UK tourism bodies beg government to help inbound visitor industry
Tourism groups in the UK want the government to help the struggling tourism industry. They wrote a letter to the prime minister asking for measures to safely bring back international travellers, especially to cities. The letter was signed by several travel organizations who said that city businesses like restaurants, bars, hotels, shops, theatres, attractions, and tour companies may not survive if foreign visitors don’t come back this year. International visitors spend an average of £696 per trip compared to just £239 spent by domestic tourists, which makes them an important part of the UK tourism industry. VisitBritain predicts that spending on domestic holidays in the UK will drop by 33% in 2021 compared to 2019.
The letter demanded that Boris Johnson take three steps to help get the industry back on its feet: provide fluid, easy access to the UK for inbound visitors from green countries; introduce a cost-effective testing system, including the removal of VAT; and stump up funds for VisitBritain to start international marketing of the UK abroad.
“As we progress from step two to step three in the reopening roadmap it is critical that cities are not left behind as the country moves forward with recovery,” said Joss Croft, CEO of UKinbound, adding that “we can’t rely on domestic tourism to make up for the shortfall and spend of international visitors, especially in our cities”.
“As we forge ahead with a new global Britain post-Brexit, the success of cities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be vital.