� IN FOCUS l LONDON AND THE HOME COUNTIES


Indians are bowled over I


The number of Indian visitors to London is soaring and the prospects for 2018 and 2019 are positive too, reports Samantha Mayling


ndia is one of the fastest growing inbound markets for London, with tourist visits up


by two-fifths in 2017. Figures show that visits soared


from 273,400 in 2016 to 382,400 in 2017, up by 39.9%. It puts India 15th in the league table of London’s tourism markets – the US, France and Germany are the top three. China is 19th with 219,400 visitors in 2017 while Japan was 23rd with 174,800 tourists. Overall, international visitor numbers rose 4% to 19.8 million in 2017 – and spending soared by 14% to a record £13.5 billion. Laura Citron, chief executive of the London Mayor’s official promotional agency, London & Partners, said Indian tourists were attracted by the capital’s iconic landmarks, cultural institutions, restaurants, shopping and parks. “Next year will also see the Cricket


London & Partners criticised for new trade strategy


London & Partners blamed ‘limited resources’ for shifting its travel trade activity away from the domestic sector to markets in China, India and the Gulf. The agency said: “We are now


focusing our funding and activity in areas where we can have the most impact, and away from activities which are well served by existing providers. “Our travel trade activity this


year and next will solely focus on working with travel agents to attract tourists from the important and growing markets of China, India and the Gulf


14 TravelGBI | October 2018


Cooperation Council (GCC).” It added: “We are launching a


programme of new ‘Experience England’ itineraries, combining trips to London with stays in Manchester or Birmingham. This work is part-funded by VisitBritain’s Discover England Fund and we work with Marketing Manchester and West Midlands Growth Company.” Laura Citron (pictured), London


& Partners chief executive, said: “Our new strategy will ensure that


World Cup come to London and we’re looking forward to another record year of visitors,” she said. London & Partners said India’s tourism is growing rapidly because economic growth has led to burgeoning disposable incomes.


� Visits and spending The picture for long-haul is positive. The US – London’s largest inbound market by volume and value – saw visits grow by 12.7% and spending rose 12.6% during 2017. Chinese visits grew by 33% and spending soared by 51.2%, while visits from the Gulf region


Next year will see exciting events such as the Cricket World Cup come to London


increased by 8.5% to 517,300. Spending increasing by an estimated 91.3% to £1.75 billion. The first quarter of 2018 was the second best on record for London, and visitor numbers are maintaining strong growth from North America, Asia and Oceania. New airline links are also boosting tourism from key long- haul markets. On September 6, 2018, Indian airline Vistara signed a codeshare deal with British Airways that will


the London tourism economy goes from strength to strength. “To achieve this with limited


resources, we need to be more targeted and focus markets that will yield the biggest opportunities and where we can build on common messages that align across all of our audiences.” However, the domestic trade is concerned that the UK market is being neglected. Stuart Render, of coach tourism


consultancy Stuart Render Tourism, said: “London continues to present a number of challenges for domestic coach operators bringing groups into the capital, notably coach parking and convenient drop-off and pick-up points. “It’s to be hoped that London & Partners will continue to work


by London


The ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 opens at The Kia Oval on May 30


increase the number of routes and flights between India and the UK. It will offer travellers links from


13 cities such as Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Kolkata and Pune that have previously been more difficult to access from the UK. This year also saw new routes to China, thanks to the launch of regular direct flights to London from Qingdao, Xi’an, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Sanya – all operated by Chinese airlines. londonandpartners.com


closely with the UK travel trade, and with Transport for London and the London boroughs in particular, to make it as easy as possible to visit the capital.” Steve Reed, Steve Reed Tourism managing director, said: “Whilst it is laudable and makes sense to marshal your resources to anticipate and target important overseas markets, in my view, it is ill advised to discard what in effect are vital core markets. “The UK domestic travel trade has at times been regarded as something of a Cinderella service by certain national and indeed regional tourism bodies. And here it appears is an example when one of the country’s main – if not the main – coach tourism destinations is going to miss the ball.”


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©VisitBritain/ Jason Hawkes


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