VisitBritain is calling on the British public to invite their friends and relatives from around the world to visit the UK in 2012 – and anyone who is invited has the chance to win two return flights to the UK, while the person who invites them could win a Samsung Galaxy Tab.

The campaign is the latest phase of the UK national tourism agency’s ‘GREAT Britain – You’re Invited’ marketing programme, and follows a similar invitation from celebrities including Jamie Oliver, Dame Judi Dench and Matt Smith.

Under the slogan ‘Share Your GREAT Britain’, the British public, local communities and businesses across the country are being encouraged to make use of a free online toolkit which allows them to personalise a greeting and invite their global network to the UK for their next holiday.

A variety of tools are available free of charge for the public to help send their invites around the world. These include a ‘10 GREAT Reasons’ app on VisitBritain’s LoveUK Facebook page and a personalised postcard that can be downloaded from visitbritain.org.

International friends or relatives who receive an invitation will be entered into a draw to win two return flights to the UK, while anyone sending an invite has the chance to.

Sandie Dawe, chief executive of VisitBritain, says the organisation’s goal is to deliver 4 million visitors over four years, bringing an additional £2 billion in tourism spend to the UK.

Dawe says: “In June 2011, we launched a series of films in which British celebrities extended a personal invitation to Britain. This was followed by deals and offers from the travel industry. Now, we believe this invitation from the British public will inspire a greater number of visitors to choose Britain for their next holiday. 2012 is the year to be in Britain – with a raft of new festivals, exhibitions and events marking the Diamond Jubilee, celebrations of Shakespeare and Dickens and the hosting of the Olympic Games.”

A free tourism industry toolkit, available on www.visitbritain.org, will be provided to businesses, large or small, across Britain to help them participate in and benefit from the campaign. This will enable them to tailor adverts and newsletter templates in their own communications, so extending the reach of the invitation and inspiring more regional travel across the UK.