BRIEFING PAPER

Number 06022, 27 May 2015

Tourism: statistics and

policy

By Chris Rhodes

Inside:
1. Overseas tourism inbound
and outbound visitors
2. Inbound visits
3. Outbound tourism
4. Impact of the 2012 Olympic
and Paralympic Games on
tourism
5. Domestic tourism
6. Tourism and the UK economy
7. The Governments tourism
strategy, 2010 to 2015
8. Select Committee report on
tourism (2015)

www.parliament.uk/commons-library | intranet.parliament.uk/commons-library | papers@parliament.uk | @commonslibrary

Number 06022, 27 May 2015

Contents
Summary

1.

Overseas tourism inbound and outbound visitors

2.
2.1
2.2
2.3

Inbound visits
Reasons for visit
Inbound visitor origin
Destination of inbound visits

5
5
6
7

3.
3.1
3.2

Outbound tourism
Reasons for travel
Destination of outbound visits

8
8
9

4.
4.1

Impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on tourism

Visitor numbers

10
10

5.
5.1
5.2

Domestic tourism
Reasons for trip
Destination

11
11
11

6.
6.1
6.2

Tourism and the UK economy

Economic output
Employment

12
12
13

7.
7.1
7.2
7.3

The Governments tourism strategy, 2010 to 2015

Overseas marketing
Increasing domestic tourism
VisitBritain and the future of tourism bodies

15
15
17
18

8.

Select Committee report on tourism (2015)

20

Cover page image copyright: Broadstairs beach by John Adkins. Licensed under CC BY
2.0 / image cropped

Tourism: statistics and policy

Summary
This note includes statistics on inbound and outbound visitors to and from the UK,
domestic tourism in the UK, the impact of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games on
tourism, the contribution of tourism to the UK economy and the Governments tourism
policy.
Visitor numbers:

There were 34.8 million inbound visits to the UK in 2014. London was the most
popular destination in the UK, attracting 51% of all visits.
There were 60.1 million outbound visits from the UK. Spain was the most popular
destination for UK tourists, attracting 20% of all visits.

In 2012 471,000 people came to the UK for an Olympic and Paralympic related reason.
There were 122.9 million domestic overnight trips made in Great Britain in 2013, 83% of
which were in England.
Economic impact:

The tourism industry contributed 56 billion in economic output in 2013

Tourism related industries employed 2.8 million people, 9% of all employment

The Coalition Government published its tourism strategy in March 2011 which
announced three aims:

To co-fund (with the private sector) a 100m marketing campaign to encourage

foreign visitors to the UK, building on publicity from international events such as the
Royal Wedding and the Olympic Games.
To increase the proportion of UK residents who holiday in the UK; and
To increase the sectors productivity.

Number 06022, 27 May 2015

1. Overseas tourism inbound

and outbound visitors
In 2014, there were 34.4 million visits to the UK by people living
abroad, the most since comparable records began. There were 60.1
million visits abroad by UK residents. The chart below shows the
number of inbound and outbound visits to and from the UK since
1980. 1
Visits to and from the UK

Millions, annual data

70
60
50

Outbound:
visits overseas
by UK residents

40
30
20

Inbound:
visits to the UK
by overseas residents

10
0

Rising prosperity and falling travel costs have led to a boom in overseas
tourism since the early 1980s. Between 1980 and 2014, the number of
inbound visits to the UK increased by 177% from 12.4 million visits to
34.4 million visits. The number of outbound visits from the UK increased
by a greater proportion over 240% from 17.5 million to 60.1 million
over the same period.
The financial crisis of 2008/09 impacted on both inbound and outbound
visitor numbers. The number of outbound visitors from the UK fell
particularly steeply from a peak of 69.5 million in 2006, to 55.6
million in 2010, a fall of 13.9 million visits or 20% in 4 years.
Inbound visitor number were also affected by the financial crisis and its
aftermath but to a lesser degree than outbound visitor numbers.
Inbound visitor numbers fell from 32.8 million in 2007 to 29.8 million in
2010 a fall of 3.0 million visitors or 9% in three years.

