A new January record for the number of international visitors to the UK has been set this year, according to figures recently announced by Visit Britain in their latest press release.
January may traditionally be thought of as one of the quieter months of the British calendar in terms of social arrangements and financial spend, but the numbers of visitors recorded by The Office for National Statistics demonstrates otherwise. More than 2.5 million visits were made to the UK in January 2016, a figure that is up 6% on January 2015, with tourists spending £1.28 billion.
Although January still has some way to go before it can compete with the popularity of the summer months as a time to visit the UK, this rise in tourism during a typically slow month indicates good prospects for both the UK economy and the hospitality industry who will cater to these visitors during their stay. The value of inbound tourism was estimated to be worth more than £26 billion to the country's economy.
Patricia Yates, Director at Visit Britain, stated: "These record-breaking figures highlight the increasing year-round importance of inbound tourism to the UK economy. Tourism remains one of our fastest growing export industries but also one of the most globally competitive which is why we continue to showcase, through our international marketing campaigns, just why Britain should top people's list as a must-go now destination."
The current record for the number of visitors to Britain was reached last year during July when a whopping 3.7 million international visits occurred whilst the number of annual visits has risen by 20% since 2010. In fact, tourism has now grown to become Britain's seventh largest export industry as well as the third largest service sector.
In order to drive this growth further, Visit Britain's has launched the Great Britain 'Home of Amazing Moments' initiative which seeks to promote special moments that can only be enjoyed here in Britain across social media platforms such as Instagram and Twitter.
This news marks a encouraging start to the tourist season as we move into spring. How are you preparing for what is set to be a promising summer for hospitality?
