Looking at visitor profiles, Business visits in April show continued growth, up 8% from 2012. In the first four months of 2013 Business and VFR visits have been higher than the same period in 2012, both showing the strongest start to a year since 2008. Holiday visits in the first few months of the year are slightly below (- 3%) the 2012 record.
International figures for the month of April 2013 have seen an impressive 13% rise in visitor spend despite a 1% drop in visitor numbers. It comes as Britain attempts to maintain momentum from the image boost of hosting the 2012 Games.
The results mean that over the 12 months to April 2013 there has been record spend (in nominal terms) of £19.19 billion. The 2.88 million visits for the month is a slight decrease from a strong 2012, although across the first four months of 2013 there have been 1% more visits than in the same period in 2012.
Of the overseas visitors who came here in April, there were record levels from rest of world markets – which include the likes of big spending Australia, Brazil, China and the UAE. This means that there was an encouraging 9% change in April, and leaves these highly sought after markets 9% higher in 2013 so far.
Visits from Europe across the first four months of 2013 are higher, with 1% growth in visits from the major EU15 markets. Visits from non EU European markets have slowed slightly but remain at a record level over the 12 months to April 2013. North American visits saw a 7% drop in April, leading to a 4% drop for the year to date.
Looking at visitor profiles, Business visits in April show continued growth, up 8% from 2012. In the first four months of 2013 Business and VFR visits have been higher than the same period in 2012, both showing the strongest start to a year since 2008. Holiday visits in the first few months of the year are slightly below (- 3%) the 2012 record.
Sandie Dawe, VisitBritain Chief Executive said: “While these latest figures indicate that we’re on track with our 2013 forecast, it’s clear that we’re fighting hard to increase visitor numbers against better resourced competition who recognise that inbound tourism can deliver economic growth and jobs in a tough climate.
“The USA, still Britain’s most valuable source of overseas visitors, continues to struggle. We simply haven’t got the resources currently to arrest that. Like others in the public sector, we’re making a strong case for additional funding through the Spending Review.
“Our GREAT campaign is having a positive impact, but we must not be complacent. We must continue to make further inroads in key inbound markets if we are to increase visitor numbers to 40 million a year by 2020. The world travel picture remains highly competitive and our GREAT activity is building good momentum on what it is that makes Britain such a wonderful destination, especially at a time when other countries are dramatically raising their game and their funding.”
Recent findings from Ipsos MORI show that VisitBritain’s GREAT image campaign has boosted Britain’s global appeal, resulting in a potential additional £200 million of visitor spending in the UK over the next two years. Without GREAT, analysis suggests that there could be a potential downturn of nearly 1 million visits over the same period, equating to a loss of over £460 million.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
