David Jeffries, pioneer of the UK weekend break, dies

Jeffries enjoyed a long career in the British tourism and travel industry, including 12 years at the English Tourist Board in the 1970s and 1980s where he developed the Let’s Go marketing campaign promoting weekend hotel breaks.

TTG praised his marketing strategy in 1983 for creating “a revolution in British holiday habits”, which helped to improve the economic performance of the country’s hotel industry.

“His part in creating the domestic short break was revolutionary,” said tourism consultant David Curtis-Brignell.

Jeffries was also involved in the launch of tourist information centres, hotel classification schemes and the Tudor Rose symbol for holiday accommodation in England.

During his career, Jeffries became a tourism professor at several universities, including University of Strathclyde Business School, as well as a consultant on tourism for the governments of numerous developing countries.

He was also a former chairman of the Tourism Society.