Pier pressure
Faltering pound brings record numbers of freespending tourists into the UK
BRITAIN’S shops, hotels and tourist attractions are benefiting from a serious spending spree as foreign visitors make the most of the weak pound.
Visitor numbers are up sharply, with tourists coming to the UK and spending increasing amounts because sterling has fallen by more than 13pc since the Brexit vote last year.
Overseas residents made 3.7m visits to the UK in April, a jump of 19pc compared with the same month in 2016.
April was almost as busy in terms of foreign visitors as the summer months of last year, giving the tourist industry a major boost – typically July and August are by far and away the most profitable months.
Tourists spent £2bn in Britain in the month, soaring by 20pc on the year. That is the largest amount ever spent in the UK by foreign visitors in the month of April.
The late Easter is likely to have boosted those visitor numbers, but the trend shows a strong rise in tourism and business trips: even in March, which lost out this year because of the later Easter, tourist numbers were up by 11pc.
The number of business trips to Britain fell year on year, while tourist numbers climbed by 42pc. North American visitor numbers were up by 13pc while trips from EU countries increased by 17pc. On average, each visitor spent
£543 in the UK.
Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said the numbers “show that the sharply weakened pound continues to encourage visits to the UK from abroad and more spend by visitors”.
He added: “This is clearly a positive for the UK economy, and the high tourism in April may well have also contributed to the spike in retail sales during the month.”
By contrast there was only a 2pc rise in the number of British residents’ trips overseas to 6.1m visits. And they cut back spending on those trips, shelling out a total of £3.5bn – a fall of 1pc, indicating that British tourists are keeping a tight rein on their outgoings.
“The rise in UK travellers abroad was markedly lower, as was the spend. This reflects the higher cost of travelling and being abroad due to the weakened pound,” said Mr Archer.
Such positive tourism numbers contrast with wider trade data.
Just as the weak pound makes UK holidays more attractive to foreign visitors, so should it make other exports more attractive. But the trade deficit has fallen more because of a drop in imports, rather that the rise in exports that economists had hoped to see.