Tourism Destination Market Insights - United Kingdom (UK) and Ireland 2020

Summary

The United Kingdom provides a diverse range of attractions, experiences and activities appealing to all types of travelers from city slickers, heritage enthusiasts, culture seekers, avid walkers and adventurers worldwide. It remains a highly popular destination, attracting large numbers of business and lesiure travelers.

Ireland holds vast sweeping landscapes, an abundance of cultural attractions, two UNESCO world heritage sites along with the dynamic and vibrant city life offered within the capital Dublin. It is consequently a hotbed of leisure tourism.

The publisher's Destination Market Insight provides in-depth analysis of a tourist destination, in this case for the UK and Ireland.

The report uses regional and country focused analysis to explore inbound tourist markets, infrastructure and attractions, as well as risks and opportunities. The report provides clear insight into current and future tourism developments in the region.

key Highlights

• Domestic travel dominates tourism in the UK, where 60% of trips made by UK citizens are to domestic destinations. This trend is set to expand due to several external factors. Firstly, at the start of 2020 Brexit was set to impact traveler preferences and travel within the country would boom as it is seen to be easier than travelling abroad under new regulations. However, the coronavirus pandemic in H1 2020, which impacted travel in all aspects will drive a shift towards domestic travel. As travel quarantine rules threaten the ease of a European weekend break for UK citizens, travelers will opt for easier and safer travel via their own transport methods to UK based destinations.
• Leisure is the most common purpose of travel in international arrivals to the UK, however in 2019, VFR contributed to the purpose of many trips also, being the second most popular purpose of trip in 2019. This is due to the high migration levels into the UK. Due to the impacts of COVID-19, visiting family and friends abroad may be preferred to an international or domestic leisure trip, as many people will have not seen their loved ones for many months due to travel restrictions and lockdown measures.
• The Republic of Ireland welcomed 11.1 million overseas visitors in 2019, with the primary purpose being a leisure trip. Ireland offers many attractions, with bustling cities such as Dublin and Cork a perfect destination for a short city break. Ireland also offers large areas of rural land, for a more quiet escape. With miles of breath aking coastline, coastal tours are popular. VFR is also a common purpose of trip to Ireland, due to high migration between Ireland and the UK (including Northern Ireland). The majority (51%) of visitors to Ireland come from the UK.

Scope

• This report is part of the publisher's Destination Market Insights Series. These reports provide an in-depth analysis of a tourist destination and its key source markets, as well as an assessment of the trends and issues in the covered destniantion market, in this case the UK and Ireland.

Reasons to Buy

• Obtain a clear and detailed insight into new developments in two popular, well-established tourist destinations.
• Use data and analysis to explore future trends related to international arrivals, airlines, niche tourism, and hotel developments.
• Gain a strong understanding of the opportunities in the market, as well as the risks, to support better business decisions.