VisitBritain and Turkish Airlines have launched a new global marketing partnership to attract more international visitors to Britain, with a focus
across the airline’s five regional gateways which include Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh, as well as London’s Heathrow and Gatwick.

This new partnership will see VisitBritain and Turkish Airlines develop an international marketing campaign over the coming 12-months and will initially focus on Saudi Arabian, Indian and other Gulf markets.

The campaign will inspire more visitors to see what makes Britain a GREAT destination, and explore all the nations and regions of Britain through the airline’s current gateways.

VisitBritain chief executive Sally Balcombe said: “We are very pleased to be the first national tourist body to develop a global partnership marketing campaign with Turkish Airlines.

“There are significant growth opportunities in the markets served by Turkish Airlines, including the emerging market of Saudi Arabia, using the airline’s global connectivity and rapidly expanding network.

“This partnership will also allow us to target our marketing to inspire more international visitors to come and explore all the nations and regions of Britain, so we can continue to create jobs and deliver our ambitious plans for growth.”

Partnering with a national tourist board on a global partnership is a first for Turkish Airlines, which is currently the world’s seventh largest airline, flying to more countries globally than any other carrier.

Inbound tourism is Britain’s fifth largest export industry and contributed more than £26 billion to the UK economy in 2013.

Turkish Airlines chief marketing officer Ahmet Olmustur said: “This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for Turkish Airlines and we are delighted to be teaming up with such an acknowledged and reputable brand as VisitBritain.

“The travel market in the UK continues to go from strength-to-strength and therefore we strongly believe this partnership will further enhance visitor numbers in the UK in the coming year.

“Turkish Airlines is always investing in the UK and, along with partnerships such as this, we hope to see big inroads being made in terms of visitor numbers.”

In India, VisitBritain’s partnership with Turkish Airlines will see the launch of a tactical digital campaign in early 2016.

India is one of Britain’s most important emerging visitor markets, with almost 400,000 visits from India in 2014, a four per cent increase from the previous year.

Turkish Airlines is also supporting VisitBritain’s ‘Bollywood is GREAT campaign’, focusing on promoting Britain’s culture and countryside.