Money pressures will force many consumers to bypass overseas travel in favour of domestic locations in the next four years, according to a report by Barclays.
The research, independently commissioned for Barclays’ Retail and Hospitality & Leisure sector teams, has forecast major growth in domestic tourism largely driven by continuing pressures on the cost of living,
"The economy is improving and confidence is certainly growing, and while this will lead to a gradual rise in the number of consumers looking to holiday abroad again, it is unlikely to precipitate a return to the holidaying habits we were seeing prior to the downturn," said Mike Saul, head of hospitality and leisure at Barclays.
Instead, domestic tourist expenditure is forecast to grow by 25% to over £108 billion by 2017, with the biggest growth predicted for London, followed by the South East, South West and Scotland
The report says the hospitality and leisure sector will benefit most from the trend towards ‘staycations’, with domestic tourist spend growing to £69 billion by 2017.
Hotels and B&Bs will see domestic tourist spend increase by 25% to £17 billion and leisure attractions by 27% to £15 billion.
