ITB 2007: British advertising campaign a resounding success

The 2-LAND advertising campaign, conducted under the name "Lower Rhine" in Great Britain and Ireland, has proved a resounding success. "Overnight stays by British guests and the associated turnover will triple in 2007 compared to last year", reported Rolf Adolphs, Managing Director of the Business Development Association for the District of Viersen, today (Thursday, 8 March 2007) at the International Tourism Fair in Berlin (ITB).

Some 1,300 overnight stays have already been pre-booked for this year's travel season by guests from Great Britain and Ireland, accounting for sales of 370,000 euros. Last year in comparison, the Lower Rhine tallied only 500 overnight stays (2006 turnover: 137,000 euros). The number of day guests is predicted to climb in 2007 from 250 British tourists (2006 turnover: 12,500 euros) to at least 1,150 guests (2007 turnover: at least 47,500 euros).

The second phase of the three-year advertising campaign is being launched in March 2007 and will focus on the major online travel operators, such as last.minute.com. "These travel marketers provide an excellent platform for presenting the hotels in the Lower Rhine to the British market", said Adolphs. Both German and Dutch hotels will be integrated into the online booking system. The "Lower Rhine" will be a featured destination on the tour operator's webpage, with a link to the region's own site. This presence includes banners and pop-ups as well as a bimonthly e-Newsletter sent to 1.4 million addresses. Also scheduled are two additional press tours for British journalists - in June to the Fashion Biennial in Arnheim and in September to the Street Fashion Show in Krefeld.

During the first year of the Lower Rhine campaign, advertisements, posters and radio commercials were used to put the region on the map for tour operators in Great Britain and Ireland.

Online co-operation for the German-Dutch market

The German-Dutch market has also been a focus of the Lower Rhine's online advertising activities during the past year. For example, the tourism promoter introduced itself in the "Travel" sections of the platforms web.de, gmx and 1&1. These co-operation partners boast monthly traffic totalling some 27 million users. Just a week after the ads were placed, 500 inquiries had already come in. Two thirds of the interested parties ended up booking a trip to the Lower Rhine. This marketing drive will be repeated in August and September 2007. Moreover, a press tour is planned for the end of June for German and Dutch journalists, taking the form of a culinary cycling trip across the Lower Rhine.

The Lower Rhine is clearly on the road to success - as clearly demonstrated by the popularity of the group catalogue for 2007. The first edition was already out of stock by February and 3,000 new catalogues had to be printed.

Additional details about the tourism project on the internet at www.2-LAND.de, by E-Mail info@2-LAND.de or by calling the phone number +49-2162-8179-333. If you would like to receive the latest press releases on the Lower Rhine by e-mail, go to www.2-LAND.de and subscribe under "Contact - Press releases".

contact: 2-LAND (en), Phone: +49-2162-8179306

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ITB 2007
"Lower Rhine" at the International Tourismus Fair in Berlin. Kaspar Müller-Bringmann/Casting fee-free
ITB 2007