VisitEngland, the national tourist board, today launched a new multi-channel marketing campaign designed to boost domestic tourism in 2013 by highlighting some of England’s most romantic heritage cities. 

The two-week campaign is the first of six set to launch over the next three months, covering the four key themes of countryside, coast, heritage and culture – in total funded by £1.6million from the government’s Regional Growth Fund, plus additional contributions from businesses and partners in the tourism sector.

The participating destinations are Bath, Chester, London, Oxford, Salisbury, Stratford-upon-Avon and York.

The campaign will focus on the spectacular historic settings that these city destinations offer, as well as the boutique accommodation, quality restaurants and indulgent activities that create a perfect romantic getaway.

The campaign will incorporate a range of national online, broadcast and print elements in partnership with network radio stations Classic FM and Gold, as well as The Guardian, The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

There will also be a substantial programme of digital and social media activity, including Facebook competitions, video content, and a dedicated section on visitengland.com.

James Berresford, VisitEngland’s chief executive, commented: “This exciting campaign is the first of several launching this year with the aim of growing tourism in England.

“Starting in time for the run up to Valentine’s Day and Easter, the campaign promotes some of England’s most beautiful historic destinations.

“This is a great example of the industry working in partnership to stimulate tourism and grow jobs throughout the country.”

This new marketing activity is part of VisitEngland’s three-year investment project called ‘Growing Tourism Locally’.

Funded by £19.8million from the RGF, the project aims to generate £365million in additional tourism spend over the 2012-15 period and inspire more UK residents to take more holidays at home. 

The project aims to stimulate local employment to create jobs in the tourism sector by 9,100 over a three-year period to March 2015.