by Ahead of the general election, Labor leader Keir Starmer has pledged to “fix a broken Britain”. As for UK tourism, he had better be careful.
According to the latest statistics from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the number of visitors from the UK in 2023 was still 5.6 per cent lower than in 2019, putting the country towards the bottom of the European table – below France, Spain, Turkey, Greece, the Netherlands and Croatia, among others, although doing better than Italy and Germany.
Other sources confirm the slow return to form. VisitBritain uses the ONS, which in turn uses the International Passenger Survey, according to which they saw 37.96m visits to the UK in 2023, down 7.1 per cent on 2019. In monetary terms, they spent £31.1bn, which, after inflation to take into account. account, down 10 percent on 2019.
In addition, 1,956,526 visitor visas were granted in 2023, 40 percent higher than 2022, but 19 percent lower than pre-pandemic levels.
Why, then, such a slow rise, and why are other countries more successful?
It is clear that some of the factors underlying the tourism slump are related to the cost of living crisis, not family business at all. Britain is not a budget holiday destination.
The World Economic Forum ranks the UK 113th out of 119 countries for the price competitiveness of travel and tourism. Food and transport are particularly expensive, and this is sure to deter some who might otherwise come in.
For those who watch the news, the UK doesn’t have the best propaganda campaigns. Raw sewage on the beach, rising knife crime, chaos on the railways and even the collapse of HS2 hardly conjure up images.
Joss Croft, CEO of UKInbound, which represents more than 450 businesses hosting, transporting, guiding and feeding international visitors, says a major survey of summer bookings is “pretty strong” for 2024 – with 85 per cent of members saying it is the same or better than 2023.
“However, confidence has declined significantly over the next 12 months since April,” he says. “All tourism depends on the following three elements: capacity, money and motivation. For the sake of resources, the UK insists on passports for EU travelers – this particularly affects the youth and student travel sector. Visa costs are high and getting higher, and we bring in MTEs [electronic travel authorisations] later this year.
“We have a poor reputation for hospitality and since the two main drivers of international travel are ‘will I be welcome’ and ‘will I be value for money’, the UK is currently weak. VAT on generosity is higher than anywhere else in Europe and the UK has also abolished tax-free shopping, leaving rivals with better value for money. Visitors are coming, but they are spending less time and less money here.”
In the latest Anholt-Ipsos report on Nation Brands, the UK’s “Welcome” ranking fell to 19th out of 60 nations – the lowest ever for this measure.
In this context, “Welcome” refers to factors such as “Positive interaction with locals”, “Helpful hotel staff”, “Friendly service in restaurants”, “Stress-free airport experience”, “Easy to get around” and “Face smile “.
Oxford Economics has predicted that the UK will fall further in terms of its international tourism reputation, not only globally (where the Middle East is the fastest growing region) but also against its major rivals in western Europe.
VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates acknowledges the challenges. “Tourism is a competitive global industry and visitors have many choices,” she says. “Britain has always been highly rated for its history and heritage and its contemporary culture and sport, but its natural beauty and perceived hospitality are not as strongly perceived.
“The latter is the main driver in destination choice. To counter this, the GREAT VisitBritain international campaigns show our welcome, encouraging visitors to find out more about Britain, stay longer and encourage that urgency to come now.
“On policy, EU travelers used to travel to the UK using only their ID card but now have to use a passport, which not all EU visitors do. And the Electronic Travel Authorization scheme will soon be introduced.
“We are working with the Home Office to ensure that the rollout is well communicated. We are also working with partners across our overseas markets to ensure they have the latest data and give visitors the clarity they need to plan and book their visits with confidence.”
There is no doubt that UK tourism is recovering – but the pace is slower than the industry had hoped. Visitor numbers are behind the government’s targets set out in its Tourism Recovery Plan 2021, and slower than elsewhere in the world, including Europe.
The Government’s target was to recover intake numbers to 2019 figures by the end of 2023, but all the data shows that the UK will not reach that target even by the end of 2024.
Richard Toomer, Executive Director of the Tourism Alliance – an umbrella organization for more than 70 associations and companies – says the Government’s ambition was the right one, but policy has hindered it.
“The decision to end duty free shopping for international visitors was a critical one. We are now the only major European destination not offering this service, which is a key incentive for many long-haul visitors,” he says.
“Our retail, hospitality and tourism businesses are very dependent on the effects. Many tourists are now redirecting their visits and spending to Paris or Milan or cutting back on their UK trips and saving their spending until they go to Europe. Bringing this back and extending it to EU citizens would be worth £10bn a year and would add £4bn a year to tax revenue.
“Our visa regime is truly uncompetitive and rather than tackling it, the previous Government kept raising visa fees further and further. A two-year visitor visa is now £432, a five-year visa is £771. A Schengen visa costs €90 and of course allows tourists to visit multiple countries on one visa. Our application process is very difficult and time consuming.”
Traveling in both directions between the EU and the UK is about to become more bureaucratic and expensive. Both the UK and the EU are implementing new border systems to strengthen security but which will affect travellers.
For non-visa nationals, they will need to apply for MTE before traveling at a cost of £10 per person, including those only connecting to a UK airport. This will be another cost and barrier to people choosing to come to the UK.
Toomer says the new Government has an opportunity to reset: “We are asking the Government to work with the industry on a new Sustainable Tourism Growth Plan which is ambitious in its goals, and which crucially supports the aspiration to formulate good policies.
The Labor Government has also pledged to restore relations with the EU which we would like to go further into an EU-UK Mobility Agreement which does not reopen Brexit discussions, but would make travel and trade between the two jurisdictions easier for both leisure and business travelers . .”
VisitBritain’s marketing budget stands at around £18 million a year, compared to over €80 million (£67 million) for Ireland, despite tourism delivering – according to the Government’s own figures – a significant £21 million of expenditure. extra for every £1. invested. If only £1 were allocated from each MTE, VisitBritain could deliver significant returns to the UK economy.
Perhaps the biggest challenge for the Government is the tone.
It’s all very well using recent history and the narrative of “broken Britain” to support new policies – but perhaps it’s better to say it doesn’t matter to foreign visitors scouring the globe for a destination find a more attractive holiday.
