ABTA has concluded its pilot tour of University campuses this June as part of its activity to boost brand awareness amongst 18-34 year olds. The events at Portsmouth, Nottingham and Warwick Universities attracted more than 10,000 students with thousands participating in the activities at the ABTA stand, speaking to ABTA staff and Members. Additionally the tour has reached over 24,000 people online via the ABTA Facebook page.

During the events students were invited to take part in fun experiences such as a climbing wall and having their picture taken with the ABTA logo in the background, the images were uploaded to ABTA’s new Facebook page and have gone viral with over 98,000 views to date. In addition a Tipi provided a unique area for students to engage and to learn more about ABTA and Member brands.

ABTA Members Real Gap, Tucan Travel, eufest, STA Travel and Best of Britain Holidays got involved with the campaign by offering fabulous competition prizes and attending the events. 

Lisa Crowther from STA Travel commented “From our perspective, the ‘Love Summer Love Travel’ campaign allowed us to engage with young people in a more relaxed non-sales led environment. Feedback from the students was incredibly positive with many saying they felt inspired to travel the world.”

Victoria Bacon, Head of Communications ABTA said: “This is the first time ABTA has done a tour of this kind and the results have been very promising. It has been a fantastic opportunity to speak to lots of students face to face and to raise the profile of the Association among this age group. It has shown an appetite for holidaymakers in this age group to engage with us and we will now be looking at ways to build on the programme next year.”

ABTA is continuing with other activities to raise awareness with 18 – 34 year olds, this includes a partnership with the UK’s biggest parenting club Bounty where new parents can find information and advice on travelling with babies and young children www.bounty.com/travel