ONS, Travel Trends, 2015

Tourism: statistics and policy

2. Inbound visits
2.1 Reasons for visit
The table below shows the total number of visits to the UK by the
reasons for the visit.
Of the 34.4 million visits to the UK in 2014, 39% or 13.6 million were
as part of a holiday; 9.8 million or 28% were made to visit friends or
relatives resident in the UK; 8.3 million or 24% were for business
reasons and a further 2.8 million were made for other reasons.
Inbound visits to the UK by reason for visit

2014
Millions

% of total

% change
2013 to 14

Holiday

13.6

39%

7.2%

Business

8.3

24%

4.8%

Friends/relatives

9.8

28%

4.8%

Misc.

2.8

9%

-1.7%

5.2%
Total
34.4
Source: ONS, International Passenger Survey, via Travel Trends, 2015
Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error

Overall, there were 1.7 million or 5.2% more visitors in 2014 compared
with 2013. The reason for visiting with the biggest percentage increase
was for holiday up 7.2% or 910,000 over the year.

Number 06022, 27 May 2015

2.2 Inbound visitor origin

The table below shows visits to the UK by country of residence in 2014.
Visits to the UK by country of residence

2014
Visits (millions)
Total
% of total

Total spend
( millions)

Average stay
(nights)

Whole world tot

34.4

100%

21.8

7.7

Europe
North America
Other Countries

25.4
3.6
5.3

74%
11%
15%

11.3
3.4
7.1

6.1
9.4
14.3

Top ten countries by total number of visits to the UK in 2012

France
4.1
12%
1.4
Germany
3.2
9%
1.5
USA
3.0
9%
2.9
Irish Republic
2.5
7%
0.9
Netherlands
2.0
6%
0.7
Spain
2.0
6%
1.1
Italy
1.8
0.9
5%
1.5
4%
0.4
Poland
Belgium
1.1
3%
0.3
Australia
1.1
3%
1.2
Source: ONS, International Passenger Survey, via Travel Trends, 2015
Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error

5
6
9
4
4
9
8
8
3
14

Of the visitors to the UK in 2014, 74% were from Europe, 11% were
from North America and 15% were from other countries. French visitors
made 12%, German visitors made 9% and visitors from the USA also
made 9% of visits to the UK.
In total, foreign visitors to the UK in 2014 spent 22 billion. Half of this
was spent by visitor from the Europe, who made up three quarters of all
visitors.

Tourism: statistics and policy

2.3 Destination of inbound visits

The table below shows visits to the UK by destination in 2013.
Destinations of overseas visitors to the UK

2014

Total UK
Total England
Total Scotland
Total Wales
Total Northern Ireland

Visits (millions)

Nights
(millions)

Total spend (
millions)

34.4
29.8
2.7
0.9
0.4

264.6
232.9
21.5
6.7
2.3

21,849
19,081
1,840
368
231

Top ten areas of the UK visited by overseas residents in 2013

London
17.4
108.1
Lothian (Edinburgh)
1.6
8.4
Greater Manchester
1.2
8.7
West Midlands
1.2
7.8
Oxfordshire
0.6
4.3
Cambridgeshire
0.6
4.7
East Sussex
0.8
5.1
Kent
1.0
6.1
Greater Glasgow
0.7
4.0
Hampshire
0.6
5.1
Source: ONS, International Passenger Survey, via Travel Trends, 2015
Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error
Includes all visitors to the UK

11,822
754
541
449
380
354
344
309
286
274

London was the most popular destination for overseas visitors to the UK
in 2014. Half of all visits by overseas residents to the UK included
London. There were four times as many visits to London than to
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland combined.
41% of nights spent in the UK by inbound tourists were spent in
London.
54% of all money spent by inbound tourists in England was spent in
London.

Number 06022, 27 May 2015

3. Outbound tourism
3.1 Reasons for travel
The table below shows the total number of visits from the UK by the
reasons for visit.
Outbound visits from the UK by reason for visit

2014

Holiday
Business
Friends/relatives
Misc.

