Travel Industry, News and Analytics

The UK Reveals the Number of Tourists That are Expected to Visit the Country During Christmas

UKinbound, the leading travel association in the UK, has released its new report regarding the number of international tourists that are likely to arrive for the festive season. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic remains the major hindrance for the hospitality industry of the country, so UKinbound doesn’t have its expectations high. The release states that the number of international guests visiting the UK for Christmas will be approximately 75% down in November and December compared to the same period of 2019. The 2019 Christmas season yielded the UK economy £4.25 billion.

Hotels in London, Edinburg, Manchester, and other major cities, as well as local tour operators and attraction companies, also do not expect a profitable end of the year. 89% of respondents that participated in a survey are sure that the number of foreign guests visiting the UK for Christmas will be lower than in 2019. The survey was taken before the new restrictions caused by Omicron, which may shrink the potential revenues even more.

Four out of five local hospitality providers, which participated in the survey, expect their revenues to be down 75% or more. Although many restrictions were lifted for international guests, it is still too early to talk about an influx of tourists. Local hotels were also asked whether they had cancellations of trips to the UK in November/December and what was the reason for that. It turns out that clients decide to postpone holidays in the UK, deferring their visits to 2022.

UKinbound also asked inbound tour operators and destination management companies about their expected revenues as they were responsible for bringing more than half of all international travelers to the UK in 2019. On average, these businesses expect their revenues to be down by 93% in November-December 2021 compared to the same period of 2019.

The industry was on the verge of survival prior to the announcement of the newest restrictions caused by Omicron. Christmas is traditionally one of the most important periods of the year for the hospitality industry. The latest restrictions make it even harder for international guests to visit the UK. Hotels across the country already see an increased number of cancellations for the end of the year. Tourists are increasingly interested in visiting the UK next year but today inbound tourism worth £28.4 billion in 2019 (the third largest export of the country) continues to be in deep crisis.

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