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Leigh Turner

Ambassador to Austria and UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other International Organisations in Vienna

Part of Travel and consular services UK in Turkey

5th November 2015

A Match Made In Heaven? Turkish Airlines and VisitBritain

Tu Hwnt I’r Bont, a former courthouse, and the 17th century Pont Fawr stone bridge on the river Conwy. Sunset, dusk.

Take a top global airline. Add a top national tourist board.

Result: an innovative global marketing partnership to attract more international visitors to Britain.

On 20 October, VisitBritain and Turkish Airlines announced a new partnership. The partnership will focus at the UK end on Turkish Airline’s five regional gateways – including Manchester, Birmingham and Edinburgh – and at the international end on markets in Saudi Arabia, India and the Gulf.

The idea of the campaign is to inspire new people to see what makes Britain a GREAT destination and explore all the nations and regions of Britain through Turkish Airlines.

It all sounds pretty exciting to me. Turkish Airlines flies to more countries globally than any other carrier. Meanwhile inbound tourism is Britain’s fifth largest export industry and contributed more than £26 billion to the UK economy in 2013.

If you want to get a feel for why so many people are travelling to Britain on holiday – including many from Turkey – check out the VisitBritain “lovewall” or check out the fantastic gallery of pictures at my blog “British natural beauty” from September 2013. If you enjoy superb natural beauty, few countries offer more than Britain (although see also the #reasonstolikeIstanbul I am tweeting from my account @leighturnerFCO). Enjoy.

And if you are a travel agent or in the travel trade, check out the VisitBritain trade website for essential resources for travel professionals from brochures to itineraries to toolkits.

Follow Leigh Turner on Twitter  @LeighTurnerFCO

About Leigh Turner

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of…

I hope you find this blog interesting and, where appropriate, entertaining. My role in Vienna covers the relationship between Austria and the UK as well as the diverse work of the UN and other organisations; stories here will reflect that.

About me: I arrived in Vienna in August 2016 for my second posting in this wonderful city, having first served here in the mid-1980s. My previous job was as HM Consul-General and Director-General for Trade and Investment for Turkey, Central Asia and South Caucasus based in Istanbul.

Further back: I grew up in Nigeria, Exeter, Lesotho, Swaziland and Manchester before attending Cambridge University 1976-79. I worked in several government departments before joining the Foreign Office in 1983.

Keen to go to Africa and South America, I’ve had postings in Vienna (twice), Moscow, Bonn, Berlin, Kyiv and Istanbul, plus jobs in London ranging from the EU Budget to the British Overseas Territories.

2002-6 I was lucky enough to spend four years in Berlin running the house, looking after the children (born 1992 and 1994) and doing some writing and journalism.

To return to Vienna as ambassador is a privilege and a pleasure. I hope this blog reflects that.

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