Millions

% change
2013 to 14

38.5
6.8
13.3
1.5

64%
11%
22%
3%

2.7%
-3.0%
4.4%
-2.0%

Total
60.1
2.2%
Source: ONS, International Passenger Survey, via Travel Trends, 2015
Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error

In total, 60.1 millions visits were made from the UK to other

destinations in 2014, 2.2% up on 2013.
64% of visits abroad in 2014 were holidays. 22% or 13.3 million visits
abroad were to visit friends or relatives and 11% were for business
reasons.

Tourism: statistics and policy

3.2 Destination of outbound visits

The table below shows outbound visits from the UK by the country of
destination.
Outbound visits from the UK by main destination

2014

Visits (millions)

Total spend (
millions)

Average stay
(nights)

Whole world total

60.1

35,537

10

Europe
North America
Other Countries

47.0
3.7
9.4

21,542
4,287
9,708

8
14
20

Top ten countries by total number of visits from the UK in 2014

12.2
6,143
Spain
8.8
3,512
France
3.3
3,908
USA
3.1
1,078
Irish Republic
2.9
1,681
Italy
2.3
852
Germany
2.2
1,167
Portugal
2.1
707
Netherlands
1.9
1,149
Greece
1.7
429
Belgium
Source: ONS, International Passenger Survey, via Travel Trends, 2014
Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error

9
7
14
5
8
5
10
4
10
3

12.2 million or 20% of visits by UK residents abroad in 2014 were to

Spain.
8.8 million or 15% were to France.
5% of visits aboard were to the USA, 5% were to Italy and 5% were to
the Irish Republic.
Of the 10 most popular destinations for overseas visits by UK residents,
the longest average stays were in the USA (14 nights on average). Visits
to Portugal and Greece lasted for an average of 10 nights.

Number 06022, 27 May 2015 10

4. Impact of the 2012 Olympic

and Paralympic Games on
tourism
4.1 Visitor numbers
In July to September 2012, London hosted the Olympic and Paralympic
Games. The ONS published an analysis of the impact of this event on
tourism to the UK. 2
Overall, 471,000 people visited the UK in 2012 for an Olympic or
Paralympic related reason. Roughly two thirds of these visits took place
in August. The table below shows the total spend, length of average
stay and top ten origin countries of visits to the UK for Olympic and
Paralympic reasons.
Olympics/Paralympics as main reason for visits - overseas vistors to the UK

2012

Whole world total

Europe
North America
Other Countries

Visits (000s)

% of total

Total spend (
millions)

Average stay
(nights)

471
301
83
86

100%
64%
18%
18%

731
301
168
262

8
5
11
16

135
99
31
34
9
16
34
38
10
15

11
2
4
4
3
7
11
19
4
6

Top ten countries by total number of visits to UK for Olympics/Paralympics

USA
66
14%
France
54
12%
Germany
46
10%
Netherlands
46
10%
Belgium
19
4%
Italy
19
4%
Canada
17
4%
Australia
15
3%
Irish Republic
14
3%
Switzerland
14
3%
Source: ONS, International Passenger Survey, via Travel Trends, 2012
Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error

Visitors from Europe accounted for 64% of all Olympic or Paralympic

related visits. The USA accounted for 14% of visits. People visiting for
Olympic or Paralympic related reasons spent 731 million and stayed for
8 nights on average (longer than the average stay in the UK 7 nights
in 2012).
As well as people who visited for Olympic or Paralympic related reasons,
the Olympics may also explain the increase in the proportion of
overnight stays in London in 2012 compared with 2011. In 2011, 39%
of all nights spent in the UK by overseas visitors were in London
compared with 41% in 2012. There was also a fall of 300,000 in the
number of UK residents making visits abroad in 2012 compared to 2011
which may be partly explained by an increased interest in staying in the
UK due to the Olympics or Paralympics.

