VisitBritain is hoping to cash in on Bollywood’s love affair with Britain by launching a destination movie map app in a bid to tempt tourists to visit famous film sites.
The national tourism agency launched the Bollywood in Britain (BiB) app – which features sites from famous Indian films including Trafalgar Square, Big Ben and the London Eye – at an event in Mumbai this week.
The release follows a string of
recent marketing campaigns designed to bring more tourists to Britain’s shores, with the BRIC nation of India seen as a key growth market.
Supported by initiatives like BIB, the agency predicts that by 2016, Britain will be welcoming some 425,000 visits per year from India - a 25 per cent rise from 2012.
The app – available to Android and iOS users – comes loaded with all the information Bollywood fans would need to create their own blockbuster-themed holiday in Britain, including a Bollywood treasure hunt.
“India has a digitally savvy, young population, with one of the highest internet usage and smartphone penetrations in the world,” said Joss Croft, marketing director, VisitBritain.
“This unique app will act as one of the best channels to engage and interact with potential visitors, providing an extra incentive for moviegoers to visit Britain and relive some of their favourite cine moments.”
In addition to its Indian initiative, VisitBritain continued its courting of the lucrative Chinese market today by erecting a ‘GREAT China Welcome’ flag at Blenheim Palace to launch a new charter mark that UK tourism and hospitality businesses can use to show they are ‘China-ready’.
