UK holidays in demand as pound gets cheaper

Famous American novelist Henry James, who had adopted England as his country, had said summer afternoon for him had “always been the two most beautiful words in the English language”. More than a hundred years later, the UK has emerged as a popular destination this summer for Indian tourists as a weak pound has made travel 15 per cent cheaper over last year.

On an industry-wide basis, bookings for the UK are up 10-12 per cent, while Thomas Cook said it had seen a 37 per cent increase in customers opting for a holiday package to visit only the UK.

“We have observed an increase of over 37 per cent in our standalone UK-escorted group tours, in comparison with the same period last year. What has also worked in favour of the UK as a destination is that entrance fees to popular tourist attractions like London Eye have also become easier on the wallet and so have shopping and eating out — both of which are important drivers of tourist traffic for our individual traveller (FIT) and luxury segments,” said Rajeev Kale, president (leisure travel), Thomas Cook India.

While London has always been a part of European group tour packages, travel companies are now cashing in on the demand, helped by the cheaper pound, and are now marketing eight-day UK-only group tours. Destinations in Scotland or Wales, which have not been as popular among Indian visitors, are too being promoted.

The packages cover places including London, Manchester, and Edinburgh, among others, and an average trip costs ~1,40,000-1,50,000 per person compared to a similar trip last year, which was priced around ~1,75,000 per person. Both the figures are excluding taxes. Since the Brexit referendum last June, to date the British pound has lost 18 per cent against the rupee. The dollar has declined about 4 per cent against the rupee in the same period.

“Travel to the UK is now more affordable with the depreciation of the pound. We sensed that there was an opportunity and introduced UK-only packages to take advantage of this situation. Over the last few months, we have seen a demand for both groups and individual travellers interested in travelling to the UK,” said Karan Anand, head, relationships, Cox & Kings.

A rise in demand from India is good news for Visit Britain, the UK's tourism board. In calendar year 2015, over 420,000 Indians visited the UK and arrivals grew 8.45 per cent on a year-on-year basis. In 2016, however, according to the provisional data from Visit Britain, the number of Indian visitors declined 4.3 per cent in the first three quarters on a year-onyear basis. Between January and September 2016, 327,964 Indians visited the UK. Around 70 per cent of visits by Indians take place between April and September and after the Brexit referendum there was no significant surge in the traffic from India. “On an industry-wide basis, we have seen 10-12 per cent growth in bookings for the UK. We have seen the tourism board promoting Scotland and attractions outside of London. The growth would have been higher but the nine per cent increase in service tax on overseas tours has acted as a dampener. We are urging the UK government to lower visa fees. A reduction in fees will also encourage more stopover holidays by Indians visiting the US,” said Guldeep Singh Sahni, president of the Outbound Tour Operators Association of India. In 2015, Visit Britain roped in actor Saif Ali Khan as its brand ambassador and launched its 'Bollywood Britain' campaign. The campaign was aimed at popularising Wales, Scotland, and other destinations, which are not so popular among Indian tourists.