Annual estimates of visits and spending by UK residents abroad. Also includes data on nights, purpose, main country visited and mode of travel. Breakdowns by length of stay and nationality are covered. In 2019, new methods were introduced for this dataset. The 2009 to 2019 edition supersedes all previous time series editions of this dataset. We advise against using all editions listed before the 2019 edition.

Spending of inbound tourists in the United Kingdom fell sharply in 2020 and 2021 over the previous years due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the expenditure of international visitors in the UK amounted to three billion British pounds, increasing remarkably over the previous quarter but staying way below pre-pandemic levels. Over the same period, inbound visits to the United Kingdom totaled approximately 3.6 million. Overall, data for 2021 mainly refer to air passengers since it was not possible to conduct passenger surveys at the Eurotunnel and UK ports. Figures from the port of Dover were included only from the third quarter of the year.

An annual survey conducted among British consumers examined the average number of holidays abroad taken per person in the previous 12 months from 2011 to 2022. According to the 2022 study, looking at the trips made between September 2021 and August 2022, UK residents took an average of 1.3 overseas holidays per capita. While this figure denotes an increase from the 2021 survey, focusing on vacations taken during the first year of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it remained below pre-pandemic levels.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic hit outbound tourism from the UK? As the travel restrictions enforced during the health crisis disrupted international tourism, the total number of visits abroad from the UK fell dramatically during the pandemic, reaching a record low of around 19 million in 2021. With the sharp decline in visits came a significant drop in the total UK outbound tourism expenditure, decreasing by nearly 47 billion British pounds in 2021 compared to 2019.

What are the most popular destinations for UK travelers? Despite the significant decline in tourists caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Spain remained the leading outbound travel destination from the UK during the health crisis, recording over four million Britons' visits in 2021. Meanwhile, when focusing on the domestic market, the South West and South East of England were the most popular regions for summer staycations in the UK.

In 2023, the number of overseas resident visits to the United Kingdom totaled 38 million, representing a growth of over 20 percent from the previous year. The figure was projected to reach 38.7 million in 2024. Has the UK’s tourism industry completely recovered from the coronavirus pandemic? Like in most countries, the travel restrictions put in place to stem the spread of the coronavirus wreaked havoc on the UK’s tourism industry. Overseas visitor numbers dropped to 7.1 million in 2021, representing a drop of over 80 percent from 2019. While the figure reported for 2023 showed a continued recovery in terms of overseas visitors to the UK, it remained below pre-pandemic levels. However, in terms of spending among the UK’s leading inbound travel markets, most overseas visitors spent more in 2023 than in 2019, with visitors from the UK’s leading inbound travel market, the United States, spending around 50 percent more during their travels than in 2019. What are the most visited cities in the UK? Unsurprisingly, London consistently ranked as the most visited town or city in the UK among international tourists in recent years, drawing in 20.27 million visitors in 2023. This was around tenfold the number of the second-most visited city, Edinburgh, which received 2.32 million visitors during the same year. As the UK’s capital city, London’s tourist attractions are as varied as the city itself; however, one particularly strong draw for inbound visitors is Royal Family-related tourism. This is evident with the top two most visited paid tourist attractions in England being based in London and either belonging to the Royal Family or being run by a Royal-affiliated charity. Meanwhile, among UK residents, London ranks as the second most popular destination for a summer staycation, with the South West ranking first.

In September 2023, visits abroad from the United Kingdom totaled roughly *** million, which was an increase on September in the previous year and was only marginally less than pre-pandemic levels for the same month. Over the period considered, monthly outbound visits from the UK peaked at around **** million in August 2019. Tourism in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic turned the global tourism industry upside down, with countries worldwide enacting lockdowns and travel bans to limit the spread of the virus. As a result of the emergency measures, the total number of outbound tourist visits from the United Kingdom declined by ** percent in 2020 over the previous year, then dropped even further in 2021, reaching the lowest figure in a decade. 2022 saw a partial recovery, however, levels still remained below what was recorded before the pandemic. Meanwhile, the impact of the health crisis on inbound tourist visits in the UK was even harder, with the country recording just *** million visits from abroad in 2021. Contribution of travel and tourism to the economy in the UK In 2022, the total contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in the UK amounted to roughly ***** billion British pounds, which was around * percent lower than before the pandemic. That year, the travel and tourism industries supported around *** million jobs in the country. Even in this case, however, travel and tourism's total contribution to employment in the UK did not catch up with the figure reported in 2019.

