UK tourism returning to pre 9/11 levels
The UK tourism industry is on the verge of returning to pre 9/11 levels of visitors, according to VisitBritain’s annual report.
Tourism in the UK took a dive after the terrorist attacks on New York as the lucrative American market dried up. The foot and mouth outbreak in 2001 and last year’s SARS scare also hit numbers.
However, VisitBritain now believes that 2004 could see the number of visitors eclipsing the previous record high of 25.7 million international visitors in 1998.
Its analysts are forecasting that there will be 26.34 million visitors in 2004.
Tourism is an important part of the UK’s economy, employing around 2.1 million people and accounting for around 4.5 per cent of GDP.
Chairman Sir Michael Lickiss, said: “British tourism is now well on the road to recovery following the challenges of the last three years.” He added: “To achieve our joint vision of building a British tourism industry worth £100 billion a year by 2010, we need effective strategies to ensure that visitors have a first class experience. Investment in tourism is absolutely essential to achieving this aim”.
The report was also welcomed by Tessa Jowell, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, who said it “gives a very positive assessment of the health of our tourism industry”.
Though much of the recovery was driven by American visitors, there was also a growth in city breaks – the fastest growing tourism sector – with many of these visitors coming from western Europe. There was also a boost for internal tourism, with the British spending over £20 billion during 2003 on overnight tourism within England.
