VisitBritain‘s annual forecast for the volume and value of inbound tourism reveals a rise in visits of 2.8% from 2014, with an estimated 0.7% increase in spending by visitors.
This growth in overseas visits to Britain is forecast to increase further in 2016, with VisitBritain predicting 36.7 million visits in 2016 – an increase of 3.8% on 2015 – and £36.7bn in visitor spending, an increase of 4.2% on 2015.
These figures are underpinned by a number of economic assumptions, namely that the Eurozone economy will continue to grow at a moderate pace in 2016, and that the US economy will grow at a similar rate to that of 2015.
According to VisitBritain’s report, the wider global economic outlook remains somewhat uncertain. The Chinese economy slowed, the oil price continued to fall, and some major emerging markets experienced recession. In 2016, a number of emegering markets are anticipated to continue to see weak growth, although India and China are assumed to be among the world’s fastest growing economies.
Although 2016 will not feature any major international sporting events, the arts community is expected to bring a boost to tourism, in particular with the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death and the 100th anniversary of Roald Dahl’s birth.
In addition, the National Museums of Scotland are set to open ten new galleries, the new Tate Modern will open in June, and the highly anticipated play ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ will debut in July.
