India is a key priority for the government’s tourism arm.
VisitBritain expects the number of visits from Indian
tourists to grow from 415,000 in 2016 to 531,000 by 2020.
Last year the Indian tourism market was worth £433
million to the UK economy, with the average Indian
visitor spending more than £1,000.
The Culture Secretary met senior representatives
including British Airways, Cox and Kings, Thomas Cook
India Ltd, Mercury Travel Ltd, MakeMyTrip.com and
Ezeego1.com to highlight the range of unique attractions
Britain has to offer and discuss how the UK government
and VisitBritain can best support tourism growth from
India.
England and Wales are hosting the Cricket World Cup in
2019 and this has been earmarked as a key event that can
be used to encourage cricket-loving Indian visitors to
come and see the best of Britain.
, Secretary of State
for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said:
India is forecast to be the world’s fastest growing
major economy over the next five years, sparking a huge
rise in outbound travel.
It is vital that we capitalise on our strong
relationship with India to make Britain the number one
European destination for Indian holiday and business
visitors in the coming years.
The cultural ties between the UK and India span
centuries and our countries both benefit from shared
ideas, institutions and technologies. As we prepare to
leave the EU, it is a fantastic opportunity to further
strengthen this special relationship and boost travel
between India and the UK.
VisitBritain Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said:
We know that visitors from India are coming in
increasing numbers and rate Britain for its interesting
and exciting contemporary culture and its outstanding
natural beauty. By continuing to showcase the
incredible experiences on offer and working with
regional partners such as Cox and Kings to extend our
reach, we will inspire more visitors from India to
discover for themselves, all there is to see in our
nations and regions.
In February the UK and India agreed to ease restrictions
on the number of scheduled flights between the two
countries, removing limits from key Indian cities
including Chennai and Kolkata.
There is capacity for 1.6 million passengers to fly
directly from India to the UK every year, with 88
scheduled services per week in each direction between the
two countries, and India-UK direct flights are higher
than any other European country.
It is one of VisitBritain’s seven GREAT inbound tourism
markets, meaning there is long-term potential for growth
and the national tourism market is investing additional
funds in the market.
The Culture Secretary is visiting India to mark the
UK-India Year of Culture, announced in 2015. She has
opened a joint exhibition between the British Museum and
the CSMVS Museum in Mumbai. Other key events include the
1928 Anglo-India film Shiraz, which was remastered by the
BFI and set to a modern score by musician Anoushka
Shankar and has just completed its tour of India.
Acclaimed contemporary dance piece FAR by Company Wayne
McGregor, scored by Brian Eno, will also undertake a
four-city tour of India in November.