ONS, Visits to the UK for the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympics, 2013

11 Tourism: statistics and policy

5. Domestic tourism
Domestic tourism in Great Britain involves residents taking trips of one
or night within Great Britain. In total, 122.9 million such trips were
made in 2013, down 3% on the number made in 2012. 3

5.1 Reasons for trip

The table below shows overnight domestic tourism in Great Britain,
broken down by reason for trip.
Domestic overnight tourism in GB by reason for trip

2013
Millions

Holiday

57.0

46%

Business

17.8

14%

Friends/relatives

44.2

36%

3.9

3%

Misc.

Total
122.9
Source: Visit England, The GB Tourist, 2013, p 7
Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error
Includes all trips by GB residents within the UK of one night or more

46% of all domestic tourism trips were made as part of a holiday in

2013. 36% of trips were to visit friends of relatives and 15% of trips
were made for business-related reasons.

5.2 Destination
The table below shows the destination of domestic tourist trips in 2013.
Destination of GB overnight domestic tourism

2013
Trips
Millions

Spend
billions

England
Scotland
Wales

101.8
12.1
9.9

83%
10%
8%

18.7
2.9
1.7

80%
12%
7%

Great Britain

122.9

23.3

Source: Visit England, The GB Tourist, 2013, p 7

Notes: Based on survey responses so subject to some sampling error
Includes all trips by GB residents within the UK of one night or more
Domestic tourists may be residents of the country they visit

83% of overnight domestic visits in Great Britain were in England,

compared to 10% in Scotland and 8% in Wales.
Expenditure by domestic overnight tourists in Great Britain fell by 3% in
2013 compared with 2012, partly due to a 4% fall in expenditure in
England where the majority of expenditure occurs. However, overnight
domestic tourists in Wales spent 7% more in 2013 compared with
2012.

Source: Visit England, The GB Tourist, 2013

Number 06022, 27 May 2015 12

6. Tourism and the UK economy

The contribution of tourism to the economy is not straightforward to
calculate. Several industries provide services to tourists. However, these
industries might provide services to local people as well as tourists for
example, a hotel bar or a museum shop may serve local people as well
as visitors. In addition, some non-tourist related industries provide
services to tourists, such as parts of the retail industry.
These issues are addressed by the ONS Tourism Intelligence Unit which
disentangles the total contribution of tourism related industries from the
direct contribution made by tourism. The annual Tourism Satellite
Account (TSA) publishes estimates of economic output related to
tourism on this basis.

6.1 Economic output

In 2013, the economic output of the tourism industry in the UK was
56 billion. 4
Over the past five years, output from the tourism industry has grown
considerably in the UK, from 49 billion in 2008 to the current level, a
14% increase.
This growth mainly occurred in 2011 (9% growth compared to 2010)
and 2012 (5% growth compared to 2011). This suggests a possible
Olympic effect. The tourism industry barely grew at all in 2013
compared to 2012.
The parts of the tourism industry that have seen the biggest growth
have been the food and drink serving industry, which contributed 1.3%
growth out of a total of 4.9% growth in 2012 compared with 2011.
Other sub-sectors which saw strong growth were the accommodation
industry and the sports and recreational activities sector.
Tourism has grown more quickly than other industries since 2008. The
following chart shows the change in the economic output of various
industries, with tourism highlighted. 5

ONS, Estimates of the economic importance of tourism 2008-2013, December 2014.

This publication uses Gross Value Added (GVA) to estimate economic output. GVA is
the value of goods and services produced by part of the economy such as an
industry or region, minus any costs incurred in production.
5
Chart from ONS, Tourism grows at a faster rate than other industries Estimates of the
economic importance of tourism 2008-2013,
4

13 Tourism: statistics and policy

% growth in economic output, 2008-2013, selected industries

Over this period, tourism grew by 14%, more than retail (12%) but
significantly less than the real estate industry which grew by 30%.

