UK wants to be front and centre

Vishal Bhatia, Country Manager, India for VisitBritain, says that he is already seeing a small but significant number  of visitors from India visiting their friends and family in the UK in recent weeks. He shares that the UK is also building a new immigration system to ensure it remains open to genuine visitors.

Hazel Jain

What are your expectations in terms of visitor traffic?

We have seen a revival of flights between major cities in India and London as part of the ‘travel bubble’ agreement between the two countries, for people who wish to repatriate. We are seeing a small but significant number of visitors from India visiting their friends and family in the UK in recent weeks.

How can the trade get involved in VisitBritain’s social media engagements?

VisitBritain is keeping Britain front of mind globally for when the time comes for us to promote travel again. ‘Day Dreaming with VisitBritain’ is one of our campaigns that we are currently hosting on our website and promoting through our social media channels. It invites our partners to contribute via blogs on their memories of Britain.

Please share on-ground information for agents.

In the UK, businesses and visitor attractions across the UK have been working flat-out to welcome customers back safely, adapting and innovating to meet new ways of working and still providing a great visitor experience. The ‘We’re Good To Go’ industry standard and consumer mark launched in partnership with the tourism organisations of Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, is supporting visitors to book a break in the UK with confidence, reassuring travellers that tourism businesses are following official guidelines to welcome them back safely. More than 35,000 businesses across the UK have signed up to ‘We’re Good To Go’.

How can agents keep themselves updated about any changes for travel?

We have launched a campaign ‘Know Before You Go’ to encourage those intending to travel to the UK, to check before setting off. Information including the latest tourism-related news and information for UK tourism businesses on COVID-19, including links to useful information and advice is available on VisitBritain’s dedicated COVID-19 hub.

Are you initiating any discussion with your key agent partners in India to guide them on travel protocols?

We are supporting our travel industry partners to ensure they have access to VisitBritain’s recovery approach and campaign information as it develops.

We have continued to engage with more than 4,000 partners in the travel trade through webinars since April 2020, providing the latest information on travel to Britain and keeping them updated as hotels and attractions reopen.

On-going updates including resources for the international travel trade are available on VisitBritain’s trade site.

Visa update!

The Ministry of Home Affairs recently eased restrictions to allow Indian nationals who hold a valid visa under any category to travel under the agreement as long as the country you are travelling to permits entry to Indian nationals.

Stay updated!

Information including the latest tourism-related news and information for UK tourism businesses on COVID-19, including links to useful information and advice is available on VisitBritain’s dedicated COVID-19 hub.