VisitBritain releases 2024 tourism forecast
VisitBritain has published its tourism forecast for 2024 showing an increase in inbound visits and spending.
It finds there are varying rates of recovery and growth across its major inbound visitor markets.
VisitBritain’s overall forecast for spending by international visitors in the UK in 2024 is £34.1 billion, up 7% on the spending predicted in 2023 and up 20% on 2019.
It forecasts 39.5 million visits in 2024, up 5% on 2023 however it is still 3% shy of 2019 levels.
The US continues to lead tourism’s recovery with record-breaking spend by American visitors in the UK in 2023.
VisitBritain is expecting the US market to be worth £6.7 billion in 2024 with American visitors contributing almost £1 in every £5 of all inbound spending.
The pace of recovery from Europe slowed as 2023 progressed.
Tourism spending, in real terms stayed just below 2019 based on the latest data.
China, the UK’s second most valuable inbound market in 2019, has continued to build back gradually with numbers increasing throughout 2023.
Overall, East Asia has been relatively slower to recover.
VisitBritain is expecting China to recover to a value of £1.7 billion in 2024 to be the UK’s fourth most valuable inbound visitor market.
It expects a full overall recovery for the number of visits and spending to 2019 levels by early 2025.
VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said: “International visitors spend tens of billions of pounds so it has been great to see the double-digit growth in spending from the US.”
VisitBritain’s GREAT Britain marketing campaigns in 2024 are set to run across Australia, France, Germany, the GCC and the US, inspiring visitors to ‘See Things Differently‘
Its campaigns in 2024 are also harnessing the power of screen tourism to showcase Britain’s regional diversity, highlighting film and TV locations, destinations and visitor experiences to drive visits.
VisitBritain’s research shows that films and TV are powerful motivators for travel.
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Learn more about : Visit Britain ( N. America ) Visit Britain ( Asia Pecific ) Visit Britain ( United Kingdom )
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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