6.2 Employment
In 2013, there were 2.8 million people employed in tourism industries in
the UK. This was 9% of UK employment. 6
Employment in tourism has grown by 5.4% since 2009, compared with
2.8% growth in total employment.
Employment in tourism related industries

UK, 2013
000s
Accommodation for visitors
Travel agencies and transportation
Cultural, sports and recreational
Food and beverage serving

360
500
709
1,238

Tourism related total

2,805

% of all employment
9%
Source: ONS, Annual Population Survey
Via, ONS, Employment in tourism industries 2009-2013, p5

The biggest tourism related industry is the food and beverage serving
sector, employing 1.2 million people in 2013, 44% of tourism related
jobs. The next biggest sector is the cultural, sports and recreational
sector, employing 709,000 people 25% of tourism employment.
Tourism employment is larger in the UK compared to many other
countries, as the following chart shows. 7
6
7

ONS, Employment in Tourism Industries, 2009-2013, September 2014

ONS, Employment in Tourism Industries, 2009-2013, September 2014, p 2

Number 06022, 27 May 2015 14

Of the countries featured below, the UK has the third largest tourism
industry as a proportion of employment 9%. This compares to Spain
with 14% and Brazil with 11%. Countries with smaller tourism sectors
include Germany with 6% and France with 5%.
Employment in tourism as a % of total employment

2012
16%
14%
12%
10%
8%
6%
4%
2%
0%

15 Tourism: statistics and policy

7. The Governments tourism

strategy, 2010 to 2015
Tourism is a wholly devolved policy area, which in England comes under
the responsibility of the Department for Culture Media and Sport
(DCMS). The Development of Tourism Act 1969 established the Wales
Tourist Board, the Scottish Tourist Board (now VisitScotland) and the
English Tourist Board and British Tourist Authority (now VisitBritain).
The Government Tourism Policy was published on 4 March 2011 by the
Department for Culture, Media and Sport. This announced that the
Government aimed to:

Fund the most ambitious marketing campaign ever to attract

visitors to the UK in the years following 2012. The 100m
campaign, co-funded by the government and the private sector,
aims to attract 4 million extra visitors to Britain over the next 4
years. That equates to 2bn more spend in our economy, and
50,000 new jobs.
Increase the proportion of UK residents who holiday in the UK to
match those who holiday abroad each year. For longer stays (4
nights or more) this would mean 29% of travellers holidaying in
Britain rather than just 20% today
Improve the sectors productivity to become one of the top 5
most efficient and competitive visitor economies in the world. 8

The Plan for Growth, published alongside the Budget in March 2011,
considered tourism alongside other industries and set out a series of
actions to encourage growth in the sector. These included plans to
increase the number of apprenticeships and other courses teaching
hospitality and to make it easier for tourists to visit the UK by increasing
the number of visa biometric ID visa centres around the world and to
move to online visa processes.
The Government intends to the sectors reliance on taxpayer funding
and increase the amount of money available for collective destination
marketing, and create a sustainable new model of destination
marketing and management the back of 2012 Olympic games,
allowing tourism to come of age as an independent and self-confident
sector of Britains economy. 9

7.1 Overseas marketing

There are two official campaigns involved in marketing Britain overseas:
the GREAT Britain: Youre invited campaign and the GREAT image
campaign.
The GREAT Britain: Youre invited campaign was announced in January
2011. 10 This campaign seeks to attract visitors who have never been to
Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Government Tourism Strategy, March 2011,
p7
9
Government Tourism Plan, 4 March 2011, p 8
10
VisitBritain, GREAT Britain: Youre invited, website
8

Number 06022, 27 May 2015 16

Britain before; to encourage prior visitors to return; and to provide

opportunities and incentives to visit Britain. It was announced in the
Autumn Statement 2013 that funding for this campaign would be
increased by 50% to a total of 45 million in 2014/15 and 2015/16.
This campaign is match funded, meaning that the Government will
provide at total of around 23 million in each of next two financial
years, with the remainder of the funding coming from the private
sector. 11
The GREAT image campaign is campaign that is funded separately from
the GREAT Britain: Youre invited campaign. The GREAT image
campaign was announced in February 2012 by the Prime Minister David
Cameron. It is employed by all of the agencies across Government that
seek to market Britain overseas, including UKTI, the British Council and
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The first phase of the tourism
campaign targeted nine countries, with adverts appearing in: Beijing,
Berlin, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Mumbai, New Delhi, New York, Paris,
Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Sydney, Tokyo, and Toronto.
DCMS has stated that around 70 per cent of the population in each of
the target cities will saw the advertising on billboards, TV, or in the
cinema. 12 VisitBritain was allocated 17 million for the GREAT image
campaign in 2014/15. 13
The combined objectives of these campaigns are to achieve the
following by March 2015:

