Domestic tourism back on track after strong Easter

According to the results of the Great British Tourism Survey (GBTS), released by VisitEngland today, there were 5m domestic holiday trips in Great Britain in April, a 16 per cent year-on-year increase on April 2013 figures. Tourism spend for the month was up 15 per cent year-on-year to over £1bn.

Strong April growth helped push up year-to-date figures, which were previously dampened by the wet weather and floods experienced at the beginning of the year.

According to the survey, there were 12.5m domestic holiday trips in January-April 2014, a 3 per cent increase on the same period last year. Spend rose by 8 per cent year-on-year to over £2.7bn.

England ​

In England, domestic trips increased by 10 per cent in April 2014, helping bring January-April figures back to a par with 2013. Domestic tourism spend rose 5 per cent in England in April, with January-April spend up 6 per cent.

VistEngland said early indications point to a strong summer for domestic tourism in England, with 90 per cent of tourism businesses expressing confidence for the summer months and 70 per cent of accommodation providers reporting strong bookings for the school holidays.

“It is fantastic to see a boost in domestic holiday trips and spend for April and businesses feeling confident as the summer holiday period gets well underway,” said VisitEngland chief executive James Berresford.

“This demonstrates the resilience of the tourism industry following the impact of the extreme weather earlier this year and the success of the flood support campaign. We have seen the trend to holiday at home soar in the past five years and it’s a trend we’re confident will continue.”

Domestic tourism​

BigHospitality has reported widely on the rise of the ‘staycation’ in Britain, with a Travelodge report​​ claiming that domestic tourism has doubled in three years and will give the UK economy a £15bn boost in 2014.

According to TripAdvisor research, 90 per cent of British travellers are planning at least one domestic trip in 2014​​, with London and Edinburgh topping the chart of top travel destinations for Brits​​ this summer.