Tourism in the UK

Tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK, accounting for 2.9% of UK Gross Value Added and worth approximately £85.6 billion in 2006.

Inbound Tourism to the UK in 2007 (provisional estimates):

• The 32.6 million overseas visitors who came in 2007 spent £16.0 billion in the UK.  2007 was the first year to see a decline in the number of inbound visitors to the UK and nominal inbound visitor spending since 2001
• Total visits for 2007 are 32.558 million, a 0.5% decrease compared with 2006, with a decrease of 0.3% in spending to £15.955 billion
• In 2007 the UK ranked sixth in the international tourism earnings league behind the USA, Spain, France, Italy and China

The top five inbound markets for the UK in 2007 were:

USA – 3,587 000
Germany – 3,385 000
France – 3,323 000
Irish Republic – 2,975 000
Spain – 2,158 000

Spending (£m)
USA – 2,554
Germany – 1,217
Irish Republic – 969
France – 865
Spain – 848

UK Domestic Overnight Tourism:

• In 2007 UK residents took:
  – 53.7 million holidays of one night or more spending £11.5 billion
  – 18.7 million overnight business trips spending £4.5 billion
  – 47.8 million overnight trips to friends and relatives spending £4.8 billion

Employment:

• Over 2 million jobs are sustained by tourism activity in the UK, either directly or indirectly
• There are an estimated 1.45 million jobs directly related to tourism activity in the UK, some 5% of all people in employment in the UK
• Approximately 132,400 of these jobs are in self-employment

Accommodation:

• In 2007, average room occupancy for all serviced accommodation throughout the UK was 62% (up 1 percentage points from 2006). Average bedspace occupancy was 48% (an increase of 1 percentage points on 2006)