ABTA 2004: Inbound tourism heads for record year
ABTA Convention Special: Inbound tourism is expected to hit record levels this year with an estimated 26.4m people visiting Britain.
VisitBritain chief executive Tom Wright said overseas offices had worked hard to encourage people to come to the UK, particularly on shortbreaks, and no-frills flights had made Britain more accessible for Europeans.
Wright said tourism was now worth 76bn pounds and predicted it would rise to 100bn pounds in 2010. However, spending by tourists had yet to reach 2000 levels.
Visitor numbers from the US were up by 13-14 per cent, largely due to the deals available to Americans wishing to come to Britain.
“There are discounted transatlantic prices and you can pay as little as $350 for a three-night break in London, including flights,” said Wright.
“Because of the exchange rate, spending is slightly down among Americans when they are in the UK.”
Regional cities in the UK have done particularly well, with overseas tourism to Birmingham up 60 per cent; Manchester up 35 per cent and Brighton up 12 per cent.
Britain’s tourism deficit rose from £15bn to £17bn which Wright attributed to Britons travelling overseas more frequently.
“We don’t want to discourage that, we just want to encourage people to also think about taking holidays in the UK.”
VisitBritain has now gained agreement with the Scottish and Welsh tourism officials, the AA, RAC and major hotel groups to standardise hotel ratings after years of operating separate systems.
Ginny McGrath
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