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UK inbound travel lagging outbound trips
Although UK outbound travel has bounced back, inbound has largely failed to take off.
New research from the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) and ForwardKeys shows a big disparity between forward flight bookings for outbound and inbound UK travel.
Research also shows that the outlook is bright for international summer departures from the UK, with forward bookings for the UK’s top 10 international destinations only 10% behind pre-pandemic levels.
However, the picture is negative for inbound travel to the UK, raising serious concerns about the UK’s economic recovery.
The data shows while inbound bookings for international arrivals are up by a staggering 1,453% compared to 2021, when severe restrictions to travel were in place, bookings to date are still well below pre-pandemic levels – down 45% versus 2019.
Julia Simpson, WTTC President & CEO, said: “The massive imbalance between outbound and inbound UK international flight bookings is a worrying sign for the recovering travel sector and the UK economy.
“As the pandemic recedes and international travel returns, it’s encouraging to see holidaymakers making the most of their new found freedom to travel safely.”
“But it’s not a good sign for the UK if we can’t convince international travellers that the UK is open for business for tourists. The UK is losing crucial market share to other destinations.”
In terms of inbound travellers to the UK, only Sweden has risen above pre-pandemic levels (up 15%) while other key source markets have not recovered.
While WTTC’s 2021 Economic Import Report shows the US was the number one source market for UK inbound international travellers, the latest data reveals flight bookings this year are still nearly a quarter (24%) below 2019 levels.
Other key source markets for the UK such as Ireland, Germany and Spain are also performing poorly in terms of inbound travel, down 19%, 37% and 38% respectively.
Ray Monty
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