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New figures released by VisitBritain show that nearly 20 million overseas visitors used a mobile phone when in the UK during 2010. The findings come as the national tourism agency launched its new UK Top50 places free app1 through the iTunes store.
The app will allow visitors to check-in to their most popular British attractions through Facebook, find out what is near them to see and do, discover what’s hot and secure great value deals while they’re in the country.
Justin Reid, Head of Online at VisitBritain said: “It is clear with the advances in technology and the ever increasing demand for mobile phone usage abroad that there is a demand to get tourists to top attractions across Britain in a creative and fun way – our UK Top50 app does exactly that.
“VisitBritain continues to develop our digital channels with new mobile strategies, making sure we stay at the forefront of technology and that as well as constantly creating new ways to inspire visitors to come to Britain, we keep them busy while they are here.”
Meanwhile, research by VisitBritain to find out the types of activities that visitors had undertaken during their time in the UK showed 60 per cent of tourists visiting for holiday or pleasure purposes had used a mobile phone at least once during their stay, with a vast majority of business visitors also using a mobile phone while in the country.
The highest proportion of mobile phone users were those in the 35-44 age group, while visitors from Norway and the UAE had the largest desire to make or receive calls (about 80%). Holiday visitors from Canada and Japan were much less likely to do so (about 40%).
Unsurprisingly it was business visitors who were far more likely to be found using a laptop while abroad, especially those from Brazil (88%), UAE (81%) and the US (80%). According to the research, holiday visitors from Hong Kong (57%) and the UAE (54%) were more prolific laptop users than their counterparts from around the globe.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
