Australian travel trade, get ready to see a lot of Great Britain this week. VisitBritain has touched down in Australia, kicking off its first travel trade mission Down Under in eight years in Sydney on Monday morning.
Given Australia’s importance in the overall visitor economy to the UK, it’s a bit of a surprise it’s been this long since the last travel trade mission in 2016. But VisitBritain is certainly making up for lost time, bringing no less than 36 British destinations and suppliers along for the ride through “the most coveted” tourism market in the world, according to Chairman Nick de Bois CBE.
“It’s now the fourth most valuable market, and it’s important in many ways,” he tells Karryon in an interview at the event, which precedes stops in Melbourne and Brisbane.
“We’ve got so many links that many other countries do not have with them [Australian tourists]… it is our job to harness the visitors to give them even more reasons to come.
“They travel out of season. They go right across the nation and they spend almost double the average global spend per visitor – and they stay longer. It is a hugely important market, and we want more of it.”
According to de Bois, UK tourism, especially out of the Aussie market, is currently riding a high. From Australia, GB welcomed 1.2 million visitors in 2023, who spent a record £1.6 billion (around AU$3.15 billion) during the year.
Adding to the “very impressive growth numbers”, the UK expects to see a new record again in 2024 – around £1.7 billion (around AU$3.35 billion) – and De Bois adds, the magical £2 billion (nearly $4 billion) mark just beyond that.
“It would only be through a lack of ambition that we don’t reach those sorts of numbers – and I see no reason why we can’t,” he says.
“Our official forecast will only talk about 2024 – we will return in 2025 to pre-pandemic levels. Then, given that we’re at £1.7 billion already, it’s not such a huge stretch to get to £2 billion.”
Joining VisitBritain for its travel trade mission and product manager workshop in Australia is a wealth of British suppliers including:
- ABBA Voyage (attraction)
- AC Tours Ltd (DMC / wholesaler)
- Alnwick Castle & The Alnwick Garden (attraction)
- Angela Shanley Associates (DMC / wholesaler)
- Bicester Village (attraction)
- Cashel Travel (DMC / wholesaler)
- The Tasting Place & Eat Walk Tours (tour operator)
- Eurostar (transport)
- Experience Oxfordshire (tourist board/DMO/local authority)
- Golden Tours (Gray Line London) (sightseeing operator)
- Happy Tours (DMC / wholesaler)
- Highland Experience Tours (tour operator)
- Historic Royal Palaces (attraction)
- Lake District Country Hotels (accommodation)
- Liverpool Football Club Experiences (attraction)
- The Beatles Story Museum (attraction)
- Mazza Tours (sightseeing operator)
- Moloney & Kelly part of the Abbey Group (DMC / wholesaler)
- Nevis Range (attraction)
- Strand Palace Hotel (accommodation)
- Strawberry Field (attraction)
- Cavern City Tours (attraction)
- The Group Company (DMC / wholesaler)
- TravelBeat (attraction)
- Waddesdon Manor (attraction)
- Veenus Group (DMC / wholesaler)
- Visit Birmingham & The West Midlands (tourist board/DMO/local authority)
- Visit Lake District, Cumbria (tourist board/DMO/local authority)
- Visit Liverpool (tourist board/DMO/local authority)
- VisitScotland (tourist board/DMO/local authority)
- Visit West (Bath & Bristol) (tourist board/DMO/local authority)
- Windermere Lake Cruises (attraction)
- World of Beatrix Potter (attraction)
- Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway (attraction)
- Worldwide DMC (UK, Europe, USA & Australia)
Official sponsors of the mission include British Airways, Infinity Holidays, Rail Europe, Experience Oxfordshire and Blenheim Palace.
With such a far-reaching delegation, it’s obvious that the key to VisitBritain’s objectives is the dispersal of tourism throughout the nation – something Aussies in particular bring with their innate sense of adventure and connection to the UK.
“Australian travellers are actually great at this already,” de Bois says.
“They’ve got a natural affection for the country. There are friends and family links that help drive this, but the truth is, that just shy of two-thirds go across our regions and our nations. So that’s terrific.”
Stay tuned for more from our interview with de Bois.
[All images Mark Harada / Karryon]
