TravTalk India Online Magazine
VisitBritain held an event in Delhi in conjunction with their roadshow for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign. It was intended to meet with travel trade people face-to-face to share destination knowledge about West Midlands and to educate them about the region as a whole.
Janice Alyosius
The 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will be held at venues across the West Midlands from July 28 to August 8. The sporting event provides a valuable opportunity to showcase Britain’s tourism treasure, thus encouraging tourist visits and boosting business.
Keeping this in view, VisitBritain, the national tourism agency responsible for marketing Britain worldwide, recently held an event in Delhi to meet people from travel trade face-to-face to share destination knowledge about West Midlands, to let them know that Birmingham will host the Common Wealth Games this year, and to educate them about the region as a whole, revealed Shuja Bin Mehdi, B2B Manager-India, VisitBritain. Speaking about their plan, Mehdi said that the agency is planning several activities with the travel trade people, starting with a series of roadshows in February and March. They will also conduct campaigns with an online travel boutique and a consumer campaign with MakeMyTrip. The main agenda is to promote the West Midlands as a region and make Birmingham the gateway to the region.
Moreover, VisitBritain is also planning a consumer awareness campaign with Jio, under which it has selected a couple of influencers who have travelled to the West Midlands last year in October. They are producing a series of videos, which will be launched as DigiVideos on Jio platforms in the second week of February. The purpose of the campaign is to bring awareness to wider Indian consumers of the activities and attractions available in the West Midlands, i.e., to see beyond Birmingham. And consider places such as Stratford-upon-Avon, Coventry, and see Birmingham as the heart of England.
On the anticipated campaign, Rajeev Sabharwal, Chief Executive, Gaurav Travels said, “Due to restrictions and fear, not many events took place during the past two years in the industry. I believe that if things return to normal people would definitely visit Birmingham and the West Midlands, especially for 2022 Commonwealth games. UK is among the top destinations where Indians visit, it is in fact my top 3 favorite destination. The weather, the people and the culture are very welcoming. So, the 2022 Commonwealth Games will be an additional reason for people to visit the country. Travel will surely pick up if the borders reopen and people get good incentives at better rates. I think tourism will pick up when safety and connectivity improves”.
Varun Soni, Managing Director, Elevate Holidays, said, “When an international event occurs, it contributes to the economy of the country as well as helps create awareness and promotion of that destination. Similarly, the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will let travelers see areas of the city that are not so popular. Additionally, India is one of the biggest source markets for UK. Last year, a lot of events were held in Manchester on similar platforms, which had contributed to good tourism in the city. I believe that tourists will find Birmingham appealing”.
