A new campaign encouraging visitors to ‘Escape the Everyday’ with a weekend or mini break to Greater Manchester has launched as part of VisitEngland’s drive to bolster tourism following the pandemic.
Led by Marketing Manchester, the destination management organisation for the region, VisitEngland’s ‘Escape the Everyday’ campaign showcases the best of Greater Manchester’s visitor attractions and experiences to attract ‘free and easy mini-breakers’ from across the UK to book a visit.
Running throughout May and June, the campaign has been made possible thanks to a successful bid for funding to VisitEngland as part of a wider national initiative to stimulate the visitor economy in cities across England.
Marketing Manchester estimates that the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic reduced the Greater Manchester visitor economy by 70%, equivalent to £6bn, and this campaign is part of work to recover the industry back to pre-covid levels of £9bn, supporting 100,000 jobs.
Launched on visitmanchester.com, the campaign features new content to inspire visitors to the region alongside online advertising, user-generated influencer content, and social media takeovers that will showcase Greater Manchester’s lesser-known gems and bookable tours, alongside promoting culture, attractions, food and drink.
Visitors will have the opportunity to book onto experiences including tours with Scranchester Food Tours, Manchester Taxi Tours, and Craft Beer Tour Manchester, alongside attractions like the National Football Museum and gin distilling at Manchester Gin.
Visitors will be able to get inspiration, itinerary ideas, and events listings from the Visit Manchester website, including where to stay, and the best places to eat and drink.
Sheona Southern, Managing Director at Marketing Manchester, said: “We are delighted to have been successful in our bid for funding from VisitEngland, and their support will help us to promote the city-region whilst we continue building back the visitor economy following the pandemic.
“The Escape the Everyday campaign showcases the best of Greater Manchester’s visitor offer with vibrant new video, images, social media posts and creative advertising which we hope will attract visitors from across the UK to book a visit to the region and explore for themselves our fantastic offer of culture, nightlife, shopping, food and drink.”
Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “This new campaign is a great opportunity to showcase the best of Greater Manchester’s internationally renowned visitor offer, and the funding partnership with VisitEngland demonstrates just how much of a draw our city-region is to UK visitors. The pre-pandemic visitor economy was worth £9bn to Greater Manchester’s economy, supporting more than 100,000 jobs. Campaigns like this will be instrumental in welcoming visitors back to our city-region, providing a big boost to the local economy.”
VisitEngland Director, Andrew Stokes, said: “VisitEngland is very pleased to be delivering this fund to support destinations locally as they align their activities to our national ‘Escape the Everyday’ campaign, encouraging more people to discover the fantastic array of tourism products on their doorstep and further afield.
“With the slower return of international tourists, now is the time to visit our wonderful cities and remind ourselves why they are such a draw. The funding will also support local businesses who have been working so hard to welcome visitors back and provide a stand-out experience.”