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Fears for future of VisitBritain GREAT campaign
A senior VisitBritain director says she fears for the future of its multi-million-pound GREAT marketing campaign, which has been running since 2011.
Director of strategy and communication Patricia Yates says she is concerned the campaign, which is jointly funded by the Government and the private sector, will be seen as a legacy project by the current Conservative government and ‘quietly dismantled’.
Speaking at this week’s UKinbound conference, Yates said: "I am really nervous about the future of GREAT. We have funding from the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport), the we are hugely dependent on it, but if you look at the message from Government, GREAT has moved from being centre stage with David Cameron.
"Boris Johnson has real support for a global Britain concept – what I am not sure about is who is going to fight for the GREAT money,who is going to fight for the pot, is it going to be seen as a legacy project and dismantled?"
Whilst admitting that lack of funding had forced VisitBritain to cancel several projects in European countries, Yates said the body would be making a big push at the Berlin travel show ITB this year.
"We have put a lot of effort and money into ITB, we will have a big stand and many companies will be attending," she told UKinbound delegates.
Although overall UK visitor numbers are expected to show an increase for 2019, the German market is of particular concern post Brexit, said Yates, adding that more money was being spent here to make sure visitors still feel welcome.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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