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Tourism Volume and Value

The tables below detail the latest figures for the South East Region from the United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS), the International Passenger Survey (IPS) and the Leisure Day Visits Survey.

Volume and Value of Domestic Overnight Tourism

Introduction to the United Kingdom Tourism Survey

The UKTS is a national consumer survey measuring the volume and value of tourism trips taken by residents of the United Kingdom. It is jointly sponsored by VisitBritain, VisitScotland, Visit Wales and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

The survey covers trips away from home lasting one night or more taken by UK residents for the purpose of holidays, visits to friends and relatives, business and conferences or any other purpose. Tourism is measured in terms of volume (trips taken, nights away) and value (expenditure on trips).

Latest Figures - January to November 2009

The latest figures released by VisitEngland from the UKTS shows that there were just over 16.7 million trips made by UK residents to the South East during the first eleven months of 2009, an increase of 12.4% compared with the same eleven months in 2008. The number of bednights (up 11.3%) and visitor spending (up 10.7%) also saw increases over this period.

Growth in the domestic market in the region has been driven almost entirely by 'pure holiday' trips - up by a considerable 32.4% in the South East between January and November 2009 compared with the same period in 2008. There has also been a small growth in VFR over this period (up 1.2%), while business related trips have fallen slightly (down 0.1%).

The next available data, for December 2009, will be released w/c 5th April 2010.
            

Volume and Value of Overnight Tourism 2009 - Year to Date

^{Source: United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS), VisitEngland}

Note: Figures for tourism by UK residents are normally rounded to the nearest 100,000 trips, 100,000 nights and £5 million spending.

Volume and Value of Domestic Overnight Tourism 2000 - 2008

^{Source: United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS), VisitEngland}

Note: Figures for tourism by UK residents are normally rounded to the nearest 100,000 trips, 100,000 nights and £5 million spending.    

Volume and Value of Overseas Overnight Tourism

Introduction to the International Passenger Survey

The International Passenger Survey (IPS) is a survey of a random sample of passengers entering and leaving the UK by air, sea or the Channel Tunnel. Over a quarter of million face-to-face interviews are carried out each year with passengers entering and leaving the UK through the main airports, seaports and the Channel Tunnel.

Latest Figures - Quarter 3 2009

The latest year to date figures on the number of overseas residents visiting the South East show a 7.2% drop in the number of visits and a 4.4% drop in visitor expenditure compared to the same period last year (Jan to Sep).Nationally, the year-to-date picture is that 8% fewer overseas visitors came to the UK in the first eleven months of 2009 compared to the same period of 2008. 

More overseas residents are visiting for holiday purposes. Holiday visits have shown 4% growth in the first eleven months of 2009. Business visits, on the other hand have struggled in 2009’s economic climate, down 22% on the same eleven months of 2008. Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) has also been affected significantly, down 11% so far in 2009. Visits for other reasons have fallen 3%. 

The next available data, for Quarter 4, will be released in April/May 2010 as there is typically a four month time-lag between the end of a quarter and release date by the Office for National Statistics.

Volume and Value of Overseas Overnight Tourism in the South East - Year to Date

^{Source: International Passenger Survey (IPS), Office for National Statistics via VisitBritain}

Note: Figures for overseas tourism are rounded to the nearest 10,000 trips, 100,000 nights and £1Mn spending.

Volume and Value of Overseas Overnight Tourism in the South East 2000 - 2008

^{Source: International Passenger Survey (IPS), Office for National Statistics via VisitBritain}

Note: Figures for overseas tourism are rounded to the nearest 10,000 trips, 100,000 nights and £1Mn spending.

Tourism Day Visits to the South East 2008

The figures below have been calculated using the last Tourism Day Visits survey which was conducted in 2005.

Please note that there are currently a number of different organisations looking at the measurement of same day visits moving forwards and it is hoped that a decision about how best to measure this important component of tourism is reached soon.

^{Source: England Leisure Visitors Survey}

Note: All data relates to visits made by UK residents to South East England. A tourism day visit is a trip lasting 3 hours or more and not taken on a regular basis.