4.6 million visitors

2.3 billion visitor spend
57,000 job opportunities
460 million in tax revenues

Progress against these targets is measured on the VisitBritain website

and in the VisitBritain annual reports, the most recent of which was
published in October 2014: VisitBritain: Key performance indicators
2013/14.
The Tourism Alliance has stated that their concern that with the
campaigns:
the Governments committed expenditure (12.5m per annum
for four years from VisitBritains greatly reduced grant) is
insufficient to achieve the targeted 2bn Olympic Tourism legacy
and 50,000 new jobs. By comparison, New Zealand spends more
than the combined marketing budgets of VisitBritain,
VisitScotland and VisitWales on its 100% Pure New Zealand
campaign and, in 2011, Tourism Ireland will spend more on
marketing in the UK than VisitBritain has to promote the UK in all
international markets. 14

Further information on VisitBritains strategy for attracting overseas

tourists to Britain can be found in Delivering a golden legacy published
HM Treasury, Autumn Statement 2013, 5 December 2013, p 100
DCMS, Britain's biggest ever international tourism campaign goes global, 9 February
2012
13
VisitBritain, press release: On track to outstrip GREAT campaign targets, 8 October
2014
14
Tourism Alliance, Tourism for Growth, p4
11
12

17 Tourism: statistics and policy

in April 2013. This sets an ambition to attract 40 million visitors and

earn 31.5 billion (in real terms) from inbound tourism by 2020. This
would support 200,000 additional jobs across the UK per annum. The
key elements of the strategy are: 15

Improve Britains image abroad, by building on the work of the

GREAT campaigns.
Work with the travel trade in key markets to increase awareness
of the UK as a holiday destination via brochures and package
products, and also as a location for business events and
conferences. Package and promote more areas of the UK to the
trade.
Improve the range of product on offer. Food and drink and midrange accommodation are areas of perceived weakness in Britain
according to potential tourists surveyed by VisitBritain
Make Britain easier to visit by encouraging the development of
more air routes to Britain and by working with the Home Office
and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to challenge
misconceptions about the visa regime and improve the visa
application process.

7.2 Increasing domestic tourism

One of the Governments aims set out in the paper is to:
Increase the proportion of UK residents who holiday in the UK to
match those who holiday abroad each year. For longer stays (4
nights or more) this would mean 29% of travellers holidaying in
Britain rather than just 20% today (creating 4.5m extra domestic
trips each year, 1.3bn more spend and 26,000 new jobs). And if
we can replicate this scale of improvement for shorter stays as
well, we will create a further 750m of spend and 11,000 new
jobs. 16

The policy document continues:

Britain usually runs a large tourism trade deficit because we are
far more likely to travel abroad for our holidays than most other
countries. Currently, less than 40% of our total holiday spending
goes on domestic tourism roughly a 2:1 trade deficit. And these
recent figures are probably rather optimistic; before the effects of
a low pound, recession and a volcanic ash cloud had taken their
toll, the average for 2006-08 was just 31%. Were worse than our
neighbours too: just 21% of us holiday at home, compared to
28% on average for other European countries. But 29% of us
holiday abroad compared to just 16% in the rest of Europe. 17

