The UK is facing a £2.8bn shortfall in overseas visitor spending, with annual arrivals still down on pre-pandemic numbers. According to a new report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), Britain attracted 38 million tourists in 2023, down from a 2019 peak of 40.
9 million. Projections for 2024 suggest only a slight improvement, to 38.7 million.
Furthermore, spending by tourists has also declined by 8 per cent, translating to a £2.8bn dip when adjusted for inflation. While the CEBR cites “general cautiousness surrounding international travel,” it also says that Britain is being outperformed by its main competitors in Europe.
“The UK is falling behind its closest competitors as a tourist destination,” the report said. According to the latest United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) statistics, UK visitor numbers in 2023 were still 5.6 per cent down on 2019, placing the country towards the bottom of the European table when it comes to growth – below France, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Netherlands and Croatia, among others, though faring better than Italy and Germany.
So why such a slow uptick, and why are other countries having more success? Some of the factors underpinning a tourism slump are obviously to do with the cost of living crisis, by no means a domestic affair. Britain is not a budget holiday option. The World Economic Forum ranks the UK 113th out of 119 countries for price competitiveness of travel and tourism.
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