UK widens its five-star offering for Arab guests

Last year 170,000 visitors to the UK came from the UAE, up 28 per cent on 2005, and were worth around $400 million to the country. It is therefore hardly surprising that Visit Britain is making a special effort to attract more UAE visitors, particularly the high spending Arab national guests.

'We are trying to encourage more visitors to travel outside London,' says Regional Marketing Manager, Carol Madisson. 'Places like Scotland, the Lake District and Blackpool have many attractions and can be accessed very easily by air from the Gulf these days with many direct flights available.

'The BritRail pass is also a popular option with Gulf Arab guests who find railways a novel experience as well as being a convenient way to get around Britain, especially with large families.'

Inverlochy Castle

From Scotland the Visit Britain stand at the ATM features one of Europe's top luxury hotels, the stunningly beautiful Inverlochy Castle where Queen Victoria used to stay, with extensive country pursuits to hand as well as a Michelin One-Star chef. The MacDonald boutique hotels are also present which are sometimes booked entirely by an Arab family.

'Services apartments are also popular with Arab visitors as this provides flexible accommodation with the room for large families and maids, says Carol Madisson. 'We have www.apartments4london.com on the stand this year as well as niche luxury hotel operators such as Macdonald Hotels.'

UK visa changes

Meanwhile, the UK is changing its visa processing to include electronic biometric data - finger printing and eye scans - for all visa applicants from September.

This is done electronically but it does mean that all applicants will have to present themselves in person, or by special arrangement an official can call at home with a portable scanner. Indeed, the plan is to set up a visa application department in a Dubai shopping mall so that a visit to the UK Embassy, which is old and cramped, is no longer necessary.

'The idea is to encourage more visitors from the UAE by making this process as easy as possible, and it will still be a same day service for all UAE nationals,' says Carol Madisson.

'We will also be launching the www.GB4U website to appeal to the young Arab traveler online which will be a kind of virtual youth club with information on activities, nightclubs, concerts and a blog.'

With an unrivalled range of attractions for UAE visitors of all ages it seems unlikely that the visitor flow to the UK will fall back this year, despite the high value of the UK pound sterling. And what is the biggest attraction: history, culture or concerts?

Not really, shopping is the number one leisure pursuit for regional visitors to the UK, and Harrods is the favorite destination for guests from the Gulf.