VisitBritain axes plans for Aussie trade mission

VisitBritain axes plans for Aussie trade mission
By admin


British tourism leaders have axed plans to run a trade mission to Australia and will instead fly product managers to the UK as they seek to entice more tourists out of London.

UK tourism agency, VisitBritain, will put together famils where product development managers will experience regional Britain, and, in conjunction with suppliers, draw up packages for the Australian market.

VisitBritain last year admitted it needed to improve its product development, particularly for regional Britain, and suggested Australia can often be “forgotten” by UK suppliers.

That acknowledgement led to a plan to reinstate a trade mission Down Under, a plan which has now changed.

Sumathi Ramanathan, VisitBritain regional general manager, Asia Pacific and Middle East, told Travel Today it would be more effective to take product managers to the UK to “touch and feel the product” rather than bring a large delegation of suppliers to Australia.

“We focused on trying to bring a UK mission to Australia but we are now thinking it’s way better for us to focus on single-agency fam trips where we take three or four key product planners and sales people, maybe from Flight Centre, to the UK,” she said at the Destination Britain trade show in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. “We would spend a week with them, taking them to different parts of UK. We would also be able to pull together a consortium of suppliers from that region for them to meet.

“We think this will be a more effective use of time, both for UK suppliers and for the Aussie trade.

“We want them to see what Britain has to offer, and determine for themselves what product will work for the Aussie consumer. They will get to touch and feel the product and speak to suppliers at the same time.”

The famil trips are expected to focus on regional gateways that have air access from Australia, including Manchester, Edinburgh and Newcastle.

Ramanathan said many regions of the UK are still focused on the domestic market, and admitted it would take “some time” for suppliers to “understand the international opportunities”.

"The education process has started but progress will take some time," she said.

“The best way for suppliers to understand the opportunities is having dedicated time and conversations with international markets.”

She said VisitBritain would like to stage the first fam trip this year, possibly in the UK autumn.

Ramanathan said it would also look to host a number of Australian travel agents around the ExploreGB trade show which takes place early next year.

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