Holiday visits from India up despite rupee going down

LONDON - As VisitBritain is set to host its high profile tourism mission in Mumbai and New Delhi this week, new figures show that during the first three quarters of 2013, visits from India to the UK were up by 9% on the same period in 2012 - reaching new records of 306,000 visits and £349 million in spending.

Consequently, VisitBritain is more than likely to surpass its ambition to attract 425,000 visits from India by 2016 - worth £380 million in annual visitor spend.

The Indian travellers visiting Britain in their scores last year were not deterred by the falling value of the rupee against the pound, which closed below Rs 100-level for the first time in history in August 2013.

While 2012 saw visiting friends and family (VFR) overtaking holiday and business visits in volume, in 2013 VFR visits were down by 4% and visit growth from India was instead driven by 11% and 14% uplifts in holiday and business visits respectively. As a result, holiday visits reached their highest level for five years - 121,000 in the first three quarters of 2013 - and the amount spent on these visits hit a record amount of £62 million, 31% up from the same period last year and breaking 2008’s pre-financial crisis record of £60 million.

The results are a boost as VisitBritain commences a strong programme of 2014 GREAT marketing activity in India, including the development of a Culture is Great ‘Bollywood in Britain’ campaign launching later this year on the red carpet.

Supporting the GREAT marketing programme is VisitBritain’s annual India trade mission, taking place in Mumbai and New Delhi from Tuesday 28 January until Friday 31 January. This year the mission is part of SATTE, India’s largest Travel-Trade exhibition, giving mission attendees including Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum & Tour, Historic Royal Palaces, VisitManchester, St Paul’s Cathedral and Westfield UK the opportunity to meet with over 10,000 agents from all over India to promote their destinations, tour packages and attractions, highlighting value-for-money deals and unique experiences.

Indian perceptions of Britain are very positive, as shown in the latest 2013 Anholt GfK Nation Brand Index. Respondents from India rated Britain third out of fifty countries for historic buildings, vibrant city life and contemporary culture, second for rich cultural heritage and fifth for natural beauty and sport.4These perceptions are reflected in the ‘dream’ activities Indians would like to do in Britain. When asked which pre-defined activities would be at the top of their wish list on a trip to Britain, the top three choices were ‘View London from Shard tower / London Eye’ (24%), ‘Visit Buckingham Palace’ (29%) and ‘Visit 16th century historic Chatsworth House & gardens (12%)’.

Sandie Dawe, CEO of VisitBritain, commented: “We are fortunate that Indians are choosing Britain once again with new records broken for both spend and visits. This is testament to Britain being an inherently attractive and good value destination with a warm welcome and huge variety of locations and experiences – all of which will be showcased and sold at our mission this week.”

Sourced: TravelDailyNews