As Chinese visitors stay longer and travel more widely across Britain than other international visitors, VisitBritain launches new partnership with Hainan Airlines and Alitrip to attract more Chinese visitors to Britain.
Chinese visitors stay longer and travel more widely across Britain than other international visitors, averaging 15 nights compared to eight for other visitors, with more than half of this time spent outside London. They are some of the highest spending visitors to the UK, spending on average £2174 during each visit, more than three times the average visitor. Every 22 additional Chinese visitors that Britain attract supports an additional job in tourism in the UK.
Latest flight booking data from ForwardKeys shows that flight bookings from China to the UK for November this year to January 2017 are up 17% on the same period last year. Looking at the Christmas period 18 December to 31 December 2016 – flight bookings from China to the UK are up 37% compared to the same period last year.
Last year was a record-breaking year for visits from China to the UK with 270,000 visits, 46% up on the year before, with spend up 18% to £586 million – moving China into Britain’s top 10 most valuable inbound markets for the first time.
VisitBritain has ambitions to double spend from Chinese visitors to £1 billion by 2020. It is positioning Britain as the destination of choice for Chinese visitors through its GREAT China Welcome Programme, international GREAT marketing campaigns and annual trade events to China, the most recent and largest held just last month in Shanghai.
In August UK Prime Minister Theresa May launched a Tourism Action Plan to ensure that Britain remains a top destination for visitors from across the globe.
Last year set a record for inbound tourism to Britain for visits and spend with 36.1 million visits, 5% up on 2014, and spending up 1% to £22.1 billion.
Last year was a record-breaking year for visits from China to the UK with 270,000 visits, 46% up on the year before, with spend up 18% to £586 million – moving China into Britain’s top 10 most valuable inbound markets for the first time.
VisitBritain has ambitions to double spend from Chinese visitors to £1 billion by 2020. It is positioning Britain as the destination of choice for Chinese visitors through its GREAT China Welcome Programme, international GREAT marketing campaigns and annual trade events to China, the most recent and largest held just last month in Shanghai.
In August UK Prime Minister Theresa May launched a Tourism Action Plan to ensure that Britain remains a top destination for visitors from across the globe.
Last year set a record for inbound tourism to Britain for visits and spend with 36.1 million visits, 5% up on 2014, and spending up 1% to £22.1 billion.
HNA Group announced its latest application to the Civil Aviation Administration of China for five new airline routes into Britain following the new air service agreement between China and the UK. The Chinese cities to be connected directly with Britain are Changsha, Chengdu, Qingdao, Shenzhen and Xi’an, all to be serviced by HNA Group’s three subsidiary airlines including Hainan Airlines, Tianjin Airlines and Capital Airlines.
Hainan Airlines is the only Chinese airline with which VisitBritain has a long-term strategic partnership in China.
VisitBritain’s partnership with Alitrip, following a Memorandum of Understanding for Strategic Partnership signed in October, will create a virtual British marketplace on Alitrip’s digital platform, showcasing the diversity of UK tourism products directly to millions of Chinese consumers and also promoting great experiences and destinations across Britain to Chinese visitors, converting the inspiration to visit into bookings.
The event also shone the spotlight on football, with VisitBritain partnering with SuperSports, China’s official Premier League broadcaster, to launch a competition to find China’s biggest Premier League fan with the prize being a VIP football-themed trip to Britain.
