English tourism bounces back after bad start to the year
England enjoyed a 10% rise in domestic trips in April compared to the year before.
According to the Great British Tourism Survey released by VisitEngland this week, 3.8 million domestic holidays were taken in England in April 2014, with tourism spend up 5%.
The tourism body said the early months of 2014 were hit by extremely wet weather and flooding in some parts of the country.
But a later, milder Easter had a positive effect on business and year to date domestic holiday trips are now on a par with 2013 while tourism spend is up by 6%.
Looking ahead, the survey found over 90% of businesses feel confident about the summer holidays, with over 70% of accommodation providers reporting strong forward bookings for the rest of the school holiday period.
"It is fantastic to see a boost in domestic holiday trips and spend for April and businesses feeling confident as the Summer holiday period gets well underway," said VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford.
"This demonstrates the resilience of the tourism industry following the impact of the extreme weather earlier this year and the success of the flood support campaign. We have seen the trend to holiday at home soar in the past five years and it’s a trend we’re confident will continue."
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.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Global tourism exceeds 1.5 billion travelers announces UN-Tourism
Qatar Airways offers reduced timetable to over 60 destinations
WTTC global tourism reached record economic impact of 11 trillion in 2025
Hands In, UATP join forces for airline multi-card payments
Overseas travelers to the United States declined by 2.5% in 2025