BA welcomes Saudis to Britain with special fares, offers

With visits from the GCC region to the UK up by 30 percent and spending having doubled over the past 5 years, British Airways (BA) is inviting Saudi tourists to visit Britain with reduced fares and shopping discounts. The airline has slashed its fares from the Kingdom to several destinations in the UK, Europe, the United States and Canada in all its cabins, for bookings made during September for travel until March 31, 2014.
Reports from the International Passenger Survey indicate that the UK welcomed over 500,000 visitors from the Gulf countries in 2012. Saudi Arabia ranked second from the GCC countries with 180,000 visitors, and was one of the top 50 markets internationally by volume of visits. The report also indicated that, an amount of 1.2 billion pounds was injected into the UK economy from the GCC countries in which Saudi ranked second in spend from the GCC countries, with shopping being a major factor.
As tourism from the GCC markets become increasingly more important, BA is looking to provide travelers easy, convenient ways to travel, combined with special offers on their extensive network to 24 destinations in North America and over 75 destinations throughout Europe and the UK and Ireland. As part of the sale offer, and to make travelers' stay even more enjoyable, the airline is also providing a range of exclusive discounts with some of the biggest names on Britain's high street.
Paolo De Renzis, BA’s area commercial manager, Middle East and Central Asia, said: "The UK is a great place to visit all year around for shopping arts and culture, and we are delighted to welcome our Saudi guests to Britain with special fares and offers."
While London accounts for the majority of inbound visitor spend, other destinations such Manchester, Glasgow and Edinburgh are also seeing an increase in visitors.