Envoy announces office to boost Saudi visitors to UK

RIYADH: Announcing the opening of the VisitBritain office in Riyadh, Ambassador Simon Collis on Monday said it would boost the number of Saudi visitors to the UK.
He said the office is located on the British Embassy premises, and will be headed by Bader Al-Mandeel, a Saudi who will coordinate its activities throughout the Kingdom.
Collis said 99 percent of Saudi applicants are given UK visas without any problems.
“These visas were given in a period of five days,” he said, adding that the consular section has introduced a “super priority service” that will enable applicants to get their visa on the same day.
“The opening of the new VisitBritain office in Riyadh builds on a century of strong trade and cultural relations,” said Collis. “Every year Britain welcomes more and more Saudis, with thousands visiting on business, for tourism or to study. I would strongly encourage Saudis to go and see for themselves everything that the UK has to offer.”
VisitBritain director for Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Sumathi Ramanathan, said: “Saudi Arabia is one of Britain’s most important and fastest-growing outbound markets. The appointment of Bader Al-Mandeel to head VisitBritain’s operations signals VisitBritain’s strong commitment to the market. We value the support of our media, travel trade, airline and social media partners, and Bader’s presence in the market will help us further build on these important relationships.”
Saudis are among the UK’s highest-spending visitors, spending on average £3,769 ($4,705) per visit. They also stay longer than other international visitors, with an average stay of 18 nights.
Research by VisitBritain shows that Saudi visitors are interested in luxury shopping and enjoy Britain’s high-end department stores and outlet shops, with more than 60 percent likely to have shopped at an outlet or department store during their visit.
Saudi Arabia is one of Britain’s top 10 most valuable inbound visitor markets, with spending forecast to reach £772 million in 2020. In 2015, there were 147,000 inbound visits from Saudi Arabia to the UK, with visitors spending £556 million.
The appointment of Al-Mandeel follows the development of a partnership with Al-Tayyar Travel Group Holding Co. that includes a campaign to promote London, Manchester and Edinburgh. The campaign will offer exclusive summer family travel packages to the UK, and an upgrade to visa processing via UK Visa and Immigration.