Out and In-bound UK Travel Affected By Credit Crunch
15/08/2008 by Bryan Palmer
The recession has affected the pockets of spenders resulting in people buying less and opting to travel locally rather than go abroad for their summer holiday.
This drop in tourism has become particularly apparent in the United Kingdom where the number of visitors has dropped by 5% in just three months.
Americans are common travellers to the UK, but this year, the unmistakable US accent is being heard far less. This is because the number of US visitors has dropped by 8% and according to the International Passenger Survey published by the Office of National Statistics; the British break is becoming less common due to the weakening dollar.
But there have still been 8.1 million visitors to Britain in the past quarter and this is mainly thanks to the strength of the Euro. Travellers from newly accepted European Union countries Poland and Lithuania made up as much as 15% of recent visitors.
The credit crunch is also affecting the overseas trips of British citizens, as the number of holidays abroad drops drastically. Brits are now looking at the local holiday options. This however, according to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport is not a negative, as the more money spent in the UK tourism market the better for general economic growth.
People have not forfeited their summer holiday, with many still going overseas but they are more often than not choosing cheaper destinations such as the United States where for Brits the pound is still strong.
People are still travelling but expenditure has certainly dropped and with world economics in disarray, this is set to continue.
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