TravTalk India Online Magazine
The GetReadyForBirmingham campaign in India by VisitBritain is aimed at promoting the myriad offerings of the West Midlands region of England, which will play host to the upcoming Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG).
Nisha Verma
Throwing light on the GetReadyForBirmingham campaign, Tricia Warwick, Regional Director-Asia Pacific for Middle East and Africa – Visit Britain, says that it is an awareness campaign in line with the global GREAT Britain strategy to shine an international spotlight on the West Midlands, England, leveraging the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games (CWG), to inspire visitors to book for travel during and post-Games.
A gem of a region
Tricia says that this time, the West Midlands have been in the spotlight for VisitBritain’s campaign. “Awareness of the West Midlands as a holiday destination in India is lower than for other parts of Britain, even though it is the fourth most visited English region by Indian travellers. The opportunity is to put the West Midlands on the international visitor map, using CWG 2022 as a hook,” she informs.
Beyond the campaign
Tricia says that apart from the GetReadyForBirmingham campaign, VisitBritain, in partnership with Reliance Jio (through their OTT Platforms Jio Studio and Jio Cinemas), is hosting an 18-month global integrated, agile marketing and communications campaign. “This is a part of the Business and Tourism Programme (BATP) and will involve content creation and distribution across India, including Tier II and Tier III markets,” she adds.
Products on offer
She highlights that the key priority this year is to engage with the trade to increase West Midlands products for sale. “The West Midlands isn’t as well-known as other areas of Britain, so this provides a timely and valuable opportunity to build awareness and familiarity, e.g., the historic and culture-rich cities of Coventry and Stratford-upon-Avon, apart from Birmingham. We are working with our trade partners to increase the current offer by a couple of nights,” she adds.
Ready for Indians
She shares how the region is ready to receive Indian tourists. “The County of West Midlands comprises seven local areas: Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Birmingham is the gateway city to the region and has direct flight connectivity with India through Air India. The Games are a valuable opportunity to promote the UK’s hospitality, deliver a world-class welcome and messages of reassurance internationally. The West Midlands offers a huge range of cultural interests, drawing over 100 million visitors a year. In 2019, the West Midlands welcomed a record 2.4 million inbound visits, up 11 per cent on 2018,” adds Tricia.
Citing recent figures, she says, “In summer 2021, wave three of our international COVID-19 consumer sentiment revealed a strong desire to travel, with nine in ten Indians planning to take a trip abroad in the next 12 months – with Britain ranking fourth in the consideration list among European destinations.”
India focus
Tricia shares that India is a key source of growth and value for the UK. “Inbound visits and spending from India have more than doubled in the last 10 years to 2019. Also, the UK enjoys favourable perceptions in India. Indian visits to the UK are forecasted to reach 706,000 by 2025 (exceeding pre-COVID levels by 2 per cent), with spending to reach £793 million in the same year (5 per cent over pre-COVID levels),” she says.
Future ready
Sharing plans for the India market, Tricia says, “We will be launching our new Global GREAT Britain Tourism campaign in February 2022, showcasing ‘Another Side of Britain’ – showing that Britain is bursting with energy and reassuring international travellers that ‘Britain is a safe place to travel’ and ‘is welcoming’ – also bringing to life reasons to visit Britain in 2022 – from the CWG to HM The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and ‘UNBOXED: Creativity in the UK 2022′. All timely opportunities to promote our culture, our welcome, creativity and innovation to the world and the UK’s ability to host events of the highest calibre.”
Claiming that sporting events provide a tourism boost, she highlighted that Britain is already highly regarded for its sporting excellence and its offer and ranks fourth out of 60 countries in the 2021 NBI. “Also, visitors who
come to watch sports stay longer and spend more, making them great visitors to support in boosting recovery,” concludes Tricia.
