DRMumbai: If you’re looking for the beat of a music festival, the adrenaline of an outdoor adventure, the experience of a breathtaking road trip, or the magic of a new attraction like the V&A Dundee, then Scotland’s for you right now.
Scotland’s national tourism organisation VisitScotland held its roadshow in Mumbai and New Delhi recently in association with Emirates Airlines. The delegation was led by Emma Hallington, Market Manager India, Middle East and Australasia, VisitScotland and included Scottish partners Rhiannon Merritt, Corporate Sales Manager, Caledonian Sleeper; Dylan Andersen, Contracts Manager, Cashel Travel; Mayank Tuteja, Senior Sales Manager India, Leading Hotels of the World (LHW) representing The Gleneagles Hotel; and Craig Duguid, National Sales Manager, The Spires Serviced Apartments. Sunil Kallyat, Regional Manager Western India, Emirates also attended.
Trade partners from Scotland made product presentations over two days in each city to educate the Indian travel trade. VisitScotland also organised a networking event with whisky tasting for the local travel trade community.
Over 2.5 million overseas visitors travel to Scotland each year. Castles can be found throughout the country and many are open to the public.
Visitors can also go to distilleries to see how whisky, Scotland’s national drink is made. Scotland is perfect for self-drive holidays offering excellent roads set amidst stunning natural beauty.
“India is a key emerging market for us,” said Hallington. “We have great air connectivity with many airlines flying to Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Glasgow from Mumbai and New Delhi,” says Hallington.
In 2017, Scotland welcomed 64,000 visitors from India and this excludes the VFR (Visiting Friends and Relatives) segment. Considering 561,573 Indians travelled to the UK in 2017, there is a lot of room for growth for VisitScotland. “Many high-end visitors from India are looking for unique experiences and Scotland fits perfectly well into that space,” she adds. “Our FIT and Group segments from India are growing year on year.” Scotland is known around the world as the Home of Golf. There are more than 550 courses, and golf is relatively inexpensive. “But that is not a segment we are focussing on in India,” informs Hallington. “Even MICE is not a focus for us in India though we get some enquiries. At the moment we are targeting leisure travellers.”
VisitScotland runs the SCOTSagent (Specialist Counsellor On Travel to Scotland) online learning programme for tour operators. This programme has been designed specifically for travel trade, giving an introduction to the destination, taking trade partners in-depth about what to see and do in Scotland, and showing the very best of what the country has to offer their clients. Once a partner registers for the programme, they will be sent regular updates on Scottish tourism products, events, festivals, exclusive offers and much more.
