Yesterday VisitBritain hosted an industry breakfast to announce its new Pride campaign, celebrate the significant year of record-breaking growth for inbound travel to the UK from Australia that was 2022, and toast what 2023 will bring.

Speaking to the room was Maria Sykes, country manager for Australia & New Zealand, and Louise Cantillon, British Consul-General, and Paul Gauger, VisitBritain’s new executive vice president for The Americas and Australia & New Zealand, who recently landed at our shores. 

We heard first-hand from the senior leadership team about Britain’s continuing celebration of equality and diversity via their GREAT Love campaign, Australia’s record-breaking market recovery, and why Britain should be at the top of every traveller’s list for 2023. 

The latest figures from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) show that inbound visits and spend from Australia to the UK grew significantly throughout the year, with record-breaking spend in the third quarter (July to September 2022) exceeding pre-COVID levels by over 13 per cent*.

Demand is expected to continue this year, with the party just getting started. Flight bookings from Australia to the UK continue to show strong growth, with recent inbound flight bookings in early January surpassing 2019 levels by 17 per cent**.

In fact, Australia is claiming its place to become the UK’s third most valuable international source market. Why so? One needs only to consult key market statistics shared at the brekkie.

Aussie visitors:

• Spend more; on average, over £1000 per visit compared to the all-market average of £696.
• Stay almost twice as long; an average 13 nights, compared to the all-market average of seven.
• Are true regional explorers; staying outside of London for more than two-thirds of nights. They’re confident and adventurous travellers and over-index in spend across most UK regions.
• Have strong emotional, cultural links with Britain. 46 per cent of Australian travellers in the UK are visiting friends and relatives, well above the all market average of 30 per cent.

Blimey!

Next, to mark the start of Sydney WorldPride and Britain’s new GREAT Love campaign, VisitBritain’s executive vice president for the Americas and Australia & New Zealand, Paul Gauger said:

“As we celebrate WorldPride, we look forward to showcasing the sheer diversity of LGBTQIA+ friendly events and experiences that take place across Britain throughout the year.

“The UK is one of the world’s most inclusive destinations for LGBTQIA+ travellers and this welcoming British spirit is at the heart of our new GREAT Love and destination campaigns rolling out across Australia later this month.

“There’s never been a better time to come to Britain and see things differently. In 2023 we invite all travellers to join us in celebrating equality and diversity year-round.”

GREAT Love is the UK’s international campaign celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community and promoting the UK’s values of inclusivity, diversity and freedom. It is being relaunched at Sydney WorldPride 2023 and showcases the warm welcome of a modern UK through LGBTQIA+ storytellers.

Since its inception as Love is Great in 2014 – when the UK introduced same-sex marriage in England and Wales and subsequently Northern Ireland – the campaign has been present at numerous Pride events as well as supporting the LGBTQIA+ business, cultural, sports and tourism events, and conferences around the world.

Other highlights on LGBTQIA+ travel to Britain from Gauger include:

• Celebrating Pride and LGBTQI+ events across major cities year-round.
• Exploring Britain’s LGBTQIA+ capital Brighton.
• Supporting Queer cinema at several queer film festivals held throughout the year across Britain.
• Discovering Britain’s LGBTQIA+ history and heritage with several captivating tours and exhibits stretching from Britain’s cities to the countryside, royal households to parliament.
• Not to be missed is a visit to Queer Britain, the nation’s first museum dedicated to the heritage of LGBTQIA+ communities which opened in 2022 in Granary Square.

Be sure to keep an eye out on Saturday for the ‘British Family’ in Australia, the High Commission in Canberra, British Consulate Generals in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, British Council and VisitBritain, who will have a UK float in the Sydney Mardi Gras Parade! The float entry will feature with 60 staff, family and friends from Australia performing a choreographed dance led by an illuminated London black cab.