High costs bigger threat to UK visits than terror
UKinbound reports visitor arrivals increased by 4.2% year-on-year in May, versus 4.5% in April and 5.2% in March, with forward booking meanwhile 1.7% ahead in May, compared with 1.2% in April and 2.1% in March.
UKinbound said the May figures continued the trend of the last four months with ‘modest’ increases in both visitor numbers and forward bookings, adding that the growth continued to be limited to short-haul business, with long-haul markets remaining flat or even declining year-on-year.
‘There is over-capacity in nearly all major tourism destinations and the UK’s lack of price competitiveness remains our greatest weakness,’ the association warned.
It also said UK exporters were being hindered by the strong pound and in particular the US dollar’s recent decline to a 26-year low against sterling, while the likelihood of a further interest rate increase on top of last week’s meant there was no prospect of any short term improvement in exchange rates.
And, while the terrorist incidents in London and Glasgow at the end of June resulted in a small drop in bookings for some UKinbound members, ‘in the medium to long term it is almost certain that our lack of international competitiveness will be more damaging than the threat of terrorist actively’.
‘Consumers have become more inured to the ever-present global risks posed by terrorism but they also see the wide variety of holidays destinations available and compare the prices on offer.
‘The UK remains an attractive destination but the cost of operating an export tourism business here and punitive taxation means we are unable to offer equally attractive prices,’ UKinbound concluded.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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