The rising trend of Indians travelling internationally is not something that can be missed easily. Outbound travel from India is growing exponentially every year; the Yatra Winter Travel Survey 2017 showed that 36% of travellers were planning an international holiday. On an overall basis, it is estimated that 25 million Indians travelled overseas in 2017, which is growing a very healthy double-digit rate, setting India on the path to become one of the largest outbound travel markets in the world in the next few years.

Moreover, it is not just the lure of shopping and eating in international locations that brings travellers to foreign shores. With an increasing number of Indian travellers, especially millennials, prioritizing personal experiences over material things, it’s fueling the growth of a more experiential travel ecosystem across the world.

Latching on to this insight, VisitBritain launched its new brand campaign ‘I Travel For’ in Mumbai last month. The campaign will run across digital channels, including Facebook and website to engage with potential travellers and inspire them to book a holiday to Britain right now. Using short films and story-telling to showcase unexpected experiences, the campaign aligns the passions that motivate people to travel with experiences that can only be had in Britain, inspiring overseas visitors to book a trip right now.

Driven primarily across Facebook and Instagram, the campaign will also feature Britain’s iconic landmarks and attractions. Additionally, the films highlight common travel interests such as adventure, culinary, relaxation, culture and the undiscovered.

Still from the campaign film, of an unexplored destination in Great Britain.

Highlighting the new brand campaign, VisitBritain Chief Executive Sally Balcombe said, “I Travel For campaign in India will be targeting Buzzseeker travellers. This campaign aims to build on the strong growth we have seen in visits from India, showcasing that Britain is bursting with fun activities and adventure, exciting and contemporary culture and highlighting less-explored destinations. By promoting unexpected experiences, alongside globally renowned and iconic cultural landmarks and attractions, VisitBritain wants to inspire more visitors from India to book a trip to Britain right now.”

Between January and September 2017, there were a record 436,000 inbound visits from India to the UK, up 32% compared to the same period in 2016. Visits from India spent a record £355 million between January and September 2017, up 7% on same period in 2016.

In February last year, VisitBritain tapped into India’s love for Bollywood and Harry Potter by launching a marketing campaign #OMGB (Oh my Great Britain) ‘Home of Amazing Moments’, to inspire Indian travellers to visit the UK. The seven week campaign ran successfully across social platforms, highlighting unique experiences Britain can offer.

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VisitBritain has partnered with American Airlines and British Airways in a USD 3.7 million campaign to inspire more Americans to travel to Britain. The ‘British Famous’ campaign, announced yesterday, and running throughout 2017 features British comedian Diane Morgan in a series of four videos as she attempts to ‘make it’ in America by transforming herself into what she believes Americans love – a self-help guru, an action star, a hipster foodie and a rock star – while promoting England, Scotland and Wales along the way.

Two of four videos in the series are already live. The first one features Diane as a self-help guru in Wales and a ‘rock star wannabe’ in Manchester. Two others, one as her being an action hero in Scotland and one featuring her as a foodie in London will also be released soon. The objective (apart from spreading some British humour) is to drive traffic to BritishFamous.com which highlights destination content and fares and offers from both American Airlines and British Airways.

Paul Gauger, VisitBritain Interim Executive Vice President Americas, said: “Just when you thought you knew Britain, we’ve teamed up with American Airlines and British Airways to showcase that there is so much more to discover across regional Britain, and to introduce great offers into the market, inspiring people to book a trip right now. It’s a great time to visit Britain.”

Rob McDonald, Head of Global Marketing from British Airways said: “British Airways is proud to be part of a campaign that connects Americans with the best of British talent, whether that’s people, places or entertainment. Britain enjoys exporting comedy over the pond, so it was a natural choice for us to bring a little humor to this tourism campaign. We hope Americans will be encouraged to take a trip and explore Britain for themselves, perhaps getting into the spirit departing on British Airways and returning home in familiar comfort with American Airlines.”

Fernand Fernandez, Vice President of Global Marketing from American Airlines said: “American Airlines is a proud partner of the ‘British Famous’ campaign which showcases some of Britain’s most unique and exciting visitor destinations. American operates up to 25 flights a day from the U.S. to cities across Britain including London, Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh, providing the perfect opportunity for U.S. travelers to explore the ‘British Famous’ destinations for themselves.”

It is the first time that VisitBritain has partnered with American Airlines, the world’s largest carrier, on a marketing campaign of this scale. It is also the first time the three organizations, each contributing $1.25 million to the ‘British Famous’ campaign, have worked together to promote travel to Britain. As part of their joint business agreement, together, American Airlines and British Airways offer more routes and flights into the UK than any other airline partnership.

There were 2.7 million visits from the U.S. to Britain from January to September last year. The number was up 3 percent compared to same period in 2014 with spends going up by 9 percent. GBP is also weaker against USD compared to last year with (1 GBP=1.4742 USD in January 2016 vs 1.2258 USD in January 2017) thus making it more attractive proposition for travellers from the U.S.

You can find more details and the other videos when they are released at BritishFamous.com

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VisitBritain announced a new marketing campaign #OMGB (Oh my Great Britain) ‘Home of Amazing Moments’ last week to inspire Indian travellers to visit the UK. The seven week campaign is already running successfully across social platforms highlighting unique experiences a trip to Britain can offer. Along with the digital platforms, the campaign also includes billboards across prime locations to communicate with potential travellers.

At the launch, VisitBritain Director Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA) Sumathi Ramanathan said: “There are so many great things going on across our nations and regions this year from literary anniversaries to major sporting events. By showcasing the incredible experiences on offer we want to inspire even more visitors from India to come and discover their own amazing moments. It is a great time to come to Britain.”

The campaign is headlined by a beautiful one minute video which showcases cheerful experiences from across the UK set against an uplifting soundtrack. Along with the video, the campaign also features an array of images highlighting the experiences. These creatives are visible across social media and on billboards in Delhi and Mumbai.

To complement the ongoing promotions, the VisitBritain website also features itineraries spread across different geographies featuring experiences like ride on steam trains or visit to landmarks featured in popular Bollywood movies.

The campaign is also targeting to capitalise on the UK’s affordability at this point. At the end of last month, the UK was 13% more affordable for Indian travellers compared to same time last year. VisitBritain is also working with various partners to launch offers and create tailored content to tap into the momentum of #OMGB Home of Amazing Moments campaign and drive bookings.

Flight booking data from ForwardKeys shows that bookings from India to the UK for the first six months of 2017 are up 2% compared to the same period last year.

The latest quarterly figures show that from July to September 2016 there were 139,000 visits from India to the UK, on par with the same period the previous year, with Indian visitors spending £142 million, up 14% on the same period in 2015.

The #OMGB ‘Home of Amazing Moments’ 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.

VisitBritain’s forecast for 2017 shows that overall inbound tourism growth is set to continue with 38.1 million visits, up 4% on 2016 which is likely to see about 36.7 million visits by year end.

Spending by overseas visitors is predicted to reach £24.1 billion in 2017, an 8% increase on spending last year which is expected to top out at £22.3 billion.

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