VisitBritain and British Airways aim to woo American tourists back to the UK in a multi-million pound post-pandemic recovery push.
The UK’s largest and most valuable inbound visitor market is being targeted with the ‘Meanwhile in Britain’ campaign.
VisitBritain and BA also forged a three-year partnership to market the UK globally.
BA will fly from 26 US gateways to London this summer, including a new route from Portland, Oregon to Heathrow from June.
The carrier also expanded a codeshare pact with Loganair to boost domestic regional connections
Return fares from New York to London are being offered from $472.
The US represented 15% of all inbound spending at £4.2 billion in pre-pandemic 2019 when there were 4.5 million visits, 11% of all inbound trips.
The new multi-channel campaign will showcase another side of Britain “full of current, cool and unmissable experiences” in a bid to challenge perceptions of the country, according to the tourism agency.
A group of ‘tastemakers’, including BA long-haul pilot Matthew Lindley, provide tips and favourite experiences to do in UK cities, incorporating food, the outdoors and “British icons with a modern twist”.
BA brand and customer experience director Tom Stevens said: “As we recover from the global pandemic, we are ready to be the airline that reconnects Britain with the world and the world with Britain – and are delighted to partner with VisitBritain in our shared goal of encouraging visitors to Britain.
“We’ve been working hard to create a more premium, seamless and enjoyable experience for our customers, with sustainability at the heart of our business.”
VisitBritain executive vice president of the Americas Gavin Landry said: “Britain is packed full of undiscovered and exciting experiences, and we want people to book a trip right now to come and explore our diverse culture, heritage and offerings across our nations and regions. “Working with a partner like British Airways amplifies our reach as we drive recovery from Covid, turning the inspiration to visit into bookings.”