VisitBritain forecast: Britain plans to welcome 43.4 million foreign tourists this year
Travel Biz News —
Britain plans to welcome 43.4 million foreign tourists this year,up 5per cent on the 41.2 million expected in 2024. VisitBritain’s overall forecast for spending by international visitors in the UK in 2025 is £33.7 billion, up 7 per cent on the spending predicted in 2024.
According to VisitBritain;s inbound tourism forecast for 2025 released recently , international visits overall and visitor spending to the UK are set to increase on 2024 levels, although with varying rates of growth from across its major inbound markets.
The United States (US) continues as the UK’s largest and most valuable visitor market. Spending by Americans is forecast to be up 9% on 2024 to a record £6.7 billion this year, meaning that almost £1 in every £5 of inbound visitor spending in the UK is by US visitors. Visits and spending from Europe overall are also showing growth on 2024, although it is a mixed picture across major European inbound markets.
While recovery from East Asia overall continues to lag, numbers are continuing to improve with China forecast to return as the UK’s fifth most valuable visitor market this year, worth an estimated £1.6 billion to the economy.
VisitBritain’s analysis also considers tourism’s overall competitive position globally and the longer-term potential for growth. If inbound tourism to the UK was to grow at the same pace as forecasts are currently indicating for Western Europe, the industry would be worth an additional £4.4 billion per year by 2030 to the UK economy.
Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant said ,“We have an ambition to welcome 50 million international visitors a year to the UK by 2030, and this positive forecast shows that we are well on our way to achieving this, setting the scene for our visitor economy to maintain its competitive edge and thrive for years to come.”
VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates said , “International visitors spend tens of billions of pounds in the UK with the money generated supporting jobs, businesses and driving growth for local economies, so it is encouraging to see the steady increase forecast this year on 2024.”
“We also want more regional destinations across Britain to feel tourism’s economic benefits. Our recently launched global ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign is using the powerful draw of screen tourism to showcase our vibrant cities, contemporary culture and beautiful coast and countryside, alongside our welcome, encouraging visitors to broaden their itineraries, stay longer and to come now,” Yates added.
VisitBritain is also working with partners in market to convert the interest to visit Britain into bookings, driving international visitor spending across the nations and regions. Its work with international trade is ensuring British products and destinations are sold internationally. Its recent Showcase Britain event saw 120 top global travel buyers undertake film and tv inspired educational visits across Britain, building product and destination knowledge to broaden travel itineraries so visitors explore more, including through regional gateways.
Tourism is one of Britain’s most successful industries, its third largest service export and a major part of British trade.
18 February, 2025
Image : An attraction in Liverpool / ( Visitbritain.org)
