The British Tourist Authority is promoting a variety of destinations within the UK – especially in the countryside – to woo both the well-heeled regular visitor as well as the first-timer from the GCC, said a senior official.
Sumathi Ramanathan, the regional manager for Asia Pacific, Middle East (APME) at VisitBritain, says that the UK is attracting more and more tourists from the Gulf, as the region’s airlines continue to boost their services to the nation.
“The numbers are growing and at a rapid pace. The last year was the best ever for us with the number of inbound visits surging to a record 34.8 million, up two million over 2013,” she told TTN on the sidelines of VisitBritain’s B2B tourism mission in Bali, Indonesia.
In 2015, VisitBritain predicts a 2.5 per cent growth in volume, and 4.5 per cent growth in value for inbound tourism.
The agency is now eyeing a record 35.1 million visits this year, generating a visitor spend of £22.2 billion ($47.2 billion).
And Ramanathan reveals that the APME region holds the key to achieving this record.
“The APME holds the future for us as the demand from that region is growing steadily. But maintaining tourist growth will be a major challenge. So we are now focusing on a few things to improve our GCC numbers.”
She continued: “We have found that 70 per cent of the Gulf nationals who visit London go to the traditional luxury areas like Knightsbridge and Kensington for shopping and dining and then fly back. But we want them to do more.
“The GCC has always been a high repeat visit market – mainly the premium sector tourists from Qatar, UAE and Kuwait.
“And now we have the Saudis. But the majority are the emerging middle class and that too, many are first-timers.”
Ramanathan says that VisitBritain is now vigorously promoting the ‘London Plus’ strategy to the Saudi market.
“In this they first fly into London and then go on an excursion to the countryside,” revealed Ramanathan.
“They also get to visit several family attractions in London. For example, the Natural History Museum has the largest collection of Islamic artefacts while the Victorian Albert museum boasts of one of the largest Iranian carpets in the world.”
For tourists, after sightseeing, the next big thing is shopping. “However, we have seen that not many venture into this in a big way, as the UK is perceived as a very expensive retail destination.
“But, what many don’t know is that for every Harrods and Bond Street, there is an Oxford Street where you can find brands such as Primark and Newlook - good value for money.
“It is a win-win situation for visitors as they not only get to shop for themselves but also for relatives and friends back home.”
London, continued Ramanathan, has a lot of self-catering apartments and tourists looking for halal food can either buy halal-certified produce from shops or dine out at halal restaurants.
“We are quite confident that we have the right products for the Saudi emerging middle class market – whether in terms of shopping, food, accommodation or family attractions,” she stated.
For high-end clients, she said the focus is to “get them out of London to the countryside for a taste of the real Britain”.
“We want them flying into Manchester and see Yorkshire where they can go on horse rises, and indulge in falconry and fishing,” she noted.
And for the ultra wealthy, VisitBritain has a special package where guests can stay at a castle and live like a king. They can rent a castle to themselves and go on hunting expeditions, besides enjoying an afternoon high tea with family in the castle grounds.
Ramanathan said the Middle East market is growing and VisitBritain has set a target of 40 million tourists from the region over the next five years. “The GCC, no doubt, will be the biggest contributor,” she concluded.
By R Sushil Nair