5 March 2008

VisitBritain, the national tourism marketing agency, and Red Letter Days, the UK’s leading experience company, today announced a further development to their ongoing partnership.   Enjoyenglanddirect.com (VisitBritain’s online shop portal for domestic holiday makers) will be the first Red Letter Days partner to offer the ‘Click and Go’ online availability of experiences – meaning customers will be able to instantly book an experience for a certain date, to mark an occasion or incorporate into their holiday or day out.

VisitBritain’s partnership with Red Letter Days means that domestic tourists can buy hundreds of experiences from cocktail and cookery master-classes, llama trekking and falconry to spa days, sports and outdoor activities, driving adventures or seeing the destination from the air.   Online booking enables visitors to benefit from live availability 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and secure booking.   With the impetus for travel being increasingly experience-led, VisitBritain and Red Letter Days aim to raise awareness of a variety of unforgettable experiences - all backed by Red Letter Days’ first-class customer service.

Kenny Boyle, Commercial and Marketing Services Director at VisitBritain said:

“This is an exciting new development in our synergetic partnership with Red Letter Days.   Having the ‘Click and Go’ online booking means that visitors will be able to incorporate evermore exciting elements into their holiday in England and raise awareness among consumers about our appeal as a holiday or day trip destination – without having to be constrained by normal booking hours.”

Bill Alexander, Managing Director at Red Letter Days said: 

“Our ‘Click and Go’ service has been a significant new development for the company. As the market leader in the experiences sector, we are continually looking at ways to meet and exceed consumer expectation. Offering this instant booking functionality via our website and now for the first time through a third partner, VisitBritain, will enable the consumer to really get the most from what England has to offer.”

Enjoy England Experiences are now available on VisitBritain’s online shop, www.enjoyenglanddirect.com for customers looking to give out-of-the-ordinary gifts or to incorporate into their holiday.   The experiences offered compliment Enjoy England campaign activity and the Enjoy England brand values of Real, Fun and Indulgent. 

Contact: SianBrenchley, Senior Press Officer, VisitBritain on 020 8563 3220 or 07971 497047

Notes to editors

·         VisitBritain is responsible for promoting Britain as a world class tourist destination and for developing England's visitor economy through Enjoy England campaigns and initiatives.

·         UKresidents took 101 million trips, spending £16.2 billion in England in 2006. Since its launch in 2003, Enjoy England has been responsible for £450m of incremental spend on short breaks in England. In addition to national TV advertising campaigns to inspire British visitors to share their secrets of England, the current portfolio of campaigns focuses on city breaks, outdoor activities, food and drink and indulgent escapes. Enjoy England also markets England in France, Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands.

·         Visit the England press centre at www.enjoyengland.com/presscentre.

·         Red Letter Days, created in 1989, pioneered the concept of giving experiences as unforgettable gifts. Owned by Dragons’ Den entrepreneurs, Peter Jones and Theo Paphitis, Red Letter Days offers an unrivalled choice of hundreds of experiences across the UK and abroad