Official data exposes economic horror for travel and tourism
Fewer than 400,000 overseas residents visited the UK in the three months to June, down 96% on last year, as the full economic impact of Covid was revealed.
Meanwhile, only 939,000 UK residents headed overseas, 96% fewer than the same period in 2019.
Total spend on foreign travel collapsed 98% to £402m.
The numbers, released by the Office of National Statistics, spell out the catastrophic situation for both the UK tourism industry and the outbound sector, including travel agents.
The data shows only 398,000 trips were made to the UK in the second quarter, down 98% on the same period in 2019.
Spending declined 97% to a paltry £218 million, according to the ONS.
Of the overseas visits 298,000 were from Europe and 40,000 from North America.
The ONS said the figures are based on administrative sources and modelling as data collection by the International Passenger Survey was suspended for the period.
ABTA said the figures ‘lay bare the devasting impact’ of Covid.
"While the figures relate to the first lockdown period, since then the industry has had to deal with constantly changing travel advice and quarantine measures, as well as local lockdowns, meaning there has been very limited scope for recovery in the travel industry," a spokesperson said.
"As a result tens of thousands of jobs have already been lost and many businesses have closed their doors for good."
ABTA reiterated its appeal for not only tailored financial support but for an effective testing regime and a fully regionalised travel corridor.
They should be implemented by the time the current lockdown is lifted to help rebuild customer confidence, the association said.
"It also needs to introduce flexibility into the furlough scheme to support businesses who need to have staff processing refunds, but won’t be generating income," the spokesperson added.
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