Our achievements 2017/18
Our results for 2017/18 show that we have more than delivered on our Government targets.
In 2017/18, our international and domestic marketing activity generated £1 billion of additional visitor spend across the nations and regions of Britain. This means that for every £1 invested in us, an additional £25 is spent and benefits the economy.
In 2017/18The VisitBritain Shop generated £27.8 million in revenue, with over £2 million profit invested in marketing Britain overseas.
The year also saw us continue to build on powerful partnerships, generating £13 million in private sector investment across our activity.
Domestic tourism performance
Domestic tourism in England supports thousands of businesses and employs 2.6 million people. In 2017/18 England saw record levels of visits and spend by domestic visitors. And growth swept the nation with many of the country’s nine regions seeing uplift. Overall, visitor spend in England reached £91 billion, accounting for over 80% of the total visitor spend for Britain.
There were 100.6 million domestic overnight trips taken in England in 2017, worth £19 billion. These figures represent an increase from last year of 1% and 3% respectively, powered by a rise in domestic holiday trips of 6%.
Day visits contributed more than £50 billion to the English economy in 2017, with visitor attractions across England reporting a 2% increase in visits during 2017, led by trips to historic houses and castles (up 4%), and other historic properties (up 8%).
And there are encouraging signs for domestic tourism in England in the first six months of 2018. Domestic overnight trips were up by 3%, whilst expenditure has risen by 4%. Holiday trips also grew by 1% between January-June 2018, whilst VFR and business trips have both increased (4% and 9% respectively) following a period of stagnation or decline.
View our England research section for a wealth of market intelligence, research and insights into tourism in England
Inbound tourism performance
In 2017/18, the UK achieved a record £24.5 billion in overseas visitor spend, up 9% on 2016 and well above the long-term, average growth rate. The total overseas visits to the UK rose by 4%, reaching 39.2 million in 2017.
2017’s growth in inbound tourism was led by holiday visits, which grew by 11% to 15.4 million with their spend increasing at an even faster rate, 22%, to £10.6 billion. Visits to friends and relatives saw growth of 4% in 2017, bringing 12.0 million visits to the UK and spending £5.8 billion, up 15%.
International visits to the English regions outside of London also grew at a similar pace overall, 3%, to 16.5 million. The North West saw the strongest growth amongst the regions of England with 3.1 million visits, up 11%.
View our inbound research and markets sections to find more facts and figures on international tourism to Britain.
