UK suffers summer visitor slump
The number of foreign travellers to the UK in the peak summer months dropped and the amount of spending also declined, according to new figures.
Overseas visitor numbers fell by three per cent to 9.3 million against July-September 2007 and spending was down by two per cent at £5.1 billion.
Data for the first nine months of the year also indicates that increasing travel to Britain from abroad is becoming more challenging, national tourism body VisitBritain said.
Overseas residents made 24.9 million visits to the UK – static (0%) compared to the same period in 2007 – and spent £12.5 billion (up + 4% before allowing for inflation).
North American visits fell nine per cent to 3.2 million in the first nine months – largely attributable to the poor economic climate in the US with low levels of consumer confidence and high aviation costs.
The weakness of the dollar was also an issue until early summer and Britain is yet to see the benefit of recent dollar strengthening, VisitBritain admitted.
Figures for 2007 indicate there were 32.8 million visits to Britain, +0.2% up on 2006, representing spending worth £16 billion, a -0.3% decrease on the previous year.
VisitBritain’s outgoing chief executive Tom Wright said: “Although these figures are disappointing, they are not unexpected given the economic climate right now.
“The recent fall in sterling and the approaching Olympics in 2012 give us a tremendous opportunity to promote Britain’s attractions as a destination to the world, but the likely onset of the global recession makes our work and the support we receive ever more critical.
“With strong support, Britain’s visitor economy can continue to grow strongly over the next few years and compete against ever more destinations investing ever more money to attract the attention of the world’s travellers.
“However, if we do not address the market challenges, the economic impact could be considerable.â€
The greatest increase in visits has come from the 12 recent EU member countries which have seen visits rise by 17% to 2.7 million.
These and other ‘rest of the world’ regions, such as Asia, Australasia, Africa and South America, are also performing more strongly than European countries that are more mature sources of Britain’s inbound visitors.
The latest figures come in a week that has seen new research, commissioned from Deloitte by VisitBritain and the Tourism Alliance, indicate that the value of the visitor economy to the UK is £114 billion (see previous TravelMole story).
VisitBritain is calling for immediate action through a public-private partnership and fund to promote Britain’s value for money in a spring campaign.
It will take advantage of hoteliers and carriers delivering special offers as well as sterling depreciating against both the US dollar and the euro while reminding Britons that holidaying at home supports British jobs.
by Phil Davies
Phil Davies
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