Britain’s national tourism agency, VisitBritain’s advertising campaign has been launched across Saudi Arabia, ahead of Great Futures, a major trade expo held by the UK Government’s Great campaign in partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from May 14-15 in Riyadh.

The expo launches a year-long programme to drive business engagement between the UK and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Using Arabic-only assets the VisitBritain’s ‘Spilling the Tea on Great Britain’ advertising campaign got underway across digital platforms in Saudi Arabia on May 8, driving consumers to VisitBritain’s new Arabic website, inspiring visitors from the kingdom to plan their travel to Britain in 2024 and signposting to the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme for Saudi nationals.

It also sees the launch of a new augmented reality Snapchat lens, featuring 180-degree views of Britain’s countryside and coastal landscapes, to further inspire travel from Saudi Arabia and drive the campaign’s reach and engagement.

VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said: “Visiting the UK is easier than ever for Saudi nationals with the roll-out of the Electronic Travel Authorisation Scheme, boosting our competitive tourism offer and our welcome to visitors.

“We are delighted to launch this new phase of our major brand campaign in Saudi Arabia in the run up to the Great Futures trade expo and beyond, showcasing the breadth of exciting tourism products, experiences and destinations across Britain.

“Great Futures is also a valuable opportunity to build on our wider engagement in Saudi Arabia, including our work with the travel trade to sell British destinations. We look forward to strengthening our longer-term relationships with Saudi trade partners, supporting us to drive growth from this important visitor market.”

As part of the Great Futures programme, VisitBritain is hosting a ‘Destination Showcase’ and networking event, led by its Chairman Nick de Bois.

British destinations and destination management companies will be networking with leading Saudi travel executives with the chance also to hear first-hand about the motivations and trends driving outbound travel from Saudi Arabia.

Yates is also taking part in panel and roundtable discussions with representatives from across the UK’s tourism industry alongside Saudi counterparts at Great Futures, sharing insights, knowledge and experience.

Saudi Arabia is a very important visitor market for the UK. VisitBritain’s latest forecast predicts 240,000 visits from Saudi Arabia to the UK this year, up 9% on 2019. It is forecasting that visitors from Saudi Arabia will spend £752 million on their trips to the UK this year, up 20% on 2019. – TradeArabia News Service