tourism


Inbound tourism entering a period of great opportunities


sandie dawe is chief executive of VisitBritain


Private sector boosts new fund peTe Hayman


A new tourism marketing fund is ‘on course’ to reach £100m after private sector companies pledged to match public investment. British Airways; DFDS (fer-


W


e’re looking forward to an exciting and challeng- ing 2011. Te eyes of the world will be on Britain as


we host the Royal Wedding, and momen- tum will build as we near the 2012 Olympic Games. We plan to roll out our new cam- paign this spring with our industry partners, inviting the world to visit Britain. Our new research tells us that Britain will


attract 300,000 more visitors in 2011 as con- fidence among overseas tourists continues to rise despite global financial uncertain- ties. Te number of inbound travellers is expected to be 30 million – a rise of 1 per cent – in the coming year. Te amount they spend in this country is set to increase by 2 per cent in nominal terms to £17.2bn, up £0.34bn. Tis figure is considerably lower in real terms than the best year for inbound visitor spend (once adjusting for infla- tion), which remains 2006 with spending of £18.4bn at 2010 prices. Tis gradually improving picture emerges


in the latest of our foresights of future pros- pects. It shows that the global economic recovery is strong across much of Asia but it remains fragile in many parts of Europe and North America – two regions that account for 85 per cent of all international visits to Britain. Tat means pressure will grow on travellers’ disposable income during 2011, as global commodity prices rise and taxes increase in many parts of the world. On the positive side, the prolonged highly compet- itive value of sterling continues to make a trip to Britain very good value. So what are we actually doing to market


Britain in 2011? Britain is about to enter a period of exceptional opportunity for tour- ism marketing, thanks to the Royal Wedding in 2011, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and the Olympic Games. VisitBritain intends to leverage these events with the roll out of a global marketing campaign, match funded by the industry that will revitalise the image of Britain in the core markets of North America and near Europe and build awareness of all Britain has to offer in devel- oping tourism markets such as India and China. So an exciting year all round!


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ries); lastminute.com; P&O; and Radisson Edwardian have all agreed to back the fund, which has received £50m from tourism agency VisitBritain. It is hoped the four-year


campaign will help create 50,000 new jobs and attract 1 million extra visitors a year. Events such as this year’s


Te new tourism fund is designed to attract an extra 1 million visitors


Royal Wedding; the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee; and the 2012 London Olympic and Paralympic Games are expected to boost tourism. Prime Minister David Cameron said: “Last


year we challenged British businesses to help us put together the best tourism marketing campaign ever for Britain. Te response has


been magnificent, with pledges of cash and kind from companies that mean we are well on the way to our target.” Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt added:


“British companies have dug deep to back us in promoting this idea. And I hope that oth- ers will pitch in too.”


Cash boost for Highlands and Islands tourism peTe Hayman


Tourism schemes are among those set to ben- efit from £18m worth of Scottish Government investment in the Highlands and Islands. Enterprise, energy and tourism minister Jim Mather said the funding aims to create jobs


and strengthen economic recovery both in the region and across the country as a whole. Meashow Project Orkney; Sumburgh Head


Restoration and Development Project; and the Highlanders Museum Redevelopment Project are all among the recipients of funding.


Inbound tourism to grow by 1 per cent Tom walker


Te number of inbound visi- tors to the UK will increase by around 300,000 during 2011, an increase of 1 per cent. According to latest figures


from VisitBritain, the number of inbound trips will reach 30 million, as confidence among overseas tourists increases amid global uncertainties. The amount tourists


spend in the country is set to increase by 2 per cent to £17.2bn. The figure is con- siderably lower in real terms than the £18.4bn in 2006 for inbound visitor spend. During 2011, VisitBritain is expected to invest


heavily in promoting three forthcoming events - Te Royal Wedding, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and London 2012.


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


VisitBritain figures found that inbound visitor numbers will increase Sandie Dawe, VisitBritain’s chief executive,


said: “We plan to roll out our new campaign this spring with our industry partners, inviting the world to visit Britain” (see column, leſt).


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2011


image: visit britain images/eric nathan


image: visit britain images/grant pritchard


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