Can Brexit propel India outbound?
The exit of Britain from the European Union has left the travel and tourism industry speculating on its impact on travel business. Despite hopes of an increase in outbound segment from India to the UK, the industry opines that it is too early to predict t
I don’t think Brexit will have a major impact on the outbound market from India as UK always had a separate visa regime and independent border controls from EU. Chances are that outbound to UK from India may actually improve with the falling pound, making travel cheaper and a break from EU could translate into stricter border controls and better security thus boosting tourism.
Visitors from India have the potential to benefit from the weakened pound which means that Britain offers particularly good value this year and online travel agents have experienced an increase in online holiday searches for travel to Britain. VisitBritain is also considering the imminent launch of tactical campaigns with some of our travel partners including India. Inbound visits from India to the UK set a record in 2015 with visits up eight per cent to 422,000.
With the drop in pound, travel to the UK becomes attractive to Indian travellers and we foresee a surge in demand for the country. Indians being smart travellers and cost conscious might see this as a great opportunity to merge the holiday in the UK with a visit to friends and family. We can expect more promotions flowing from the hotels and airlines to gather larger market share.
It is far too early to know the full impact of the results of the European Union referendum. India is an important market for us and we will continue to work closely with our partners and stakeholders to ensure visitors from around the world continue to come to Scotland to enjoy its spectacular landscapes, its rich heritage and, the warm welcome of its people.
We do not expect Brexit to have any negative impact on tourism from India to Ireland and we believe that with the British Irish Visa Scheme (BIVS) there will be a continued increase in Indian visitor arrivals to the island of Ireland. A key priority for tourism are Common Travel Area between the UK and Ireland and we note and support that this is a priority recognised by all to enable the free movement across the borders.
We have observed that travellers who are considering multiple destinations tend to choose more stable destinations and hence a short term shift in the destination bookings is seen. However as a medium to long term effect, we don’t foresee any impact of Brexit on outbound travel between India and the UK. Our mix of travellers to Europe is more skewed towards family leisure trips and thus for that reason, our assumption is that there could be some short term impact on the choice of UK as a destination by this segment of customers.
Brexit has led to the depreciation of pound hence making travel to the UK much cheaper for Indians. The number of tourists and students travelling to the UK will see a surge in the short term but if in the long run Britain prospers as the leader of the Brexit movement then pound will be stronger and holidays to the UK will become less affordable. Hence the long term impact on travel business remains to be seen.