Australian travel to the UK hit new heights in 2023, with the country’s appeal among Aussie visitors tipped to continue this year, VisitBritain says.
Citing the UK’s International Passenger Survey (IPS), VisitBritain says Australia set a new record for spend and visits to Britain in early 2023, with 308,000 Aussies splashing out an all-time high £415 million (AU$800 million) in the UK in Q2 2023, as it became the country’s third most valuable market.
Visitation and spend were up 14 per cent and 24 per cent respectively on 2019 levels.
Based on its forecasts, VB predicts the Aussie market to surpass pre-pandemic visitation and spend for the full year in 2023.
All up, the Australian market will be worth almost £1.5 billion (nearly AU$3 billion) in 2023, which is an increase of 25 per cent over 2019.
New Zealand travel to the UK is also expected to break records in 2023, following all-time high visitation and spend in Q2 2023.
According to VisitBritain’s newly published tourism forecast for 2024, overall spending by international visitors in the UK in 2024 is set to hit a record £34.1 billion (AU$66 billion), which is up seven per cent on predicted 2023 expenditure and 20 per cent on 2019 spend. It is expected to be worth around 96 per cent of 2019 levels, when adjusted for inflation.
VB anticipates 39.5 million visitors in 2024, which is up on 2023 figures and just three per cent down on the record 40.9 million tourists to hit the nation in 2019.
The marketing organisation predicts visits and spending by international visitors to recover to 2019 levels by early 2025.
The US leads tourism recovery, with American visitors smashing the 2019 spend record by 28 per cent (based on the latest figures), even when adjusted for inflation.
“International visitors spend tens of billions of pounds in the UK with the money generated supporting local economies and jobs, so it has been great to see the overall growth forecast for this year on 2023,” VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates says.
“We have however seen a slow-down in the overall pace of recovery compared to the strong start seen in the first half of 2023 and we face fierce competition from our European neighbours.”
Yates says VB campaigns will continue to hone in on the UK’s strongest-looking markets including Australia.
“To drive spending to Britain our international campaigns will remain focused on those markets showing strong growth, including Australia and the US, and we’ll continue to compete hard in our major European markets and the valuable Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries,” she adds.
“We also want more destinations across Britain to feel tourism’s economic benefits. Our global GREAT Britain campaigns are showcasing our vibrant cities, contemporary culture and beautiful coast and countryside, inspiring visitors to discover more of Britain, stay longer and to come now.”
Aussie focus
VisitBritain Country Manager, Australia and New Zealand, Maria Sykes says, “It is great to see the growth from Australia and New Zealand, with both countries setting new records for spend and visits to Britain in early 2023”.
“As one of Britain’s most valuable inbound markets, we’re delighted to see the pace of Australia’s recovery in spend contributing to Britain’s global recovery.”
“We look forward to unveiling a new international campaign in Australia this year and continuing our work to support the industry, converting inspiration into bookings and inviting visitors to discover what’s new in Britain in 2024.”
Inspiring visitors to ‘See Things Differently’ through new experiences, VB’s GREAT Britain marketing campaigns are set to run in Australia, France, Germany, the GCC and the US in 2024.
Meanwhile, VisitBritain is gearing up to host 120 international travel trade buyers, including eight representatives from Australia, on a series of famils this month, as part of its annual “Showcase Britain” event.
