VisitBritain, the national tourist office for the United Kingdom, MasterCard and Dnata Holidays have teamed up to bring visitors from the UAE and Saudi Arabia great travel and shopping packages when visiting the UK.
The “Exclusive Shopping Getaways to the UK” marketing campaign, which runs from January until April 2007, will offer exclusive shopping deals, starting from US$ 999.00 per person inclusive of economy class flights on Emirates Airlines, three nights stay, breakfast daily and return airport transfers.
MasterCard cardholders who book their Exclusive Shopping Getaways package with their MasterCard card will receive a 10 per cent discount. Additionally, the first 100 customers will receive a £100 shopping voucher for Marks & Spencer, which can be redeemed throughout any of their outlets in the UK.
Carol Maddison, VisitBritain’s Marketing Manager, said: “VisitBritain are delighted to join forces with MasterCard and Dnata Holidays to launch this exclusive shopping campaign which is designed to promote Britain, as a shopping destination for Middle Eastern visitors. The campaign is expected to attract a large number of people from the UAE and Saudi Arabia who would like to spend short breaks in the UK and benefit from the diverse shopping opportunities and tourist attractions in London and beyond.
Nick Sheppard, Manager, DNATA holidays said: “This is a fantastic promotion showcasing Britain’s attractions as a great shopping and tourist destination. We’re very pleased to be part of it, with exclusive packages combining the best in travel and accommodation services to enhance the overall package experience.”
Ihab Zaghloul, Vice-President Acceptance and Business Development, Middle East and Levant, MasterCard Worldwide said: “The UK is a key shopping destination for MasterCard cardholders in the region and we are happy to work with VisitBritain and DNATA, building upon our strong relationships with them, to bring an exclusive promotion, with meaningful benefits to our cardholders. MasterCard is committed to creating more advanced methods of payment that fuel economic connections and drive real business value for its customers, merchants and consumers across the region.”
• VisitBritain is responsible for promoting Britain as a world class tourist destination and for developing England’s visitor economy. It has offices and representatives in 36 countries around the world and in the last three years, has expanded into China and throughout Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia, and increased its presence in India with new representatives in Bangalore and Mumbai.
• Visit Britain has 43 websites in 23 languages covering 36 overseas countries. Over 12 million visits are made by international consumers to the sites and VisitBritain plans to increase this to 25 million by 2009. With information provided in both Arabic and English, thousands of Middle East people use the websites, www.visitbritain.ae , every year to plan a business or leisure trip to the UK.
• In 2005, there were 30 million visitors to Britain, 8% up on 2004. They spent £14.2 billion in the UK, a 9% increase on 2004. International visitors made 13.9 million trips to London alone and spent £6.9 billion in the capital. From Middle East, there were 411,000 visitors compared to 414,000 in 2004. They spent £651 million, a 13% increase on 2004. Visit Britain forecasts a 3 to 4% increase in both number of visitors from the Middle East and spend in 2006 final figures.
About MasterCard Worldwide
MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link among financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes approximately 14 billion transactions each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard®, Maestro® and Cirrus®, MasterCard Worldwide serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information, go to www.mastercardworldwide.com.
