ID :
11646
Sun, 07/06/2008 - 10:12
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/11646
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Now Britain is the hotspot for Indian tourists By Prasun Sonwalkar
London, Jul 5 (PTI) Britain has become the favourite haunt of Indian tourists, who spend more money here than visitors from the United States, according to latest industry estimates.
Indian visitor numbers rose from 205,000 to 367,000 in 2006 and are expected to increase at a greater rate. The average spend by an Indian tourist is 793 pounds, compared with 710 pounds by an American tourist.
Last year, VisitBritain, a government agency, issued a tourist map of sites featured in Bollywood films to coincide with the International Indian Film Academy Awards ceremony which was held in Yorkshire.
According to travel agent Cox & Kings, nearly half of all Indian visitors to Britain now came from smaller cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jalandhar, Hissar, Nagpur, Coimbatore and Madurai.
There has been a three-fold increase in the number of Indian tourists holidaying in Britain over the past decade, says VisitBritain. India, it adds, has become the most important development market.
Elliott Frisby, a spokesman for VisitBritain, said that the number of Indian visitors had grown by about 170 percent between 1993 and 2007. "In ten years' time, if the growth rates stay the same, this could be one of our biggest markets."
The giant Swaminarayan temple in Neasden, London, has become one of the favourite tourism hotspots, mainly due to the tourists from India. British tourism authorities are spending more funds on advertising, marketing and campaigning in India.
Next year, Indian cricket fans will be encouraged to visit
London for the first staging of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. This year London will host India's largest travel agents' convention, the first time that it has been held outside Asia.
James Bidwell, chief executive of Visit London, said: "Indians are growing significantly as sophisticated middle-class travellers. The historical connections with London are good and they have less restrictions on their visas than the Chinese. There are now great air connections, with 100 flights a week into London. That has doubled in the past year or so."
Steve Dowd, a representative of the tour operator body UKInbound, told 'The Times' that Indian tourists had a great affinity with Brtain.
He said: "It's a very big market, a huge population, with a really aggressively expansive middle class that have money to spend."
"They have strong connections going back generations with lots of families here. They have traditionally come to visit family and friends but we are starting to see people come here just as general tourists. It is a huge untapped market."
Indian visitor numbers rose from 205,000 to 367,000 in 2006 and are expected to increase at a greater rate. The average spend by an Indian tourist is 793 pounds, compared with 710 pounds by an American tourist.
Last year, VisitBritain, a government agency, issued a tourist map of sites featured in Bollywood films to coincide with the International Indian Film Academy Awards ceremony which was held in Yorkshire.
According to travel agent Cox & Kings, nearly half of all Indian visitors to Britain now came from smaller cities such as Pune, Ahmedabad, Indore, Jalandhar, Hissar, Nagpur, Coimbatore and Madurai.
There has been a three-fold increase in the number of Indian tourists holidaying in Britain over the past decade, says VisitBritain. India, it adds, has become the most important development market.
Elliott Frisby, a spokesman for VisitBritain, said that the number of Indian visitors had grown by about 170 percent between 1993 and 2007. "In ten years' time, if the growth rates stay the same, this could be one of our biggest markets."
The giant Swaminarayan temple in Neasden, London, has become one of the favourite tourism hotspots, mainly due to the tourists from India. British tourism authorities are spending more funds on advertising, marketing and campaigning in India.
Next year, Indian cricket fans will be encouraged to visit
London for the first staging of the Twenty20 Cricket World Cup. This year London will host India's largest travel agents' convention, the first time that it has been held outside Asia.
James Bidwell, chief executive of Visit London, said: "Indians are growing significantly as sophisticated middle-class travellers. The historical connections with London are good and they have less restrictions on their visas than the Chinese. There are now great air connections, with 100 flights a week into London. That has doubled in the past year or so."
Steve Dowd, a representative of the tour operator body UKInbound, told 'The Times' that Indian tourists had a great affinity with Brtain.
He said: "It's a very big market, a huge population, with a really aggressively expansive middle class that have money to spend."
"They have strong connections going back generations with lots of families here. They have traditionally come to visit family and friends but we are starting to see people come here just as general tourists. It is a huge untapped market."
