A TOTAL of 62 travel companies from the UK visited Bangkok last week to open doors to an Asian market which even in its infancy, is starting to supplant the traditional source markets.
Speaking to TTG Asia e-Daily during VisitBritain’s ninth Destination Britain & Ireland APMEA in Bangkok, Alex Mawer, director of marketing, VisitEngland said: ““Asian visitors are holding our country up at the moment. We are losing European visitors as the euro (continues to) depreciate.”
“Asia is where it’s happening and is the right place to invest. Even though (at the moment) we will make a lower return (in Asia) than in Europe or the US, we must have an open door to push on in the coming years,” he added.
Keith Beecham, VisitBritain’s overseas network director, agreed, saying that growing high-yield Asian visitor numbers was top of the agenda, as the UK was experiencing a decline in traditional markets.
“The value (of the Asian market) has grown significantly and we are seeing disproportionately good growth from the region,” he said.
“(Focusing on Asia) is doubly important at the moment, because European source markets are down. The total number (from Europe) is still very big, but they are down trading and not travelling as often as before.”
According to Beecham, APMEA accounted for 14 per cent of total arrivals and 27.7 per cent of tourist spend in the UK last year. Growth from Australia, China and Singapore was particularly robust.
Reporting by Timothy France
