2012-08-28 — /travelprnews.com/ — As Paralympic heroes get set to take the stage this week, new research from VisitBritain suggests that receiving a good welcome is likely to see visitors recommend travelling to the UK to others, with 80% of visitors feeling at least ‘very welcome’ in 2011.
VisitBritain sponsored a question on the Civil Aviation Authority’s survey of nearly 9,000 departing overseas visitors. Over the three years the large study was conducted, results show that there has been a steady improvement both in how welcome visitors felt, and in how likely they are to recommend Britain to others. Overall, over one in four visitors felt ‘extremely welcome’ in Britain, an improvement in recent years. It is hoped the remarkable success of the London 2012 Games will help boost this perception even further.
The markets where English is the first language (USA, Australia and Canada) are amongst those feeling most welcome, with almost 40 per cent of Americans reporting to have felt ‘extremely welcome’ during their visit.
The findings also revealed that over 40 per cent of those questioned would be ‘extremely likely’ to recommend visiting Britain for a holiday to their friends and family, up 5% from 2010. With recommendations for travel via family and friends far more influential than any travel brochures, special offers or advertising.
In the spring of 2012 international travellers in 14 cities around the world(1), including those in Paris, New York, Shanghai and Rio, were asked the extent to which they perceived Britain as being ‘friendly and welcoming’.
By far the highest spenders in the UK, visitors from America were again generally more positive about the British welcome on offer, with one in five Americans interviewed associating Britain as welcoming. The Chinese were equally positive – a good omen as Britain hopes to be able to treble visitor number by 2015(2).
In comparison, around one in twenty people from established Asian markets in Tokyo and Hong Kong viewed Britain as welcoming, while those in France generally felt the UK was the least hospitable destination for them on their travels.
Those in the influential emerging Indian market view Britain strongly, with those questioned suggesting the UK’s performance is much stronger than the French who are ranked the lowest.
But where do people feel most welcome?
Tourist attractions (22%) and restaurants (21%) were most likely to be the first point mentioned as being most welcoming. Pubs and bars were also popular welcome points with 13 per cent mentioning that they felt welcome there. Shops and accommodation are also mentioned by around a third (32% and 31% respectively), although they are more likely to be mentioned in second or third place after restaurants and tourist attractions.
Patricia Yates, Director of Strategy and Communications at VisitBritain said: “Enhancing the world’s perceptions of a British welcome will help us attract more visitors in the years ahead. The London 2012 Games were a great advertisement for Britain – with the volunteers and the warmth of the welcome being picked up around the world.
“We want to make sure that we continue to be seen as a welcoming destination for our visitors so that they continue to want to come back and recommend us to their friends and family.”
Notes to Editors:
1. 300 people were interviewed in each city.
2. In 2011 the UK attracted 150,000 Chinese visitors. Using additional funding from the GREAT campaign, VisitBritain hopes to increase the number of visitors to 500,000 by 2015.
3. CAA research was undertaken from 2009-2011 in the main UK airports of Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton and Manchester to monitor the welcome visitors felt as they departed home.
4. Research in full can be found here.
For more information contact:
- Mark Di-Toro
- Press Officer, VisitBritain
- t:+44 (0)20 7578 1098
- m:+44 (0)7919 392137
- e: mark.di-toro@visitbritain.org
About VisitBritain
VisitBritain is Britain’s national tourism agency, responsible for marketing Britain overseas. We work with thousands of organisations in the UK and overseas to market Britain successfully to visitors from around the world. We also work to promote the tourism industry within the UK itself.
We work in partnership with the Government, the industry and our strategic partners in London, England, Scotland and Wales to promote Britain in 35 key overseas markets.
Our network of international offices is supported by our London-based marketing, commercial, research and policy teams, who in turn are backed up by experts in IT, financial management and other essential disciplines.
We also provide UK government with advice on tourism policy and raise awareness of the significance of tourism to the UK economy. We are particularly working towards showcasing Britain and maximising the tourism benefits in the run-up to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and beyond.
Our grant in aid received from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport is approximately £32.6 million for 2010/11.
View our film to find out more about our work.
Please read more about please visit www.visitbritain.org
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Regent Street in London welcomes the world to celebrate the Summer games.
Flags from all the participating countries were launched on Regent Street today. The Mile of Style and the surrounding streets display brightly coloured national flags to celebrate the sporting spectacular.