Singapore - The situation in London is returning to normal at presstime despite the aftershocks of the recent bomb blasts. At press time, VisitBritain anticipated a short-term dip in visitor numbers but in the long run was confident impact would be minimal and business would go on as usual.

The NTO is continuing to target business visitors from Asia-Pacific. It recently changed tactics by making its local offices in each market responsible for growing the segment. Previously they were mainly in charge of the leisure market and there was only one regional business specialist to oversee and market the destination to the region’s corporate travel sector. All will report to the Asia-Pacific head office in Hong Kong on business planning.

According to head of business tourism, Mr Jeremy Brinkworth, the local offices understand their markets better and this would allow the NTO to be more effective. He said the number of business travellers visiting the UK from the region had grown steadily and accounted for nine per cent of the 7.4 million business arrivals.

Although only a small percentage, it accounted for 21 per cent of all spending and 24 per cent of all nights spent by business visitors last year. The NTO expects numbers to grow by five to 10 per cent this year and is seeking to increase its marketing budget for the region by 10 per cent next year. Mr Brinkworth declined to reveal the current budget but £50,000 (US$88,000) was spent on above-the-line investment in Asia. Key target markets include India, China, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Hong Kong.

Mr Brinkworth reiterated: “VisitBritain has only just actively started to tap into the Asian business and MICE markets and the two key areas of focus now are to generate awareness of facilities in the UK, as well as the role VisitBritain can play for business travellers to make their trip a success.” Its marketing drive started with VisitBritain’s debut at IT&CMA last year and the NTO’s own Destination Britain event in Asia. These events have helped build a database of industry players with which the NTO can communicate with via email newsletters.

Besides continuing its participation at trade shows, Mr Brinkworth said VisitBritain was also working with hotel groups such as Thistle and a variety of UK-based destination management companies to pitch for events. While cost might be a deterrent, Mr Brinkworth said it could be offset if travellers engaged in free activities such as museum and park visits. In May, a search tool was added to VisitBritain’s business tourism website to make it more convenient for corporate travellers to look for information.