The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has recently issued a stark warning to the UK Government: the UK’s successful Travel & Tourism industry faces stagnation and long-term decline.
On the eve of the UK Government’s first Visitor Economy Advisory Council, the global tourism body revealed data that shows £60BN is at risk over the next 10 years, in lost tourism business. While forecasts indicate short-term stability, the long-term outlook is weak as the UK loses ground to European competitors.
The UK’s Travel & Tourism sector employs almost the same number of people as the NHS. It contributed £280BN to the UK economy in 2024 (10.3%) and supported over 4.1MN jobs (11.3%). It also contributes c.£100BN annually to the Treasury in tax revenues, yet successive governments have shown little interest in Travel & Tourism.
The opportunity for growth is considerable. Global Travel & Tourism is expected to grow 3.7% annually over the next 10 years, compared to 2.4% for the wider global economy.
However, in the UK, the future looks troubling. Over the next five years, the UK is expected to have one of the lowest growth rates in overnight international arrivals. It is set to lag other European tourism powerhouses, such as Spain, Germany, and Italy, which place Travel & Tourism at the heart of government decision-making.
WTTC has identified several key areas that urgently require government action to unlock the sector’s full potential:
UK Travel & Tourism businesses are already impacted by the recent increase in National Insurance, and higher than European average VAT rates. With the increases in Air Passenger Duty (APD) and the introduction of an ETA, a visa waiver which could rise from £10 to £16 per visitor, the UK is pricing travellers out of the UK, toward other destinations
As the organisation charged with promoting tourism in the UK, VisitBritain is seriously underfunded when compared to its competitors around the world, which in many cases receive double the government investment. Additional investment is crucial to continue attracting visitors and ensure the economic benefits extend beyond London
Global travellers are choosing other European destinations, attracted by the tax-free shopping removed in 2021, which could generate an estimated £3BN to UK Plc
The Treasury has mooted a central “hotel tax” that will further deter travellers, could cost jobs, and cause major hotel investors to look elsewhere.
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