The incoming government needs to understand tourism’s benefits, argues UKinbound chief Joss Croft
It’s only five months since all international travel restrictions into the UK were lifted and the UK’s inbound tourism industry received the green light to start trading again.
Fuelled by hope and optimism, and the knowledge that international visitors were queuing up to use their 2020 and 2021 travel vouchers to visit the UK, tourism businesses have been able to slowly begin their recovery, welcoming back visitors from the US, Europe and beyond.
As an association we’re also seeing the tide slowly turning, with a steady flow of new members and lapsed members beginning to return.
There is no doubt we’re getting there.
We recently asked our 300 strong members how business is shaping up for the summer season (July, August, September). Just under half (46%) of businesses expect international visitor numbers and bookings to be the same or higher than pre-pandemic, with almost a third expecting their revenues in this period to be higher than in 2019.
Business confidence has also hit a two-year high, with seven out of 10 businesses feeling positive about the impending 12 months.
A similar picture is emerging for the rest of the year, with a 50/50 split between those expecting business to be on a par with or up on the pre-pandemic period and those expecting things still to be down.
The resurgence of the US market has been particularly encouraging, with one in three of my members seeing strong demand from what remains the UK’s most-valuable source market.
But until now this demand has largely been fuelled by travel credits left over from the pandemic, which means we can’t rest on our laurels and expect this to continue.
International tourism is a competitive industry and global destinations, and their governments, recognise the ability of their inbound visitor economies to drive economic recovery. They have invested in the industry and in businesses accordingly.
Our government has its Tourism Recovery Plan, which we fully support. But it is often overlooked that inbound tourism is the UK’s second-largest service export sector, second only to financial services.
It is of greater export value than UK vehicle exports or oil exports from the North Sea – something we will be reiterating to the new Prime Minister and cabinet this September.
If we are to retain our crown as a world-leading tourist destination – and the economic, social and soft power benefits that come with this – the UK needs to have competitive visa, immigration and border systems, to invest further in the promotion of Britain abroad and ensure visitors receive a first-class welcome.
Looking to the autumn, we know businesses will continue to be squeezed from all sides, by rising costs and inflation coupled with the challenges of staff resourcing, which although not unique to tourism or to the UK, are perhaps exacerbated here.
This means many accommodation providers, attractions and hospitality venues continue to be unable to operate at full capacity, and this is having repercussions not only for these businesses but the entire supply chain.
Some excellent recent research by VisitBritain has shown that over 55% of international visitors use an intermediary when travelling to the UK.
The travel trade continues to be vitally important to the recovery of the inbound tourism sector, but they are also reliant on the supply chain, and are finding they’re not always able to fulfil demand. This is an absolute tragedy when businesses are trying to restore depleted reserves and working capital.
Although there is no quick fix, associations have an important role to play here, not only by presenting these issues to government but also by providing businesses with resources to help withstand these issues.
We also unite with other sectors, including outbound and domestic, to provide the bigger picture of interdependencies and opportunities – whether that is bringing together CEOs from across the sector for roundtable discussions as we are at our Annual Convention in Aberdeen in September, providing networking opportunities to encourage collaboration or developing industry standards.
At the moment, we are creating a best practise guide for suppliers and buyers.
Autumn and winter 2022 will bring challenges and opportunities, but one thing is for sure: if as an industry we continue to collaborate with each other, invest in our people and offer world-class experiences, the recovery trend can continue into 2023.
Joss Croft is chief executive of inbound tourism association UKinbound