SUDIPTA DEV – Bangkok
VisitBritain launched Destination Britain, its key travel trade event in APMEA, with the announcement that that there has been a record GBP 5.3 billon spent by visitors from this region. In 2012 Indian visitors spent GBP 333 million in the UK. APMEA currently represents 28 per cent of UK’s inbound tourism revenue. Explaining the significance of the region for UK’s tourism growth, Keith Beecham, VisitBritain’s director of overseas network, said, “Our 2020 ambition is nine million extra visitors, of which two million will be from APMEA. In terms of spend, one visitor from APMEA equals three visitors from EU/one and a half from North America/ two from rest of the world.” The 2020 tourism target will create 200,000 extra jobs in the UK.
