Tourism Source Market Insight: United Kingdom (UK) - Analysis of Tourist Profiles & Flows, Spending Patterns, Destination Markets, Risks and Future Opportunities

Tourism Source Market Insight: United Kingdom (UK) - Analysis of tourist profiles & flows, spending patterns, destination markets, risks and future opportunities

Summary
UK departures to Europe are set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.88% from 55.9 million in 2018 to 64.4 million in 2023. Of course Brexit has impacted the UK’s outbound tourism industry but the reality is not likely to be as bad as we might have been led to believe, at least in terms of visitor numbers. The depreciation of the pound has had a big impact on expenditure, however, and travelers have had to spend more to match the same experiences they had a few years ago. As a result, cheaper locations are highly sought after by UK travelers.

Slovakia adopted the Euro in 2009 and Lithuania followed later in 2015 but the Hungarian Forint, Czech Koruna and Romanian Leu remain. Stag and hen parties from the UK are popular in the area because of cheap alcohol and accommodation. However, Eastern Europe has a rich history and beautiful architecture and hence offers much more than this.

Western Europe is only truly becoming aware of the other offerings of Eastern Europe and this helps to explain how each country has rapidly grown its UK visitor numbers in recent years. Vilnius in Lithuania is a UNESCO World Heritage site and Budapest has many buildings that have won European Heritage Awards so Eastern Europe has plenty to entice travelers away from the traditional city breaks of Paris and Rome.

Spain is also going to continue to experience growth from the UK market. The Deputy Minister for European Affairs said that in case an agreement is not reached between the EU and the UK, Spain will have a backup plan in place in order to shield the country’s industry. Whereas Spain’s stance is a positive for both tourist businesses and travelers in the two countries, it is essential that a solution is achieved at an EU-level.

Tourism from the UK is an important part of many European countries’ economies and Spain, France, and Italy are going to remain the top destinations for UK travelers for the foreseeable future so it is important that ties are not severed.

Latest report, 'Tourism Source Market Insight: United Kingdom (UK)', reveals that growth is set to continue, despite the threats posed by Brexit. Spain and Eastern Europe especially will see continued growth as travelers seek out sunshine, city breaks, and cheap food and drink.

The report also offers an in-depth analysis of traveler flows, spending patterns, main destination markets and current and future opportunities for tourism businesses seeking to tap into the UK outbound travel market.

Scope

• In 2018, UK residents took 70.7 million international trips and 121.5 million domestic trips.
• Inbound tourism spending totaled $34.2bn in 2018 while outbound spending totaled $105.1bn.
• Domestic tourism expenditure accounted for $137.6bn in 2018.
• UK travelers between the age of 35 and 49 are taking the most holidays with 56 million international and domestic trips being taken by that age category in 2018.

Reasons to buy

• This report provides clear insight into developments in the UK's domestic and outbound tourism markets.
• The report uses data and analysis to discuss future trends related to domestic trips, international departures, traveler spending, and main destination markets.
• The report explores the different profiles of UK tourists and the reasons that they travel, hence providing an insight into the trends in different segments of the market.
• The reader gains a strong understanding of the opportunities in the country, as well as the risks, to support better business decisions.