30 Minute Interview

'VisitBritain considers India as the next big destination'

Michael Bedingfield, vice president of VisitBritain speaks about the tourism board's future plans for India as it emerges as one of the major markets in Asia. By Anupama Sushil

Michael Bedingfield Vice President VisitBritain

What are your latest initiatives in terms of improving the site?

We have streamlined the existing site and made it easy for users to navigate through it. It is also laced with many newer interfaces like the 'shop' that offers bookings for museums, theatres, accommodation, rail passes, discount cards, etc. It offers everything and anything that will make travel comfortable.

Catering to both individual travellers as well as travel agents as a commissionable service, the site provides updated information with better prices. This is an attempt at harnessing technology for innovation. Also, with the shop available online the typical notion of the country being excessively expensive would be erased as planning ahead really helps in cutting down costs.

How do you plan to target the travel trade segment in India?

The tourism authority plans to start a programme for the bigger travel agents in India as they now aim to engage the trade in a big way. Till now, only those people got onto the site who had their holiday pre-planned; it is still not an aspirational site. We really are 'Web' at heart and now want people to visit the site and then visit the country.

Starting September this year we will be tapping the honeymoon market in India in association with Shaadi.com through online contests, etc. In an attempt to be visible all over the place, we are also planning to be present on different platforms like Rediff, community-based sites, online and offline activities, restaurants, etc. Within two to three years, we will be all over the place. We also plan to bring on a certification programme for the travel agents called the 'BritAgent' soon.

What were your targets for the previous year?

Our targets for the year will exceed our expectations by 25-26 per cent. In 2007, the first quarter saw a rise of 25 per cent as compared to the previous year. In the year 2006, four lakh visitors visited which was 34 per cent higher than 2005.

What new products will be on offer?

Looking at the leisure and MICE market aggressively, we have some new products. A lot of new products like the northern part of the country, Liverpool, Manchester and many other undiscovered cities will be promoted through offline promotions and contests. We are promoting the country as a whole; there is no segmentation in the promotions. We present the entire set of products to the potential traveller and then they enjoy the convenience of choosing what to take and what not to take.

In the year 2008, we will be concentrating on Liverpool, the culture capital, new accommodation facilities, many sporting events and value-for-money destination. We have the advantage of having many different locations at short distances. We are popularising shooting locations for Bollywood and are now bringing out a 'Bollywood map' of locations used in famous Indian movies. This concept will be called 'Set-jetting'. Concentrating on this niche area will be important for us, as Bollywood has definitely raised our profile as a destination. We also have a specialised section that takes care of these needs and puts the filmmakers in touch with the technicians there.