Dunes to peaks: VisitBritain’s new tourism campaign

In a bid to encourage GCC visitors to explore the Great British countryside, VisitBritain, today unveiled the second edition of the “Dunes to Great Britain” marketing campaign today in the UAE. In 2013, the first edition “Dunes to Dales” focused on discovering Manchester and the Yorkshire Dales through 4 GCC nationals who cycled through the Dales. This year, social travel pioneers, Peeta Planet’s Mohammed and Peyman AlAwadhi introduce “Dunes to Peaks,” which maintains Manchester as an exciting city base and introduces the Peak District, a world-class holiday destination, just a 45-minute drive from Manchester, which offers fabulous countryside holiday experiences.

Mohammed and Peyman AlAwadhi, mentioned: “For many GCC citizens the UK is a top annual destination for personal and family trips. That’s why we are very excited to work with Visit Britain on a social travel campaign that showcases a side of the UK most tourists don’t realize exists, and play a role in strengthening the tourism ties between both regions.

“We traveled west to Manchester and the Peak District to see the many attractions the area had to offer. It’s one thing to hear about our adventures and another to actually see it. That’s why we created a series of videos of all the places we visited, food we ate, people we met and the exciting things we did.

“With travel between both regions being as easy and convenient as it is today, we hope our Visit Britain series inspires more Gulf Nationals and their families to experience the GREAT diversity that the UK has to offer its visitors. There’s something for everyone and we hope you try something a little different on your next trip!”

The brothers experienced a variety of different activities that proved both exciting and gave them a fresh perspective to what Britain had to offer. From shopping at Trafford Centre, exploring one of Manchester’s most exciting kids attractions; the LEGOLAND® Discovery Centre to going behind the scenes at Old Trafford and the Etihad Stadium, home of football rivals Manchester United and Manchester City respectively, Manchester definitely beat all their expectations.

The Peaks District was none the less, the highlight of the trip. Sat high up in a 1929 vintage car was the ideal way to show off the picturesque views of the British countryside. Attractions such as fly fishing and the award-winning Go Ape! High wire forest course of rope bridges, Tarzan swings and zip slides in the trees got their adrenaline going, and definitely appealed to their senses was their visit to the town of Bakewell its deliciously infamous Bakewell Pudding.

Their entire adventure is captured on the newly launched Arabic version of VisitBritain’s award-winning website, lovewall.visitbritain.com. GCC residents also stand a chance to win a ‘Dunes to Peaks’ experience by entering the competition on http://www.visitbritain.com/dunestopeaks. All they have to do is check out the videos and create their own itinerary based on what they liked. Content is shareable on social media networks through the hash tag #DunesToPeaks and الكثبان_والقمم#. The more they share, the higher their chances of winning.

Sumathi Ramanathan, VisitBritain’s Regional Manager, Asia Pacific & Middle East said: ‘Britain welcomes just fewer than 600,000 visitors from the GCC and the majority of them spend their holidays in the big cities as the awareness of a British countryside holiday is still low. With the new Arabic website, travellers have the option of researching a variety of holiday ideas in Arabic and we hope they will be inspired to extend their city breaks into the beautiful countryside.’

Annique Labuschagne, Manager GCC Markets, remarked: Dunes to Peaks is our second edition and we are very excited about collaborating with Peeta Planet to introduce the Peak District via Manchester. Next year, we intend to introduce a new part of the British countryside offering to the GCC audience and through a consistent ‘Dunes to GREAT Britain’ campaign theme.” added Labuschagne.

HE Ambassador, Philip Parham, commented: “Just as British travellers have been enthralled by the landscapes of Arabia for centuries, it is wonderful now to see Emiratis’ growing interest in the British countryside. The partnership with Peeta Planet will certainly foster this, telling a beautiful story about Britain’s rural treasures, and offering opportunities which will bring them to life.”

The AlAwadhi brothers were joined by GCC social media enthusiasts living in Britain. The Abduls, fashion bloggers from KSA and Sara Al-Hamad, the Kuwaiti food author, played a vital role in showcasing the shopping, fashion, food and lifestyle opportunities that the countryside has to offer, joining the brothers on some of their most exciting experiences.

Jacky Perkins, Chargé d’Affaires at the British Embassy in Kuwait, commented: ”we issued over 98,000 UK visas in Kuwait last year, and those numbers continue to grow. The relationship between Kuwait and the UK is a strong and historic one, and we are very delighted to see initiatives like this shed light on parts of Britain that offer just as many new opportunities and experiences as the big cities do. We hope to continue to encourage and develop interest in the British countryside amongst our local influencers and partners

Deputy Head of Mission at the British Embassy in Riyadh, Richard Wildash said I’m delighted that there has been a growing interest in the British countryside from Saudis who visit the UK and venture beyond our cities. With this campaign we invite you to enjoy with us the beauty and tranquillity of the British countryside and its wildlife, in its changing seasons. Every year we welcome over 100,000 Saudi visitors to the UK and we hope that more and more of them will travel into the countryside to feel close to nature and share the pleasure of those who live there. ”

Quote from: Sara Al-Hamad, the Kuwaiti food author: A few years ago I fell in love with the Peak District on a hiking trip. With Visit Britain and our trip to Bakewell and Chatsworth I was thrilled to revisit the picturesque Peak area to experience both its nature walks and all it has to offer a foodie: locally-made cheeses, oat cakes and chocolates to freshly grown fruit and vegetables, without forgetting its delicious Bakewell pudding! I hope more people get to experience this stunning area – I know I will be back.

Quote from the Abduls, Thana and Sakhaa: “We were honoured to be involved in a wonderful project with peeta planet as we had the pleasure shooting with the bothers. It probably one of most exciting projects that we got involved in, everyone was extremely welcoming and positive vibes were all round us and we think that’s what made the experience so great, the greater team that was behind it.”