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In 2020 the UK, despite Covid travel restrictions, still had a £7.6 billion tourism deficit

Date added: 7 February, 2022

Data from the ONS (the Office for National Statistics) has the numbers of trips – in 2020 – made by British people abroad, and the number of trips made by overseas visitors to the UK. It also has the amount they spent. The difference between the amount overseas visitors spend here, and how much British people spent on their trips abroad – called the tourism deficit.  Even though the number of visit, in both directions, was about 73-74% lower than in 2019, and the spending in both directions was about 78% lower than in 2019, there was still a tourism deficit of £7.6 billion.  ie. £13.8 minus £6.2 billion. The tourism deficit in 2019 was £33.9 billion, and in 2018 it was £31.5.  This indicates how much money is taken out of the country, largely on leisure trips, with the majority by air travel (only a small % due to ferries, Eurostar etc). During Covid, much of the money saved, from not travelling abroad, was spent on home improvements and leisure or holidays spent in the UK.
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Overseas travel and tourism : 2020

Annual estimates of visits to the UK by overseas residents, visits abroad by UK residents and estimates of spending by travellers, using administrative sources of passenger travel data for the period covering April to December 2020.

  • Overseas residents made 11.1 million visits to the UK in 2020; this was 73% fewer than in 2019 as travel reduced because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
  • Overseas residents spent £6.2 billion on their visits to the UK in 2020; this was 78% less than in 2019.
  • UK residents made 23.8 million visits abroad in 2020, which was 74% fewer than the previous year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • UK residents spent £13.8 billion on visits abroad in 2020; this was 78% less than in 2019.
  • Data collection by the International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended 16 March 2020, for the period April to December 2020 the figures in this release are based on administrative sources and modelling; estimates prior to April 2020 are based on data collected from the International Passenger Survey.

Visits and spending by UK residents abroad (from the link below)

Table of contents

  1. Main points
  2. Travel and tourism statistics and the coronavirus (COVID-19)
  3. Visits to the UK by overseas residents and visits abroad by UK residents: 2020
  4. Overseas residents’ visits to the UK
  5. Visits abroad by UK residents
  6. Glossary
  7. Data sources and quality
  8. Future developments
  9. Related links

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1.Main points

  • Overseas residents made 11.1 million visits to the UK in 2020; this was 73% fewer than in 2019 as travel reduced because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
  • Overseas residents spent £6.2 billion on their visits to the UK in 2020; this was 78% less than in 2019.
  • UK residents made 23.8 million visits abroad in 2020, which was 74% fewer than the previous year because of the coronavirus pandemic.
  • UK residents spent £13.8 billion on visits abroad in 2020; this was 78% less than in 2019.
  • Data collection by the International Passenger Survey (IPS) was suspended 16 March 2020, for the period April to December 2020 the figures in this release are based on administrative sources and modelling; estimates prior to April 2020 are based on data collected from the International Passenger Survey.

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/leisureandtourism/articles/overseastravelandtourism2020/2021-05-24#main-points

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View the data

https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/leisureandtourism/articles/overseastravelandtourism2020/2021-05-24/relateddata

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Below are recent Tourism Deficit figures from the ONS, from their Overseas Travel and Tourism reports. 

https://www.airportwatch.org.uk/the-problems/#tourism

2004    £17.2 billion2005    £ 17.9 billion

2006    £18.41 billion
2007    £19.05 billion
2008    £20.52 billion
2009    £15.10 billion
2010    £14.21 billion  link  (but ONS says £14.9 billion – link  Page 5)
2011    £13.30 billion  link  (but ONS says £13.7 billion  – link  Page 5)
2012    £ 13.80 billion
2013    £13.6 billion ( link )  or £13,89 billion ( link )
2014    £13.7 billion  ( link )
2015    £16.9 billion  ( link)
2016    £21.3 billion  (Link – UK Travel Trends 2016)
2017    £20.3 billion  (Link – UK Travel Trends 2017)
2018    £22.5 billion  (Link – UK Travel Trends 2018)   Corrected to £31.5 billion
2019   £33.9 billion  (Link – UK Travel Trends 2019)  Using the new methodology.
2020   (Covid) £7.6 billion ( Link  – Overseas Travel and  Tourism 2020)
In 2018 – using the older methodology (so these figures are out of date):
  • UK residents spent £45.4 billion on visits overseas in 2018, which was 1% more than in 2017.
  • Overseas residents spent £22.9 billion on visits to the UK in 2018, a decrease of 7% compared with 2017.
New methodology introduced in 2020, showing the earlier data underestimated the number of UK air passengers, and how much they spent …
The new methodology figure would put the 2018 figure at around £31.5 billion (Not £22.5 bn)
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Posted: Monday, February 7th, 2022. Filed in General News, Recent News.