The UK has recorded its biggest-ever month for tourist visits after the referendum-related slump in the pound lured 3.8 million people to British shores in July.
In the highest month ever for inbound tourism, overseas visitors spent £2.5bn – 4% more than last year, according to new figures from the tourism agency VisitBritain.
The sudden currency depreciation triggered by the result of the June referendum vote has left sterling hovering at its lowest level against the dollar for more than 30 years. This has turned the UK into a relatively cheaper destination for millions of foreign travellers wanting to shop for luxury goods or visit attractions such as the Lake District or Buckingham Palace.
Announcing the figures at the the launch of the agency’s 2015-16 annual review, VisitBritain said the July boost was continuing a long-term pattern of growth which in 2015 saw a record 36.1m inbound visits to Britain and triggered total spending of £22.1bn. July was also a record month for inbound visits from EU countries – the UK’s largest source of visitors – with 2.3m visits, 3% up on last year as European tourists took advantage of the pound’s decline against the euro in the wake of the referendum. The pound is trading at its lowest against the euro for nearly seven years.
“Tourism is a shining star in an uncertain world,” said Christopher Rodrigues, VisitBritain’s chair. “As our fourth-biggest service export, and one of our fastest growing sectors, tourism’s importance as a key economic driver and job creator is clear. While the talk is of trade deals with new markets, tourism is already leading the way, competing strongly in our most valuable source markets such as the US and in markets that are crucial for our future, including China.”
Last year visitors from the USA – Britain’s most lucrative foreign market – spent £3bn in Britain for the first time, while visits from China, the world’s largest outbound market, increased by 46%, with spending up 18%.
This meant China leapfrogged into Britain’s top 10 most valuable markets, while bookings from China to the UK are up by nearly a quarter between October and December this year.
VisitBritain is also launching a new marketing push in the US, as well as France and Germany, Britain’s three largest and most valuable inbound visitors markets, through a partnership with online travel firm Expedia.
Domestic visitors attracted by affordable staycations also spent more in England last year than ever before, splashing out £19.6bn on overnight trips, up 8% on 2014. This was £97.2m more than the previous year, which tourism chiefs said was down to the success of initiatives such as a major VisitEngland marketing campaign.
Inbound tourism is worth more than £26bn to the UK economy. In August prime minister Theresa May launched a Tourism Action Plan to try to ensure that Britain remains a top destination for visitors.
UK hotel chains have reported a leap in tourist spending since the vote, while the home lettings website Airbnb said its UK-listed properties welcomed 1.6 million guests between June and August.
The sharp drop in the pound has inevitably made tax-free spending attractive for overseas visitors. In August the tax-free shopping company Global Blue said visitors from Asia and the USA had been taking advantage of how much further their own currencies will go in the UK, reporting a 7% year-on-year increase in UK international tax-free shopping in July.
Gordon Clark, Global Blue’s UK and Ireland managing director, said the pound’s fall had proved perfect timing for tourists visiting the UK this summer. “The cash injection we have seen off the back of this has been hugely beneficial for our tourism economy,” he said.
