British tourism sees post-Brexit boom
Britain’s inbound tourism has seen an 18% rise in the month following Brexit, according to a survey of tourism businesses.
At the same time, domestic tourism businesses have reported an 11% rise in bookings.
The survey of 500 firms by Tourism Alliance showed how the fall in the value of the pound is attracting overseas tourists and encouraging Brits to holiday at home.
But Tourism Alliance director Kurt Janson warned the ‘mini-boom’ is likely to be shortlived.
"Despite the increase in forward bookings, 28% of inbound tourism businesses said that they were putting their investment decisions on hold because of the referendum and uncertainty regarding the future," he said.
This compares to domestic businesses where 18% said they were going to increase investment as a result of the referendum, he added.
"So, while we have this mini-boom, the long-term future of the inbound tourism industry is uncertain," said Janson.
With around 70% of inbound tourism to the UK comes from EU countries, he said it was vital that rules and regulations that facilitate travel between the UK and the rest of Europe are maintained.
He said the future of the tourism industry was also reliant on the freedom of movement for labour, with the number of foreign nationals working in the UK tourism industry having doubled to 27% in little over 10 years.
"People 1st, the sector skills council for hospitality and tourism, has calculated that the industry needs over 32,000 additional skilled workers each year over the next 10 years. This is not possible from the local labour market so the sector need any deal with the EU to retain the freedom of movement for labour in order for the UK tourism industry to provide visitors with a high quality experience."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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