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Growth in overseas visitor numbers follows Brexit vote

The Brexit vote triggered a rise in overseas visitors to UK hotels over the main summer months, new data reveals.

Demand from India was up by more than one third, with visitors from Ireland recording a similar increase.

Travellers from Spain and Hong Kong rose by nearly 30% with visitors from Canada growing by almost 25%.

The US was the top producing market, followed by Canada, Germany, Australia and Sweden, according to the latest data from the Expedia group.

London continued to be the top destination in the July to September quarter, but cities across the UK also saw double digit growth in demand.

Manchester, Birmingham, and Leeds all recorded a year-on-year increase in travel demand of more than 20%, with the coastal resorts of Bournemouth (up 25%) and Brighton (up 20%) also seeing a healthy upturn. Glasgow (up 25%) and Edinburgh (up 16%) also recorded strong growth.

The average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms in the UK stood at £113, a slight rise of 1.6% on the previous year.

Hotels in the majority of cities across the UK achieved an uplift in ADR, with the biggest increases coming in Liverpool, Belfast, Bournemouth and Manchester.

Visitors from the US spent the most (£150), more than one and a half times domestic travellers, helped by a favourable foreign exchange rate.

Booking windows were especially high from Oceania – 74 days on average from both Australia and New Zealand – followed by Germany (65 days) and Canada (60 days).

Expedia UK & Ireland market management director Julie Cheneau said: “Overall our hotel partners enjoyed a strong quarter with those across a number of regional cities and seaside destinations enjoying impressive growth compared to the same period last year.

“Demand from certain key international markets spiked following the Brexit result, likely due to a range of factors including a weaker pound but also because the UK summertime is popular with international guests.

“Our data reveals that we are successfully working with our hotel partners to increase demand from key international markets where visitors are more likely to spend more on rooms and other services as well as stay longer.”

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