England domestic tourism booms

The latest results from the Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) reveal an increase in the number of domestic overnight trips in England by 11% in July, the best performance for the month since 2011.

Spend also grew by 5% to £2.35bn – an all-time high for July since the survey began. Year to date trips have also increased across a seven-month period January-July 2015 up 13% for England.

58.1 million trips were recorded in England between January and July 2015, a 13% increase in the same period in 2014, while there was an 11% increase in expenditure in England over the seven-month period, to almost £11 billion compared to 2014 (and in nominal terms also a record for the current survey).

The number of domestic holidays taken in the first seven months of 2015 increased by 4%, to 24.4 million – and were up for July by 11%.

Holiday spend was also up in England in July by 5% and has increased by 6% so far this year.

The number of trips to visit friends and relatives (VFR) in England continues to grow – by 19% in the year to date and spend by 22%.

Business trip volumes in the year to date remain 5% higher than in 2014, with 3% growth in expenditure.

VisitEngland CEO James Berresford said: “These latest figures tell a positive story for the first seven months of the year; highlighting an uplift in both trips and spend. We are lucky that England has such a fantastic range of standout products and experiences across the country, which generate high levels of satisfaction for visitors and a wide range of cultural and sporting events taking place. Going forward we hope this strong performance continues into the autumn with the recent Rugby World Cup; showcasing England as a globally competitive, world-class destination that entices both domestic and international visitors.”

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