Quarterly estimates of overseas residents’ visits and spending. Also includes data on nights, purpose, region of UK visited and mode of travel. Breakdowns by nationality and area of residence are covered. The Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) versions of this dataset up to 2023 are on a different webpage under the name "Overseas travel and tourism, quarterly".

The last quarter of 2021 was the period in which more inbound business visits were registered in the United Kingdom since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. In total, there were around *** thousand international visits for business or professional purposes made by overseas visitors in the European country during that period.

Industry revenue is anticipated to dip at a compound annual rate of 2% over the five years through 2024-25 to £29.4 billion. The fall is largely due to COVID-19 wreaking travel havoc, the pound weakening against foreign currencies and mounting online competition. More and more bookings are being made online, cutting out high-street agencies and putting pressure on their finances. Rising external competition did lead to the exit of more bricks-and-mortar travel agencies, including the collapse of the industry's second-largest player, Thomas Cook, in September 2019. COVID-19 decimated the industry, with travel bans slashing revenue in 2020-21. The easing of lockdown and travel restrictions in 2021-22 started the industry's recovery, with people keen to get out of the house and holiday again. Revenge travel exploded, boosting revenue by 201.5% to £26.4 billion in 2022-23. Revenue is continuing to bounce back further in 2024-25 by a forecast 2.4%. Despite impressive growth, revenue could be higher – staff shortages on airlines cause mass flight cancellations, which limits travel agencies' offerings, while the cost-of-living crisis has made customers more wary of value for money and boosted package sales. Over the five years through 2029-30, industry revenue is slated to grow at a compound annual rate of 2.1% to reach £32.5 billion. In the short term, bookings for cheaper package holidays will support travel agents. Rising disposable incomes will result in UK tourists taking more expensive holidays. To help propel sales, travel agencies will supplement their services by fully integrating their businesses with online platforms and introducing more niche services, like youth student travel and trips catered to those over 60.

The number of passengers travelling by ferry from Dover decreased between 2003 and 2021 with a loss of more than 11 million passenger movements between 2003 and 2021. In 2021, the number of passengers dropped to some 3.1 million.

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

IPS 2021:

ONS has provided the following information:

"The estimates provided for 2021 should be treated with caution as the numbers are much smaller than pre-coronavirus pandemic years, especially the first six months of the year, resulting in some cases with larger confidence intervals.

The data exclude Eurotunnel completely for 2021 and the Dover ferries until August 2021 as we were unable to interview at these sites."

Each of the four subject areas of this study covers different topics, as it follows:

• 'Airmiles': quarter; flow; serial; UK port or route; direct leg overseas port; final overseas port; distance from UK port to first port; from first to second port; from UK port to second port
• 'Alcohol': year; quarter; month; flow; serial; money spent on spirits; wine; beer; champagne; cigarettes; hand-rolled and other tobacco
• 'Qreg': year; quarter; month; flow; serial; towns stayed in overnight; details of type of accommodation; number of nights spent in towns; expenditure in towns; regional stay weight; regional visit weight; regional expenditure weight; various validation checks
• 'Qcontact': year; quarter; month; flow; serial; nationality; country of visit/residence; UK counties; date visit began; purpose of visit; intended length of stay; number of people; package tour and cost; expenditure pre-, post- and during visit; flight prefix and suffix; first carrier air or shipping line; direct leg overseas port; final overseas port; long- or short-haul; type of vehicle; number travelling in vehicle; fare type and cost; class of travel; business trip; type of flight; flight origin or destination; gender; age group; UK port or route; quality of response; date of interview; money transfer, net and total expenditure; type of transport; arrivals (number of adults); departures (type of travelling group, number of adults and children); weighting variables; various validation checks

