Here's what UPI.com has to say:
"LONDON, Aug. 9 (UPI) -- Travel agents say that more Britons are vacationing at home this year while more Europeans are crossing the English Channel.
The influx from the continent has made up for a sharp drop in U.S. tourists, kept away by the low value of the dollar against the pound, The Telegraph reports."
The response of the British tourism officials? Promote home exchange! Normally this would be anathema for any agency whose mission is to get people to spend their tourism money. Hotels need guests, after all. But the British are figuring out that getting Americans overseas these days is going to take some innovative thinking.
This approach makes sense when you see that the marketing strategy for Britain tourism in the US is "Be a Brit Different". This campaign involves a website featuring "real" British people sharing their favorite things about their island home("Meet Heledd [not a typo]! She's British [from Wales] and wants to show you everything about her Britain."
On the other hand, I don't think this approach is a clever way for the British to approach their American cousins. These "regular Britons" are listed under the category "friends". We can see their Britain-related blogs or their profiles, most of which feature diplomatically vague descriptions under the heading "Political Views" and many of which reflect the European convention of having children with partners to whom the "friends" are not married.
Americans don't need any more inducement to be overly familiar with strangers from other countries. And the kind of Americans who can either afford to visit England right now, or are too timid to venture to a more "foreign" country are not going to relate to the Green Party-lovin' liberal shacking-up Brits featured on this website.
But for all the futility of trying to buddy up to Americans to chase fading travel dollars, I have to say the idea of promoting home exchange to newly impovershed American travelers is brilliant.
Here is the press release about this new development in tourism marketing. Personally, I think this is astounding and I take my bowler hat off to the British marketers who thought "outside the box" and made the call to let tourists in on the home exchange secret.
"VisitBritain offers tips on home exchange
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- VisitBritain has some tips for Americans interested in swapping homes as a way to save money on vacation.
The tourism promotion agency recommends Intervac - http://www.intervac.com - as a home exchange program that offers a "diverse selection of apartments, country houses and cottages in England, Scotland and Wales."
Green Theme International Home Exchange Holiday Service - http://www.gti-home-exchange.com - specializes in "eco-friendly homes" which may have solar panels, fluorescent or LED lights and sometimes even bicycles or hybrid cars.
HomeExchange - http://www.homeexchange.com - offers house swaps as well as hospitality exchanges, where you may stay with your host family.
Self-catering apartments such as Club Suites - http://www.sloaneclub.co.uk - and Soho Square - http://www.londonapartmentservice.co.uk - can also help you cut down on dining out expenses. Self-catering apartments have full-service kitchens with cooking utensils so you can buy food at a local grocery store and cook your own meals.
In addition, VisitBritain recommends checking out http://www.beabritdifferent.com to connect with locals for tips on places to go and ways to save money.
For more information on homestays, call 800-462-2748 or visit http://www.visitbritain.com/us."
Actually, I did visit that site and I couldn't find anything about home exchange. Let me know if you have better luck.
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