On 12th July, Nigel Huddleston MP hosted a Parliamentary Reception on the UK’s inbound tourism industry. Nigel was joined by the Minister for Arts, Tourism and Heritage, John Glen, and other key tourism stakeholders to celebrate trade association UKinbound’s 40th anniversary and discuss the contribution of the tourism sector to the UK’s economy. UKinbound is a trade association with over 370 members and represents the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism industry. During the reception, UKinbound launched its report on tourism spending which, for the very first time, details the spending habits of the UK’s visitors. The report was co-authored by VisitBritain, the national tourism agency responsible for raising Britain’s profile worldwide.
The report showed that over 17% of all inbound tourism spending was by Americans, with Ireland and France in second and third place and China – a major growth market – in fourth.
Nigel said:
“The significance of tourism to the UK should not be understated as tourism is the UK’s third largest employer and contributes about £30 billion to our economy each year. UKinbound is a fantastic organisation and it was a pleasure to host a reception to celebrate its 40 years representing the interests of the UK’s inbound tourism businesses.
The report on how tourists spend their money showed some fascinating things such as that the Americans, Italians, Spanish and even the French spend a lot of their money on restaurants; the Danish and Israelis spend a lot on going to the theatre, while Chinese visitors like shopping and buying British branded goods.
The report is the first of its kind and will be of great value in helping the sector tailor the services it offers to the needs of our overseas visitors.