Over the five years through 2024-25, travel insurance revenue is expected to fall at a compound annual rate of 2% to £554.7 million. The industry has been marked by fierce volatility in recent years due to the COVID-19 pandemic and turbulent economic conditions in the years following clobbering international travel. The COVID-19 outbreak clobbered international travel in 2020-21, brining demand for travel insurance down with it. Although insurers were quick to adapt, providing COVID-specific coverage for cancellations and unexpected medical expenses, this wasn’t enough to offset the drastic drop-off in demand. This resulted in many travel insurers suspending services during the pandemic, contributing to a mighty fall in revenue in the two years through 2021-22. As travel restrictions fully eased in 2022-23, travel rebounded and incited a rally in claims costs. However, rising premiums were able to absorb these costs, supporting profitability and driving revenue growth during the year. Demand for travel insurance has slowed in the years since as international travel closes in on pre-pandemic heights, beginning to plateau. At the same time, the cost-of-living crisis has dented consumer confidence and resulted in many opting out of holidays, weighing on revenue growth. Still, revenue is slated to spike by 12.9% in 2024-25. Additionally, COVID-19 was arguably a blessing in disguise, highlighting the importance of travel insurance and incentivising insurers to offer more personalised coverage, something allowed for by technological developments like AI. Over the five years through 2029-30, travel insurance revenue is forecast to swell at a compound annual rate of 4.9% to £705.7 million. Demand will to remain robust in the coming years as the effects of COVID-19 on travel remain at the forefront of holidaymakers’ minds, encouraging them to seek protection from unexpected disruption like political instability and natural disasters. The improving economic environment is also set to lift demand for travel insurance, making people more willing to go on holiday. Yet, despite inflation coming down, prices are still rising, placing continued pressure on people’s finances and weighing on revenue growth in the short term. Technological developments will continue to shake up the industry, providing insurers with niche markets to capitalise on and price risk effectively, something that wouldn’t have been possible before advancements in data analytics and AI.

Data on gifts that ministers gave and received, their external meetings and any overseas travel. Northern Ireland Office (NIO) publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations, gifts (given and received), hospitality and overseas travel on a quarterly basis. Prior to 2021, spend data was published on GOV.UK at: transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases-northern-ireland-office The published data is validated and released in CSV format and OGL-licensed for reuse. For more information about this series, see: how-to-publish-senior-officials-business-expenses-hospitality-and-meetings

Harwich, which is in Essex, handled 327,000 international sea passengers in 2021. This represents a decrease of 20,000 passengers compared with the previous year when 347,000 passengers passed through the port.

The combined number of tourist visits to London, including trips by overseas and domestic visitors, nearly halved in 2021 compared to 2019 due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The sharp drop in total visits was mainly driven by the significant decrease in inbound arrivals, totaling roughly *** million in 2021. On the other hand, as the travel restrictions enforced during the health crisis disrupted international tourism more than domestic travel, overnight trips to London by British residents bounced back in 2021. That year, domestic trips accounted for around ** percent of tourist visits to the UK's capital.

Estimates of international visits with details on traveller age and sex, trip purpose, length, and spending. From the International Passenger Survey (IPS).

Data on gifts that ministers gave and received, their external meetings and any overseas travel. Northern Ireland Office (NIO) publishes details of ministers’ meetings with external organisations, gifts (given and received), hospitality and overseas travel on a quarterly basis. Prior to 2021, spend data was published on GOV.UK at: transparency-and-freedom-of-information-releases-northern-ireland-office The published data is validated and released in CSV format and OGL-licensed for reuse. For more information about this series, see: how-to-publish-ministerial-gifts-hospitality-travel-and-meetings

In light of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, adults in Great Britain were surveyed on how confident they were that they could have a normal summer holiday abroad as of May 2021. The majority of respondents, 74 percent, stated that they did not think they could have a normal summer holiday abroad. Meanwhile, 11 percent of respondents stated that they thought they could. The remaining 15 percent of respondents were uncertain.