NEWS Terrorism dampens London demand By Samantha Mayling
International tourism to London has reached record levels – but research to be revealed at World Travel Market London suggests terrorism and Brexit could slow the rate of growth. As 51,000 travel industry
professionals arrive for WTM London 2017 (November 6-8), the city’s tourism bosses are celebrating buoyant visitor numbers. London welcomed 5.5 million
international visitors in the second quarter (April-June) – up 10% year- on-year and a record for the period. However, research specialist
Euromonitor International will reveal predictions at WTM London showing the impact of terrorism, including the attack at Westminster Bridge in March. “Due to recent terrorist attacks,
arrivals to London will see a slower growth of 3.4% in 2017, compared to a national average growth of 5.2%,” said Euromonitor International. Domestic figures from VisitBritain
show there were 5.9 million trips to London in the first half of 2017, up 1% year-on-year, while overnight
Manchester (each 1.2 million); and Glasgow (688,000). Much of the growth seen in
London during April-June was thanks to arrivals from North America – up 30% to 976,000, with the amount of money they spent rising 23% to £764 million. Andrew Cooke, London &
stays fell 8% to 12 million. This is well below the national
growth rate, as domestic overnight holidays in England rose by 7% to 20.4 million. Attractions giant Merlin
Entertainments also blamed terrorism for dampening demand in London, despite a strong start to the year “following the favourable foreign exchange rate movements”. A recent trading update said:
“The Westminster Bridge terror attack resulted in an immediate drop-off in domestic visitation to the capital, with demand further dampened following subsequent attacks. “International tourism remained resilient ahead of the summer,
reflecting the longer lead time from booking to visitation, but deteriorated materially over the peak trading period, resulting in a difficult overall market for London’s visitor attractions.” Euromonitor’s report – Top
100 City Destinations Ranking – says London is the only UK city in the top 100, with 19.19 million international arrivals in 2016. It predicts other UK cities will
grow at a faster rate after Brexit, driven by rail developments, as UK authorities look for alternatives to improve transport links. Cities that could benefit from
this are Edinburgh, the second ranked UK city with 1.6 million inbound arrivals; Birmingham and
Partners acting chief executive, said: “London is open to the world and has an appeal that extends across the globe with its cultural, sporting and historical attractions. “North America is our most
important market for tourism by a long way and we look forward to welcoming many more visitors from there and beyond.”
Visitlondon.com will be at WTM
London on stand UKI300, with many other London exhibitors. Merlin Entertainments is at stand
GV555, promoting attractions such as Madame Tussauds, DreamWorks Tours Shrek’s Adventure! and The London Eye. London’s tourism industry is
worth 11.6% of the capital’s GDP and employs 700,000 people –
equivalent to one in seven jobs.
visitlondon.com � WTM London preview p16-40
Business Barometer shows dip in confidence
Bookings and visitor numbers for UKinbound members are up year-on-year, according to the association’s Business Barometer. However, confidence in future
bookings and revenue is the lowest it has been since September 2016. When asked about July and
THE LIGHT FANTASTIC: Wiltshire attraction Longleat’s fourth Festival of Light has the theme of classic fairy tales and will take place on selected dates until January 3. In 2018, the estate will host the Longleat Food & Drink Festival (June 23-24), a natural predator-themed animatronics exhibition (March 24-October 31) and the biggest annual hot air balloon festival in Europe, Sky Safari (September 14-16).
4 TravelGBI | November 2017
August 2017, 81% of respondents said revenue yield had either increased or stayed the same. And 72% of respondents said bookings and visitor numbers were similar or higher than July and August last year. Members said the weak pound
longleat.co.uk
was the main reason behind the growth. One destination said: “The low pound is helping with overseas visitors, as it is with ‘staycationers’. We have seen marked increase in
visitors from other UK regions.” Deirdre Wells, UKinbound chief
executive, said: “It’s encouraging to hear from members that July and August were positive months. However, I am concerned that confidence is low among our members about future business. “We need continued investment
in tourism, a strong narrative promoting the UK as a welcoming destination, an immigration and visa system that’s flexible to business needs and access to a skilled workforce.” The survey showed that China and
US remain the top growth markets, while Germany replaced France as
the main declining market.
ukinbound.org
travelgbi.com
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