Tourists number to Britain drops in third quarter

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2008-11-14 08:42

LONDON -- International visitor numbers and spending to Britain dropped in the key third quarter of the year, a news release from VisitBritain, the national tourism agency, said on Thursday.

In the three months to September 2008, which is the peak of inbound tourism, total visits dropped 3 percent against the same period last year to 9.3 million with spending decreasing 2 percent at 5.1 billion pounds (about $7.55 billion).

Statistics also indicate that increasing travel to Britain from abroad is becoming more challenging. Overseas residents made 24.9 million visits to Britain compared to the same period in 2007, and spent 12.5 billion pounds.

For the year 2008, the greatest increase in visits came from the 12 new European Union countries, a growth of 17 percent to 2.7 million. North American visits have fallen 9 percent to 3.2 million, largely due to the poor economic climate in the United States with low levels of consumer confidence and high aviation costs. The weakness of the dollar was also an issue until early summer and Britain is yet to see the benefit of recent dollar strengthening.

The latest figures from research commissioned by VisitBritain and the Tourism Alliance indicate that the value of the visitor economy Britain is 114 billion pounds. Deloitte which has conducted the research suggests that although the longevity and depth of a potential recession remain unclear, over the next three years, the gross value added for the visitor economy could be 11 billion pounds lower with 114,000 fewer jobs created as a result of the global economic downturn than would otherwise have been the case.

VisitBritain is calling for more immediate action, a public- private partnership and fund to promote Britain's value for money in a spring campaign. It will take advantage of hoteliers and carriers delivering great offers as well as sterling depreciating against both the US dollar and the euro and remind Britons that holidaying at home supports British jobs.

Tom Wright, chief executive of VisitBritain, said "Although these figures are disappointing, they are not unexpected given the economic climate right now. The recent fall in sterling and the approaching Olympics in 2012 give us a tremendous opportunity to promote Britain's attractions as a destination to the world, but the likely onset of the global recession makes our work and the support we receive ever more critical."

"With strong support, Britain's Visitor Economy can continue to grow strongly over the next few years and compete against ever more destinations investing ever more money to attract the attention of the world's travelers. However, if we do not address the market challenges, the economic impact could be considerable," he added.