GULF visitors may have spent a record £1 billion (about $1.7 billion) while holidaying in the UK the first nine months of last year, but VisitBritain’s overseas network director Keith Beecham is firmly focused on the challenge of getting visitors to the island nation “this year”.
Revealing figures from the UK’s Office of National Statistics, Beecham tells TTN that during the first three quarters of 2013, the total number of visits from GCC countries to the UK was up by 10 per cent on the same period in 2012, while spend increased by 11 per cent. This resulted in visits and spend hitting new records for the January to September period, with just over £1 billion spent during 452,000 total visits from the six GCC states.
“In this financial year ending March, we expect a turnover of £12 to £13 million [about $20 to $21.5 million] from our retail operations,” says Beecham, who was in the Gulf last month on trade missions to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
“We are one of the very few tourism operations around the world to have a retail operation. We promote this online, at visa counters and VFS, we have various touch points.”
One would think it’s an easy enough job promoting Britain. It is usually a favourite destination around the world, whether for history, love of English literature, popular culture or shopping.
“Britain is on most people’s bucket lists,” agrees Beecham. “The challenge for us lies in persuading people to visit us this year, now. For instance, 91 per cent of visitors from the UAE are repeat visitors. In Saudi Arabia, 84 per cent are repeat visitors. The other side of the challenge is to make the destination more compelling.
“We’re promoting all of Britain this year as well. About half of the visitors from the Gulf come to London, do the Golden Triangle of Oxford, Cambridge and London. We would like to continue promoting that part of Britain. We are also getting a lot of younger, more adventurous people going to Scotland and the countryside. We need to start promoting the interesting middle part of England for families to enjoy.”
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GCC visitors and spend in Britain have both been increasing over the years |
If GCC were considered one unit, there were a total of about 550,000 visitors from that region in 2012, who spent £1.2 billion ($2 billion) in all. The biggest market out of this lot was the UAE (256,000 visitors), followed by Saudi (111,000). “What is interesting is that if we look at the UAE market, a vast majority of people are coming back home – 60 per cent are British, 11 per cent are Emiratis,” says Beecham. “However, if I think of Saudi Arabia, 62 per cent are Saudis and the British are only 17 per cent.”
VisitBritain’s GCC trade mission to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait built on this growth, providing UK suppliers with the opportunity to meet more than 60 travel agents from across Saudi Arabia and 30 agents from Kuwait to promote holiday destinations, tour packages and attractions from all over Britain, highlighting attractive deals available to GCC holidaymakers in the lead up to the long summer break and school holidays.
Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum and Tour were among the suppliers attending the mission and Britain’s strong retail offering was showcased by Westfield UK and Bicester Village.
VisitBritain has invested heavily in ongoing tactical marketing across the GCC as part of its GREAT campaign.
In December it signed a three-year, $3.3 million partnership with Etihad Airways to facilitate joint marketing activities and worked together with the UK Embassy and British Council in Qatar to showcase the collaborative work of UK and Qatari fashion designers for the 2013 Qatar-UK Fashion Exchange.
VisitBritain predicts that by 2020 Saudi Arabia will have the highest projected value percentage growth – 181 per cent – among the 20 major and emerging markets in VisitBritain’s tourism strategy. It is also among the top five most high-spending markets for Britain, with an average spend per visit of £2,354 ($3,911), whilst the overall average for all visitors to Britain is £600 ($996) per visit.
Kuwait tops the high-spending markets for Britain, with an average spend per visit of £4,136 ($6,871); and VisitBritain predicts that by 2020, it will have a projected value percentage growth of 50 per cent.