UK affordable, and not just for the affluent (July 2009)

Visitor numbers from the UAE to the UK are increasing along with their spending, making them the second biggest spenders in the entire Asia Pacific Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region, according to executives with Britain’s Tourist Authority VisitBritain.

Since 2000, there has been a 95 per cent growth in travel to the UK from the UAE, and spending there showed a 24 per cent growth in 2008 over 2007. In 2008, some 232,000 UAE based travellers to the UK spent £289 million ($477 million). Those provisional 2008 figures represent a significant jump over 2007 figures which account for 187,000 UAE visitors spending £189 million ($312 million).

“UAE travellers to the UK have more to see and do than ever before, and now it’s even more affordable, so we are not at all surprised to see UAE visitor numbers and related spend continuing to climb,” said Carol Maddison, VisitBritain’s marketing manager, UAE.

So what is there to do this summer in the UK? Besides London’s many free art galleries, street markets, ancient traditions (such as changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace), famous squares and historical buildings, there are the traditional sights such as the Houses of Parliament, London Eye, Big Ben and countless more. To my mind, there are some

imply Must Do’s in the capital: A London show: whatever floats
your boat, there is something for everyone practically every night of the year. If Billy Elliott is anything to go by, the theatre experience in London must rate the best in the world.

The talent of even London’s youngest performers is simply astounding. The late booking websites and the halfprice ticket office in Leicester Square are worth checking out if you don’t have a show preference. Buckingham Palace tour: The summer opening of the State Rooms at the palace is from July 26 to September 30 when the Queen moves to her summer residence of Balmoral in Scotland. Admission is by timed ticket, and prices are £16.50 for adults.

Concessions are available. Every year there is a special exhibition and this year marks the 60th anniversary of the formation of the Commonwealth.

The exhibition will include over 100 gifts, some quite unusual, presented to the Queen who, accompanied by the Duke of Edinburgh, has made over 170 official visits to Commonwealth countries.

Afternoon tea options: An afternoon tea of cakes, pastries, scones and sandwiches plus 30 tea blends is available from £33 at the five star Langham Hotel in Regent Street. Refined elegance dating back to 1865 welcomes the guest that enters the grand lobby emanating a charming subtle ginger and lily scent which continues throughout the hotel.

Afternoon tea selections start at £23.50 at The deVille Restaurant of the Mandeville Hotel five minutes walk from Selfridges, and include a special tea exclusively for men. Gone
are the cucumber sandwiches - replaced with roast beef and a gentleman’s relish – plus chicken satays, Earl grey tea, a choice of fine whiskies and ‘hearty’ chocolate brownies.

ecently refurbished at a cost of £15 million, the shocking pink or green seats of the cocktail bar, its pseudo Victorian paintings and the cerise walls sporting black and white photographs of Audrey Hepburn among others lining the route to the restaurant toilet all quirkily gel into a highly stylish hotel.

Experience London life: at Covent Garden where buskers, mime artists, opera singers, jazz musicians all compete for a few pennies in the cobbled streets. The restaurant choice is endless, but for a really authentic Indian meal try Masala Zone which this summer does a great lunch and pre-6.30pm menu at £8.50 for two courses. The food is completely nutritionally balanced, healthy and fresh, representing dishes from every state in India, all served under a curious canopy of colourful puppets from Rajastan. Halal and special meals for children are served here.

A guided walk: London Walks, winner of a recent tourism award, provides a variety of guided walks throughout the city, an absolutely Must Do for anyone wanting to learn more about the its history. Why the English call doctors ‘quacks’ and the toilet a ‘loo’ plus the horrific conditions during the plague and the Great Fire of London following it in 1666 are all fascinatingly brought to life. Visitors walk past the modern building where Cruella de Ville had her office in the movie 101
Dalmatians, and tread upon the cobbled streets of Diagon Alley used in the Harry Potter films.

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