Seasonally adjusted figures show a slight increase in people travelling in and out of the UK over the summer but overall activity is down, according to new Office for National Statistics numbers.
The ONS says that visits to the UK by overseas residents rose by 6% in the three months to August, compared to the previous three months, while spending on these visits went up 7%.
In the same three months this summer UK residents travelling abroad jumped by 4% and their spending increased by 2%, compared to the previous three months.
But looking at the 12 month picture, the number of visits by overseas residents declined by 1% compared to August 2009, a fall of 0.4 million. Business visits fell 1% and those visiting friends and relatives fell 6%. However, the number of those travelling here for holiday reasons climbed 6%.
UK residents travelling overseas fell 9% year on year, a drop of 5.5m. Those travelling on business declined by 15% and for holiday reasons by 8%.
ONS head of the International Passenger Survey Roger Smith said: “There has been some growth in visits to and from the UK following very low numbers in the first few months of 2010.
However, overall numbers are still down on a year ago. This applies in particular to visits abroad by UK residents which have risen in recent months to levels approaching those of 2009.
“It seems the ash cloud due to April’s volcanic eruption appears to have had only a short-term negative effects on visits.”
