the focus of the world’s attention and, not surprisingly, VisitBritain is taking the opportunity to promote ‘destination Britain’ and inspire travel from Canada.
With all international travel restrictions lifted for all passengers arriving in the UK since March 18, boosting consumer confidence in visiting Britain, tourism businesses across the country are ready to welcome back Canadians and provide a stand-out experience.
VisitBritain’s latest research1 shows pent-up demand for international travel from Canada. In fact, 77% of those surveyed here indicated they were keen to take an international leisure trip in the next 12 months — 51% definitely would and, of those, 56% had not yet booked or decided where to go, valuable opportunities for VisitBritain to influence decision-making, destination-choice and bookings.
Flight bookings and arrivals to the UK from North America are also continuing to show strong recovery. Arrivals from North America to the UK in the week to 15th May 2022 were at 78% of 2019 levels with latest available data showing that this is set to increase to 86% for the week of the Jubilee.2
VisitBritain SVP Americas Paul Gauger observed that: “As the world’s media turns its attention to the historic Platinum Jubilee celebrations and to some of our most iconic destinations including Buckingham Palace, where landmark events are taking place, we’ve got a fantastic opportunity to highlight our outstanding tourism offer and the amazing experiences that Canadians can only have in Britain.”
Gauger continued: “Canada is a very important inbound tourism market for the UK, we know there is pent-up demand for travel and our royal legacy and pomp and pageantry are proven tourism draws. The Jubilee celebrations, set to be watched by a global audience of hundreds of millions, will also show our hospitality, creativity and warm welcome to the world, boosting tourism to Britain.”
The official Jubilee celebrations – from June 2 to June 5 — feature Trooping the Colour, the Platinum Party at the Palace and The Platinum Jubilee Pageant. It is estimated that about one billion people globally will watch the show-stopping Jubilee pageant.
There is also a host of Jubilee inspired events, exhibitions and experiences happening across Britain in 2022. From ‘Superbloom at the Tower of London,’ with the Tower’s moat transformed into a spectacular field of millions of flowers, to The Royal Mews in London where visitors can see the Queen’s carriages, cars and horses. There are also dedicated Jubilee exhibitions throughout the summer and into autumn including special displays at the official Royal residences.
VisitBritain’s latest international consumer research, published in March, shows the draw of Britain’s history and heritage in driving inbound tourism. The chance to explore Britain’s history and heritage was the top motivator for Canadian international travellers keen to visit Britain this year, closely followed by dining out and visiting Britain’s iconic attractions.
VisitBritain is using the reach of its global channels to highlight the Jubilee celebrations and associated experiences and destinations throughout 2022. It has a dedicated Jubilee content ‘hub’ on its global website, promoting Britain’s royal heritage, destinations and experiences with a contemporary twist, telling the stories of places and inspiring visitors to discover more, travel further and stay longer.
