VisitBritain releases Annual Review visitor economy data

VisitBritain has released visitor statistics as part of its annual review event, which also outlined future priorities to support the tourism sector.

Key Highlights:

• Inbound Tourism Forecast: International visitors are expected to spend £32.5 billion in the UK this year, a 5% increase from 2023 and 14% higher than in 2019. The forecast for visits is 38.7 million, a 2% increase from 2023.
• Sales Increase: £47 million in sales in 2022/23 through international travel trade efforts.
• Business Events Growth: £20.9 million return from the Business Events Growth Programme (2018-2022).
• Local Visitor Economy Partnerships: 33 accredited partnerships to streamline and support regional tourism.
• Business Event Proposals: 374 new requests worth a potential £269.2 million in delegate spending referred to English cities and suppliers.

Future Plans:

• Screen Tourism Campaign: The ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign will highlight filming locations and promote regional diversity to attract visitors.
• Partnership Focus: Continued collaboration with Local Visitor Economy Partnerships and Destination Development Partnerships to foster growth and support SMEs in the tourism industry.

VisitBritain is committed to driving a thriving tourism industry and creating economic prosperity across the UK, with targeted support and strategic campaigns to boost visitor numbers and spending.

Regional information for Yorkshire

2023 data for Yorkshire

• Yorkshire & the Humber:
• 1.1m visits (▼14% vs 2019)
• £644m spend (▲1% vs 2019)

Visits (000)	2019	2021	2022	2023	% change vs 2019	% change vs 2022
Yorkshire	1,328	228	1,058	1,147	-14%	8%