UK eyes Asia to hit ambitious tourism targets
The UK is targeting Asia as it pursues the ambitious target of welcoming 40 million international arrivals by 2020.
The country’s tourism board, VisitBritain, is in Bangkok this week for its annual Destination Britain event, which puts Asian agents in direct contact with UK tourism operators. And speaking to Travel Daily at the event, VisitBritain’s Overseas Network Director, Keith Beecham, said the target was set following consultations with global tourism stakeholders, including those in Asia Pacific.
“It’s very much a ‘bottom-up’ approach. We went out to our major source countries, such as Australia and China, and brought together opinion leaders in the industry and challenged them to tell us what we were doing well, and what we needed to do better,” said Beecham. “This information was then shared with the UK government and companies, and the result of all that consultation was the ‘Ambition for British Tourism’ – a mission for all stakeholders.”
Beecham conceded however, that the visitor target was “not a given”, and that the country would need to work hard to achieve its goals.
“Things have to change and develop if we’re going to get 40m,” he said. “There are four areas that need continued work: the image of Britain, with our ‘GREAT Britain’ campaign, the product and the way we package it for the international trade, distribution in international markets – getting more of Britain on to the shelves -, and accessibility; opening up Britain to international travellers.”
On the final point of accessibility, VisitBritain recently formed a new GBP2m (US$3.1m) partnership with Emirates, which will promote the country overseas. And while Beecham said the new arrangement would not affect its relationship with British Airways, he admitted the Emirates partnership would enable it to tap new markets, especially in Asia Pacific.
“Emirates flies to five ports in Britain and also collects passengers from many different places in Asia Pacific,” said Beecham. “Working with them we can really start opening up Britain.”
Beecham added that VisitBritain is also keen to form relationships with other airlines. “It’s not about market share or competition; it’s about working cooperatively to grow Britain and grow the airlines’ businesses.”
Last year, the UK welcomed 31m international visitors, who spent a total of GBP18.6bn in the country. If VisitBritain’s 2020 ambitions are to be achieved it would require a 29% increase in arrivals and a massive 69% jump in tourist spending. And according to VisitBritain’s Marketing Director, Joss Croft, there is still “a lot of untapped opportunity in Asia”. To unlock this potential, the tourism board is concentrating on what it calls the ‘seven key pillars’ of UK tourism: culture, heritage, countryside, shopping, sport, music and food.
In terms of Asia, Croft admitted that VisitBritain would “dial up or dial down” these areas, depending on the market. In Asia for example, aspects such as shopping and sports are popular, and VisitBritain recently extended its contract with the English Premier League football for a further three years.
In addition, VisitBritain is also using a so-called “nurture market strategy” to target new, emerging markets without having a physical presence in the country. These include emerging Asian nations such as Indonesia. Working in partnership with external UK bodies such as the Foreign & Commonwealth Office, VisitBritain intends to provide tools to the travel trade to enable it to sell the UK more effectively.
“It’s a question of making sure we get the relevant product into the tour operator’s programme and then driving awareness and motivation through consumer marketing,” said Croft. “We already have our BritAgent specialist programme, but we may tailor these to different markets.”
Croft added that these “bespoke modules” would include initiatives aimed at a younger audience, trying to attract more Asian ‘Gen Y’ travellers to London.
Meanwhile, Beecham admitted that there were still barriers to travel to the UK, including cost and visa processes, but he noted that efforts are being made to alleviate this.
“There have been, and there will continue to be, improvements. It’s a competitive industry and if there are too many barriers then people will choose to go somewhere else, and we’re very mindful of that,” he said. “Our role is to communicate this to others in government so they’re aware of policy choices available to them.”
Meanwhile, the UK Home Office has released a statement saying that the UK is “committed to the continuous improvement of its visa service”, and that “improvements have already been announced and made to visa services in China and India”.
These improvements will certainly need to continue if the UK is to achieve its 2020 goals, but VisitBritain is certainly playing its part, and its increased focus on Asian markets will no doubt play a key role in whether or not the UK is able to achieve its ambitious targets.