Destination Britain - Middle East & Asia 2024 offers UK international trade-ready businesses the unique opportunity to meet hand-picked buyers from GCC, India, South Korea and Japan and to provide agents training and join numerous networking sessions.
This event enables delegates to strengthen their existing relationships, learn about the market directly from our in-market team and trade, and gain valuable direct contacts to unlock new opportunities.
At a glance
Event dates: 20-22 November 2024
Price: Primary Delegate Fee: £5,650+VAT / Secondary Delegate Fee: £2,800+VAT
Markets involved: GCC, India, South Korea, Japan
Location: The Ritz-Carlton, Bangalore, India
Registration deadline: 15 July 2024
Level of experience required: Trade ready businesses (mandatory) with advanced delegate experience preferred.
Grants: There are currently no grants available through VisitBritain, but it is worth checking with your Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) or Destination Management Organisation (DMO) as in some instances grants are available through local authorities to attend overseas trade events.
Who is it for?
International trade-ready businesses, including (but not limited to) destinations, accommodation providers, DMCs, transport providers and attractions. All registrations are subject to approval to ensure a variety of regions and product types – and considering market relevance, trade readiness and a capped number per product sector and registration date.
Agenda
Day 1 20 November 2024 | Day 2 21 November 2024 | Day 3 22 November 2024 |
Arrivals Welcome Dinner | East Asia Agents Training GCC & India Buyer Workshop | GCC & India Agents Training East Asia Buyers Workshop Departures |
Who will I meet?
Leisure buyers from the GCC, India, Japan & South Korea over a period of 2 full business days.
Japan: key buyers involved in the development of the UK product ( Group/ FIT, City breaks and Luxury) and are looking for the new, special and unique products, this market is very keen to work with DMCs.
GCC: key buyers (primarily from UAE and Saudi Arabia) responsible for the contracting and product/destination development for their UK travel programmes. Companies often span multiple travel sectors (luxury, family, beach/cruise, city breaks, MICE etc.) and channels (retail, b2b and online).
India - Hand picked agents from across key cities in India will be present. These will be key buyers catering to MICE, luxury FIT and group tours. Some of the agents who have participated in the past from India are, Thomas Cook, SOTC, MakeMyTrip etc.
South Korea - Key buyers who are currently selling UK tour products(Group/FIT, Bespoke and Luxury) and interested in learning and developing new destinations and activities by working closely with LVEPs, DMCs and UK suppliers directly.
What’s included?
- 2 full business days of table-top pre-scheduled appointments with hosted buyers from Middle East and Asia region
- Return airport transfers in India upon arrival & departure
- 3 nights accommodation (20-22 Nov)
- Networking dinners & lunches
What’s not included?
Indian Visa
Return air-ticket from/to the UK
Personal expenses and extras
What’s not included?
- Indian Visa
- Return air-ticket from/to the UK
- Personal expenses and extras
Why should I target Middle East & Asia?
The Middle East & Asia region is a very important to the UK visitor economy. While visits to the UK are still recovering, forecasts expect that £1 in £5 spent by international visitors in the UK in 2024 will be contributed by visitors from these markets, a total value of £6.8bn in visitor spending.
Visitors from this region spent on average £1778 per visit in the UK, more than double the all market average (£830), based on latest available reported data for January-September 2023.
(Source: VisitBritain/Oxford Economics forecast as of April 2024; value combined for visits from Bahrain, China, Hong Kong (SAR of China), India, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, and UAE)
Apply to attend Destination Britain - Middle East & Asia 2024
All applications are subject to approval. Ensure you liaise your local Tourism Authority (VisitScotland, Visit Wales) and with your local England LVEP if you are based in England. We aim to provide you with an update on the status of the event and the status of your application shortly after we close registrations and review all applications.
Important information
Please do not book flights or any travel until you receive confirmation that your registration has been approved.
The event will only go ahead upon reaching minimum registration numbers; we aim to inform everybody who has registered shortly after we close registations.
By submitting a registration, on approval, you are confirming your attendance to the event.