In 2010, UK tourists spent 30.9 billion on trips overseas whereas

overseas residents spent 16.7 billion on trips to the UK; a balance of
payments of 14.2 billion. 18 The percentage of UK tourism expenditure
spent on domestic tourism has risen from 36% in 2007 to 40% in
2010.
VisitBritain, Delivering a golden legacy: a growth strategy for inbound tourism to
Britain, 2012-2020, April 24 2013, p35
16
DCMS, Government Tourism Policy, March 2011, p7
17
Ibid, p15. The policy document uses information published by Eurostat on
participation in tourism - Eurostat, Tourism statistics in the European Union 2008
data, 2010, p11
18
ONS, Quarterly Overseas Travel and Tourism, Q4 2010 and
15

Number 06022, 27 May 2015 18

To boost domestic tourism, the strategy paper suggested moving the

May Day bank holiday to October to extend the tourism season. On 12
May 2011 the Government launched a pre-consultation these
proposals. 19 In April 2012 the Government stated that a decision about
the outcome of the pre-consultation would be made in due course. 20
The strategy paper also raises the possibility of encouraging domestic
package holidays.

7.3 VisitBritain and the future of tourism

bodies
In October 2010 the Government announced that the resource grant-inaid budget for VisitBritain and VisitEngland would be cut by 34% in real
terms by 2014-15. The total grant in aid budget for both organisations
(including capital) will be 128.6m over four years. VisitBritains total
grant in aid over this period accounts for 95.7m, and VisitEngland
accounts for 35.9m. The Secretary of States letter to the Chair of
VisitBritain stated that:

Funding for the following top priority programmes to be

protected as far as possible:
VisitBritains core international marketing and PR activity in the
top and emerging international markets. This will be provided in
the expectation that it is matched by the private sector;
VisitEnglands investment in and support for destination
management organisations and the local businesses, local
authorities and enterprise partnerships involved in tourism.
your administration budgets to be cut by around 50% in real
terms which will lead to:
downsizing and refocusing VisitBritains overseas presence;
ceasing VisitBritains advocacy function, though continuing to
inform DCMS Ministers own advocacy within Whitehall on behalf
of the sector;
rationalising VisitEnglands involvement in and the delivery of the
quality schemes and the digital platforms. 21

For more information (including a breakdown by year and by resource

and capital budgets for each organisation) see the Spending Review
letter sent from DCMS to VisitBritain on 20 October 2010.
The 2011 tourism strategy announced changes to the role of
VisitBritain, and changes to local tourism bodies. VisitBritain was to be
refocused on researching, creating and delivering a series of
marketing campaigns to attract ever-greater numbers of inbound
travellers to the UK. 22 Other existing responsibilities would be
transferred to VisitEngland or abolished altogether.
The tourism strategy also pledged to modernise and update local
tourism bodies to become focused and efficient Destination
DCMS, Pre-Consultation on moving the May Day Bank Holiday, May 2011
HC Deb 26 April 2012 c875W
21
Letter for the Secretary of State for Culture Media and Sport to the Chair of
VisitBritain, 2010 Spending Review, 20 October 2010
22
Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Government Tourism Strategy, March
2011, p21
19
20

19 Tourism: statistics and policy

Management Organisations (DMOs). 23 DMOs will be bodies involving

local tourism support bodies, local attractions and interests, local
business networks, the new Local Enterprise Partnerships and local
councils. DMOs will define their own boundaries and areas of
responsibility. The strategy states that once the boundaries, role and
governance of the DMOs has been established, they would need to
become less reliant on public funds and instead be funded through
partnerships with the private sector in the same way as the VisitBritain
national marketing campaign described above.
Government funding for tourism has previously been delivered through
a variety of channels, including local authorities, Regional Development
Agencies and VisitBritain, the central public body tasked with promoting
tourism. With all of these organisations facing cuts to real term
spending (or abolition in the case of RDAs) over the course of the
Spending Review period, there are concerns that tourism will not
benefit from the same levels of support it has enjoyed in the past.
Some functions of the RDAs will be taken on by new Local Enterprise
Partnerships (LEPs), although these are not directly replacing the
regional bodies. 24 The Tourism Alliance has expressed concerns
regarding the impact of transition from RDAs to LEPs on tourism
promotion: 25
If the new LEPs are not established in a coherent and coordinated
manner, providing national coverage for tourism businesses, the
future cohesion within the industry, and the implementation of
national programmes for tourism development, including the new
National Tourism Strategy for England, could be seriously
compromised.

