Good weather helps boost English tourism
There were 19.7 million trips recorded in England between January and March this year, the highest number of trips recorded during the first quarter for seven years.
According to the Great Britain Tourism Survey, expenditure also increased by 24% to £3.5 billion compared to 2014.
Last year’s figures dipped significantly due to the severe weather conditions and flooding at the beginning of the year.
Based on the findings of VisitEngland’s latest Tourism Business Monitor, this year’s growth is set to continue.
The monitor found that nearly half of accommodation providers and 56% of attractions reported an increase in visitors for the year to May.
Looking ahead, over nine in 10 of the businesses surveyed said they remain confident about the school summer holiday period, particularly accommodation providers.
"These results are very encouraging as we approach the summer holiday season," said VisitEngland CEO James Berresford.
"The tourism industry’s confidence demonstrates the fantastic resilience of businesses who bounced-back after the severe weather conditions that impacted destinations at the beginning of last year."
VisitEngland said the early months of the year were helped by average weather and a number of high profile events, including the first ever ‘Tour de Yorkshire’ in May.
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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