Research carried out by VisitBritain has revealed an increase in income from international tourism as record numbers of visitors flock to the UK, with spending peaking in most British regions for the first nine months of 2014.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics have reported a new record for international tourism spending in the North West, with revenue totalling £849 million.
Other regions reporting unprecedented overseas tourism include Wales (£303 million), Scotland (£1.5 billion), London (£8.9 billion), East of England (£693 million), and the South East (£1.7 billion).
There was overall growth from both short and long haul source countries. For example, in the nine months to September there were 2.4 million visits from the US, 8% more than last year; and spending increased 14% to a record £2.3 billion. There was also a sharp increase in nights spent in Britain by visitors from the USA (27%) meaning that the average stay duration for USA visitors increased from 8 nights per visit in 2013 to 9.3 in 2014.
Tourism from closer source countries has also increased, with the UK seeing a steady recovery in visits and spending from its closest European neighbours. During the first nine months of 2014, visits were up 11% to 1.4 million from Spain, levels last seen in 2011 and growing faster than those from Germany (up 10% to a new record of 2.7 million) and France (up 2% to 3.1 million). Spanish tourists spent £747 million during January to September 2014, 17% more than the same period last year, whilst spend from Germany reached a new record of £1.2 billion.
Tourism Minister Helen Grant said:
“Britain has so much to offer tourists and it’s fantastic that more of them are exploring the country and helping to drive growth outside of London. I want overseas visitors to experience the very best of Britain and with a record £22 billion expected to be spent this year the tourism sector is well placed to keep up this momentum, as part of the Government’s long-term economic plan.”
Patricia Yates, director of strategy and communications for VisitBritain, said:
“Inbound tourism is an export industry at which Britain is demonstrably successful, with further growth predicted this year. VisitBritain will continue to focus on the rebalancing of this growing industry in 2015 to benefit the whole country.
“Next week we will launch a £3 million Countryside is GREAT campaign to showcase the beauty of our countryside – from Cornwall to the Lake District, Pembrokeshire to the Scottish Highlands. We also secured £4m of advertising space in Heathrow airport to promote travel on from London and will continue to work with regional gateways such as Manchester and Birmingham to spread valuable inbound tourists to the nations and regions in record numbers.”
Words: Peter Cribley