TOURISM


Where Now for Domestic Tourism?


KURT JANSON is policy director of Tourism Alliance


Record tourism spend in February


International visitors spent a record £1.5bn across Britain in February 2014, represent- ing a 45 per cent increase on February last year, accord- ing to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). In what is traditionally one


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ince the financial crisis domestic tourism has overturned a long- term trend of declining at 2 per cent per annum to register growth


of over 5 per cent per annum. A large part of this reversal is obviously due to the twin impacts of reduced discretionary expendi- ture by UK residents and the fall in the value of the pound making it more expensive to holiday overseas. Te net result has seen domestic tourism


revenue grow by 24 per cent from £18.6bn in 2008 to £23bn in 2013 and tourism- related employment accounts for a third of all new jobs over the past three years. Te question is, therefore, with the UK


economy expected to grow at the fastest level of any G7 country during 2014, what is going to happen to domestic tourism? As the economy has recovered, the Pound


has started to strengthen. Over the past year the pound has risen by 9 per cent against the dollar and by 4 per cent against the euro. Te expectation is that it will strengthen further as the economy continues to grow and the Bank of England starts to increase base interest rates. Tis strengthening of the pound, combined


with a more optimistic view of the economy by UK residents suggests that people will start to look to take more holidays overseas. However, there are a number of factors


that will mitigate against any dramatic switch from the staycation to the overseas holiday. Foremost among these is that wages will take some time to catch-up with the cost of living increases that most families have incurred since 2008. Second, prior to the crisis, savings rates in the UK were close to zero – now they are over 5 per cent, and people will still be cautious in their expenditure for some time. Finally, for the last five years the domestic tourism industry has been able to showcase itself to people who would normally holiday over- seas, and many of these will continue to take more domestic holidays. So while we shouldn’t expect to see


domestic tourism expenditure continue growing at the rates we’ve seen during the recession, we shouldn’t expect to see it revert back to pre-recession levels either.


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of the quieter months, visits in February were also up nine per cent in February 2014, with holiday visits posting double digit growth (25 per cent). Visits from Europe were


the main driver of overall vis- its growth, followed closely by ‘rest of world’ markets. Tis was despite reports from hotels and shops of a 17 per cent drop in spending from Russian visitors – among the top five biggest-spend- ing tourists – amid political unrest in Ukraine. ONS figures show the three months to February


remain in the black, with visits up five per cent and nominal spend up 21 per cent year-on-year. “Te strong results continue to prove that


tourism has a key role to play in the wider suc- cess of the British economy,” said VisitBritain chief executive Sandie Dawe. “Tourism may not be a tangible product, but it’s a


Tourism hotspots like London benefited from above average spending


major export earner for this country which VisitBritain sells overseas. Last year earnings topped a record £24 billion, which is more than crude oil and cars.” Mike Saul, head of hospitality and leisure at


Barclays, said: “Te increasing number of over- seas visitors year on year bears testament to the enduring appeal of the UK as a tourist destination. “Te sector continues to gather strength sup-


ported by generally favourable macro-economic conditions and by the contribution of overseas trade bodies.” Details: http://lei.sr?a=H2d4X


Chris Hadfield fronts Irish tourism campaign


Tourism Ireland is harness- ing star power to fuel its latest marketing campaign by recruiting famed Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield to front a series of online videos. The spaceman – who


became a YouTube sensation last year aſter recording David Bowie’s Space Oddity at the International Space Station – has starred in a series of four short films where he visits some of Ireland’s top attrac- tions to encourage viewers to take one small step for man and follow in his footsteps. The resulting videos are


Chris Hadfield is promoting Irish tourism in a series of online videos


called ‘An Astronaut’s Guide to the Island of Ireland’ and will be promoted around the globe by Tourism Ireland. Te first film features Donegal and the spec-


tacular scenery of the Inishowen Peninsula, starting point of the Wild Atlantic Way. Te other three films, which launched on


26 March, feature the popular attractions of Titanic Belfast and the Guinness Storehouse, as


Read Leisure Opportunities online: www.leisureopportunities.co.uk/digital


well as footage of Chris learning to play hurl- ing at the GAA clubs of Na Fianna in Dublin and Cushendall in Co Antrim. All four films, and the accompany-


ing feature articles, will be promoted on Tourism Ireland’s website, Ireland.com, as well as shared across Facebook, Twitter and the organisation’s YouTube channel. Details: http://lei.sr?a=D5u5b


Twitter: @leisureopps © CYBERTREK 2014


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