The Alliance argued that there is a danger that tourism development

will be lost in the transition between RDAs and LEPs, claiming it seems
likely that some essential core tourism development tasks previously
carried out via the RDAs will be terminated before the new
arrangements are in place. 26 They note that it remains unclear where
responsibility for implementing the National Tourism Strategy will lie
under the new arrangements and express further concern that
knowledge and contacts built up by RDAs could be lost. 27
On 31 October 2011 it was announced that VisitEngland had been
successful in bidding for funding from the Regional Growth Fund. The
funding is to be allocated to a number of destination partners in
England. VisitEngland has stated that their partners include Marketing
Manchester, Marketing Birmingham, Bath Tourism Plus, Visit Peak
District and Derbyshire, Cumbria Tourism and Visit York.

23
24

Ibid, p21
For background on LEPs see Standard Note SN/EP/5651, Local Enterprise
Partnerships

25

26
27

Tourism Alliance Submission to BIS Inquiry: The New Local Enterprise Partnerships,
13 August 2010

Ibid

For background on LEPs see Standard Note SN/EP/5651, Local Enterprise

Partnerships

Number 06022, 27 May 2015 20

8. Select Committee report on

tourism (2015)
In March 2015, the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee
published a report on tourism in the UK. 28
The report made a number of recommendation for how the
government could promote tourism in the UK and encourage the
tourism industry:

28

Promoting tourism

Funding for the GREAT campaign should continue (Para 9)

The abolition of Regional Development Agencies without

putting in place other arrangements for tourism promotion
was a mistake (Para 15)

There should be a clearer distinction between the roles of

VisitEngland and VisitBritain (focusing on domestic and
international markets respectively). These organisations
should be better funded so that the funding disparity
between them and their Scottish and Welsh counterparts is
reduced. There should be greater cooperation between the
Great Britain tourism organisations. (Para 24, 31)

Borders and visas

Biometric visas are being introduced for the Schlengen

countries in 2015, and the government should consider
sharing biometric processing centres with these countries;
the government should also do more to make the cost of
UK visas more competitive and straightforward to use (Para
40, 43)

Border Force staffing should be maintained at levels that

can meet the demand posed by increasing numbers of
tourists. (Para

Airports

The government should respond promptly to the Howard

Davies Review into South East England airport capacity (Para
51)

Regional airports should be promoted to increase UK airport

capacity and to encourage more visitor to the wider UK
(Para 62)

Coastal areas

The Coastal communities Fund should continue but a

successor fund which is more focused should be considered
(Para 66)

Funding of the National Coastal Tourism Academy should

be increased (Para 71)

Culture, Media and Sport Committee, Tourism, 26 March 2015, HC 614 2014/15

21 Tourism: statistics and policy

Taxation

The government should review Air Passenger Duty, and the

impact of any changes to this tax in Scotland and Wales
should be monitored for their impact on England (Para 79)

The government should consider reducing VAT on tourism

services (Para 83, 86,87)

Any review of Business Rates should take into account the

impact on tourism businesses (Para 89)

Regulation

VisitEngland should ensure relevant information is available

to tourism businesses (Para 93)

Regulations on small businesses should be reduced, which

would greatly benefit many tourism businesses; the
introduction of further EU regulation should also take into
account the impact on tourism businesses (Para 101)

The government should commission a cost-benefit analysis

of daylight saving time (Para 106)

The accommodation grading scheme is should reviewed

(Para 110)

Skills and employment

The organisation of apprenticeships and training schemes

should better take into account some of the unique features
of tourism businesses, including seasonality and uncertainty
regarding customer demand; tourism businesses should be
better informed of this kind of opportunity (Para 114, 115)

The work of professional tourist guides should be better

recognised (Para 118)

Tourism should be more vigorously promoted by its sponsoring

department

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