British tourism is showing signs of growth
Britain’s tourism industry looks to have reached a turning point during the key summer months according to new provisional figures from the International Passenger Survey.
VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, commented that the trend we have seen in the summer with increasing numbers of overseas residents choosing to explore Britain is likely to continue to the end of the year, driven by a favourable exchange rate with the euro. VisitBritain forecasts that inbound tourism will help lead Britain’s economic recovery during the coming months with modest growth expected in 2010.
The figures show that in the first nine months of 2009 overseas residents made nearly 23 million visits to the UK and spent £12.5 billion. While the number of visits is 8% lower compared to 2008 visitor spending is unchanged thanks to strong growth in how much visitors are spending.
During the vital summer months of July to September 3% more international visitors holidayed in Britain than over the same period in 2008, that is equivalent to 100,000 additional holidaymakers. Taking figures for the first nine months of 2009 indicates that Britain has welcomed more than 9 million holiday visitors, 262,000 more than in 2008.
During the first nine months of this year the EU15 market has proved to be the most resilient for inbound tourism, with a decline in visitor numbers of only 4%, once again a favourable exchange rate has helped to boost holiday visits to Britain from this part of the world. After a number of years of sustained growth 2009 has seen a drop in visits from the twelve EU Accession countries of 23%.
easyJet’s UK General Manager Paul Simmons, said:
“The weak pound has led to a shift in perception on the continent. The UK is no longer seen as an expensive destination but as good value. There are more seats on low-fares flights to London than to any other European city, which leaves visitors with more money to spend during their stay.”
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