UK travellers spend less than the global counterparts

Tuesday, June 12, 2018

According to research from an accountancy firm  UHY Hacker Young , UK stood 23 out of 34 in the global country list  which assessed tourism spending as contributors to gross domestic product (GDP).

The UK represented only 1.5% of the economy which was a quarter below the European average of 2.1% of GDP and it has been outpaced in tourist spending by other countries.

France and Holland’s tourist expenditure was 1.7% and 1.8% of their economies.

Considering spending by tourists considering inbound travel in the last two years as a percentage of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) Britain ranked 23^rd in the study of 34 countries.

UK tool the last spot out of all the 34 countries monitored for the percentage change in tourist expenditure over the years studies. It reflected a fall of 9% from $45.5 billion to $41.5 billion.

As per the research the main reason behind the slower growth rate in tourist spending was lack in upgradation of the tourists infrastructure capacity in comparison to the quickly emerging markets.

The Heathrow is already operating at 98% and a third runway is expected to be finalised by the government  minister post a decade of debate.

However, China is focused on investing in the infrastructure required for large number of international visitors. In 2019 Beijing Daxing Airport will be launched and it will be largest airport in the world.

As a result of the Brexit vote the growth rate in tourist spending in the UK over the last year fell by 9% despite a drop in the value of sterling.

As compared to emerging market which saw a growth of 2.2 % the tourist expenditure in the UK fell from $45.5 billion to $41.45 billion.

However, it has recovered recently and VisitBritain forecasts tourists to spend a record level in 2018.UHY Hacker Young partner Martin Jones stated that tourism is a major battleground in the global economy  and the UK is lagging behind.

After the Brexit vote the drop in sterling had helped in attracting visitors  but the government needs to quickly build capacity to welcome large numbers of tourists else the country will not be able to reap benefits of the fall in sterling.

Many European countries find it slower and difficult to increase the tourism capacity.Tourism will be an important source of job as globalisation continues and people get more opportunity to travel. The government need to identify the opportunities it brings.

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