VisitBritain, the national tourism agency of the UK, waited for 21 years to debut at SATTE. And when it finally did at the 21st edition of the event late last month, the NTO made the most of the occasion. Not only was VisitBritain one of the most visible exhibitors in the venue through its extensive use of hoardings and shuttle bus branding, it also entered into a strategic alliance with top travel associations of India like Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and Travel Agents Federation of India (TAFI).
The NTO signed and supported the signing of a series of MoUs between the key travel associations of India and those from the UK. The European Tour Operators Association (ETOA) signed separate MoUs with TAAI and TAFI represented by their President Iqbal Mulla and Vice President Praveen Chugh respectively. Karan Anand represented ETOA as the Relationship Head. The third MoU was signed between UKinbound and Outbound Tour Operator Association of India (OTOAI) represented by Ashley Jones, Board Member and Guldeep Singh Sahni respectively.
Primarily aimed at boosting Indian arrivals in the UK, the move is expected to facilitate better co-ordination, product development, education, etc. between the industry stakeholders of the two countries. The signing of MoUs were witnessed by Sir James Bevan KCMG, British High Commissioner to India and Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain at the VisitBritain stand at SATTE New Delhi.
Commenting on the announcement, Sandie Dawe, Chief Executive, VisitBritain said, “As per our latest data, VisitBritain is more than likely to surpass its ambition to attract 425,000 visits from India by 2016 – worth GBP 380 million in annual visitor spend. The Indian travellers visiting Britain last year were not deterred by the falling value of the rupee against the pound, which closed around Rs.100-level for the first time in history in August 2013. India is one of the priority markets for VisitBritain and we are committed to strengthening the links between the British and Indian travel and tourism industries. This strategic engagement between the two trade associations is aimed at closer collaboration to significantly benefit the travel industries of the UK and India.”
Sir James Bevan KCMG, British High Commissioner to India stated, “Well over one million Britons and Indians travel between our two countries every year. This is the lifeblood of the unique relationship between our two peoples. The 9 per cent growth notched in the number of Indian tourists to the UK in 2013 shows that this relationship is growing from strength to strength. I am delighted to see the enthusiasm of the British and Indian tourism industries to take this to the next stage and offer my full support to their efforts.”
With India being accorded a priority market status by the UK Government, the NTO is keen to build better visibility in India. The MoUs also come as an acknowledgment of the role that the Indian travel industry plays in outbound travel.
“Another reason why we are here is the importance of the travel industry as a partner in building the value of tourism to Britain. Our data shows that a good 80 per cent of the visits from India to the UK are booked through travel trade. So we and our suppliers are very keen to do business with the Indian travel industry. This is the first time that we have come to SATTE and we have a large delegation of suppliers with us,” Dawe had said at the opening ceremony a day before.
The UK witnessed 9 per cent growth in visitors number from India to the UK in first nine months of 2013, reaching a record arrival of 306,000 and GBP 349 million in spending.
