New data from the travel trade association UKinbound’s quarterly barometer survey shows that confidence levels for the UK’s inbound tourism industry have returned to pre-Covid-19 levels.
However, this bounce back has come with high energy costs for attractions, supply-side capacity issues for tour operators, and difficulties with staffing across the industry. Analysis of the data predicts that these are likely to be barriers to strong growth and recovery in 2023.
Key findings
The association, which represents over 300 UK tourism businesses that service international tourists visiting the UK, undertook its latest business barometer member survey in December 2022.
Conducted by Qa Research, the survey shows that:
- Expected or confirmed bookings for Q1 2023 are at the same level or higher than they were before the pandemic for over half of businesses.
- Nearly two-thirds of businesses stated that they expected revenue for Q1 and booking levels for Q2 to be the same or higher than before the pandemic.
- There is strong demand from US visitors to visit the UK with 44% of businesses reporting they are seeing growth in this market.
Businesses were also asked what they expect to be their biggest barriers to growth over the next 12 months.
- For 61% of tour operators, barriers include ongoing issues with supply chain capacity.
- For 76% of attractions, their biggest concerns are inflation and the cost of energy.
- Ongoing recruitment and retention of staff remains a concern for nearly half of all survey respondents
Reactions
Joss Croft OBE, CEO of UKinbound, commented: “This data currently shows a mixed picture for the UK’s inbound tourism industry.”
“It is great to see that many businesses are generally feeling optimistic about this year and confidence levels are returning to levels seen before the pandemic. Unfortunately, our members are still experiencing some fundamental problems.”
Croft explained that inflation and energy costs remain a big concern – particularly for attractions, especially with the UK Government scaling back of support with energy bills from April.”
However, Croft is expecting positive interest in the UK’s upcoming events from international markets: “We have some significant events taking place in 2023 in the UK – most notably His Majesty The King’s Coronation in May followed by the Eurovision Song Contest.”
“International tourism is a competitive business, and if we are to fully realise the economic benefits from these events and turbocharge the recovery of the UK’s inbound industry, the Government needs to increase its efforts and spend to successfully market the UK globally.”
