Visit Hull has launched a new campaign to welcome visitors back to the city.
The ‘It Must Be Hull’ campaign invites visitors to discover or rediscover Hull, with a major advertising push alongside new content on the Visit Hull website outlining all that the city has to offer
Tourism chiefs say that the city may once have been one of Britain’s best kept secrets, but Hull is now a top city break destination with plenty to tempt visitors.
And with 2021 set to be a year when staycations prove popular, Visit Hull aims to shine a light on its tourism offer, building on its success during its year in the international spotlight as UK 2017 City of Culture.
Hull is continuing to grow its reputation as a top destination, with latest figures showing that the visitor economy grew to £350 million in 2019, up from £313 million in 2018, an increase of 12 percent prior to the coronavirus pandemic.
The new campaign highlights what the city has to offer, with new visuals themed on its warm welcome, great trails, the best night’s sleep, food and friends, a great day out, and a change of scenery.
There will also be new social media activity as well as radio and YouTube advertising, all aimed at encouraging people to discover or rediscover the city; while Hull’s hotels are creating special offers as part of the campaign, which will run through until the autumn.
Among new city attractions are Ponto Lounge and Wrecking Ball, a music and bookstore that also has a café and arts space, while visitors can also now take a stroll across a striking new footbridge with special viewing areas, linking the city centre to Hull marina, waterfront and fruit market area.
Explore a world of street food at Trinity Market, Hull’s oldest covered market, home to a host of street food traders since a £3m refurbishment in 2017, which is now at full capacity for the first time in its 117-year history
Next year sees the centenary of poet Philip Larkin’s birth, and visitors can follow in the footsteps of one of the 20th-century’s greatest poets, who was Hull University Librarian from 1955 until his death in 1985, on the Larkin Trail. One of Hull’s most popular trails, the Fish Trail, featuring 41 fish pavement etchings across the city, has now gone digital, with a free app that can turn your mobile phone into a virtual time machine.
Hull’s popular cultural attractions have also reopened following lockdown, including The Deep, one of the country’s most spectacular aquariums, the Street Life Museum and Hull New Theatre. Hull’s Ferens Art Gallery is also currently exhibiting a masterpiece from Claude Monet – the first time work of the French impressionist has been exhibited in the city (until 4 July 2021).
And hopes are high that much-loved city events will return in 2021, such as the Freedom Festival – Hull’s flagship cultural event which normally fills the city’s streets with entertainment – and Humber Street Sesh, which takes over the Fruit Market, Humber Street, and marina, for live music, stalls and food and drink.
Hull is also a host city for this year’s Rugby League World Cup.
For all tourism information about Hull, see www.visithull.org