British tourists are likely to stay put next summer as well, after the country’s foremost museums, cathedrals, gardens and zoos welcomed 3.4 percent more visitors between May and August 2009 than a year earlier, the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions (ALVA) said.
“People stayed in Britain because it was very expensive to go abroad,” said Robin Broke, director of the industry body that represents attractions such as the British Museum and Buckingham Palace.
Next year, he said, “people will still be concerned about their jobs. Their disposable income probably will still be pretty tight.”
ALVA said the National Portrait Gallery reported a 23 per cent increase in visitors while Bath’s Roman baths recorded a rise of 6 per cent.
Owing to the financial crisis and a weaker pound, which has fallen 4 per cent against the euro since January, many in Britain chose to holiday at home this summer, a phenomenon dubbed “staycationing”.
Although the number of foreign visitors to Britain fell 9 per cent in the first eight months of the year, spending by foreigners dropped only 1 per cent, Broke said.
“They actually spent almost the same as they spent the previous year,” he said. “They are finding Britain good value.”
For 2009 as a whole, Broke said he expected a drop of 5 per cent in international tourists, with travel picking up in the latter half of the year as economies stabilised.
Tourism is Britain’s fifth largest industry by revenue, generating £86 billion (RM476 billion) a year for the economy, about 8 percent of gross domestic product.
The Office for National Statistics reported in August that the number of Britons travelling abroad fell 10 percent in the year to June 2009 compared with a year earlier. — Reuters
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