The ‘Find Your GREAT Britain, I Travel For’ digital marketing campaign was officially launched at an evening reception hosted by VistiBritain with the UK minister for Trade and Export Promotion Baroness Rona Fairhead, as part of the India-UK Createch Summit in Mumbai. The event was attended by more than 200 delegates from the travel trade industry across India, 50 UK businesses representing transport, technology, healthcare, film and music and a further 150 Indian businesses from a variety of industry sectors.
As VisitBritain’s campaign launch, the event showcased the latest innovations in British food and drink with a cooking demonstration by British celebrity chef Tommy Miah, known as the ‘Curry King’ in Britain. The reception also showcased events and activities to promote ‘The Great Exhibition of the North’, one of the largest cultural events taking place from June to September this year in celebration of culture, art and design from across the north of England.
VisitBritain chief executive Sally Balcombe said, “India is an important inbound tourism market and a huge opportunity for VisitBritain. Our new campaign builds on the strong growth we have seen in visits from India by showcasing that Britain is bursting with fun activities, adventure and new experiences to come and discover right now. From our exciting and contemporary culture to innovations in food and drink, from exploring the natural beauty of our stunning countryside to the vibrancy of our cool cities, Britain is packed full of amazing experiences all year round.”
Balcombe further added, “By shining a spotlight on wonderfully unexpected experiences and less-explored destinations, alongside Britain’s globally renowned and iconic cultural landmarks and attractions, we want to inspire even more visitors from India to book a trip.”
The first phase of VisitBritain’s campaign rolls out from February 7 for eight weeks with the launch of short films across Facebook and Instagram in India. Research by VisitBritain shows the powerful influence social media has in positioning Britain as a destination of choice for international visitors, with 89 per cent of those surveyed having used social media at some stage of their holiday. Indian visitors to Britain are some of the most likely to share photograph and videos of their holiday online, helping spread the message to family and friends that Britain is a must-visit-now destination.
More visitors from India are visiting Britain than ever before. The latest official statistics show that there were a record 436,000 visits from India to Britain from January to September 2017, up 32 per cent compared to the previous year. Visitors from India spent record £355 million in Britain during this period, up seven per cent compared to 2016. The ‘Find Your GREAT Britain, I Travel For’ marketing campaign is part of the UK Government’s global GREAT Britain campaign, which showcases the very best of what Britain has to offer as a place to visit, study and do business.
Reasons to travel to Britain in 2018:
- Bristol in England is opening a new museum, Being Brunel, in early 2018 and London’s V&A Museum is opening an outpost in Dundee, Scotland in the second half of the year.
- It will be a big year for culture in Liverpool as it celebrates its 10th anniversary of being named European Capital of Culture. The city will welcome the Terracotta Warriors to the World Museum from February to October 2018.
- Newcastle and Gateshead in England will host The Great Exhibition of the North, celebrating the cities’ culture, art and design from June to September.
- Scotland heralds 2018 as the Year of Young People, with events including the Royal Edinburgh Tattoo and Speyside Whisky Festival.
- Wales celebrates the Year of the Sea celebrating its epic coastline, fringed with rugged cliffs, wide sandy bays, and the adventures to match through themed events and celebrations. Its annual literary and arts festival, The Laugharne Weekend, is in April followed by the Festival of Voice in Cardiff in June. The Big Cheese Festival takes place in Caerphilly in June, with a Seafood Festival in Cardigan Bay in July.
- The last season of Game of Thrones will be filmed in Northern Ireland, on locations including Giant’s Causeway (The Iron Island) and the Dark Hedges (The King’s Road), along with the original filming locations of Winterfell.
Sport: July to September 2018 will see the Indian Cricket Team tour England.