BTA says Dec inbound figures improvement on 2001
The British Tourism Authority (BTA) has announced that inbound tourism figures released today for December 2002 indicate that visitors to Britain rose by over a third (+36 per cent) compared to the same month in 2001, while their spending in this country rose by 30 per cent.
Figures for the full year show that visits as a whole were up by six per cent on the previous year to over 24 million with spend up by four per cent to almost £12 billion. The fourth quarter of the year (October to December) was not only an improvement on 2001, but also on 2000.
Commenting on the results, Tom Wright, BTA chief executive, said: A further positive result for inbound tourism and further proof that a recovery from the terrible events of 2001 is underway. While there is still some way to go and the current climate is causing uncertainty in some markets, BTA’s evolution of its overseas structure and the imminent launch of a new lead body for tourism, as well as developments in the way Britain will be marketed overseas all offer great potential for the industry.”
In a statement, BTA said the massive growth in December was boosted by the tourism industry’s ‘Only in Britain. Only in 2002’ campaign, which saw heavy advertising and promotion aimed at generating short breaks from key European markets during the autumn and winter months. A similar campaign is planned for later this year.
BTA anticipates that in 2003 both inbound visits and spending will increase by between 3% and 4% on 2002 figures. However, market intelligence from BTA’s overseas offices suggests that global economic and political developments may affect demand for travel from some markets.
The figures in full are:
In December 2002 (compared with December 2001):
During the period January to December 2002 (compared with 2001):
|
|
DECEMBER |
YEAR-TO-DATE |
||||
|
|
Visits |
% change |
Visits |
% change |
||
|
|
(000) |
02/01 |
02/00 |
(000) |
02/01 |
02/00 |
|
North America |
240 |
+12 |
-3 |
4,320 |
+2 |
-11 |
|
Western Europe |
1,380 |
+48 |
+11 |
15,330 |
+9 |
0 |
|
Rest of World |
260 |
+12 |
-24 |
4,510 |
0 |
-9 |
|
Total Visits |
1,880 |
+36 |
+3 |
24,160 |
+6 |
-4 |
|
|
£m |
|
|
£m |
|
|
|
Total Spend |
960 |
+30 |
+2 |
11,785 |
+4 |
-8 |
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