At World Travel Market in London, VisitEngland, the national tourist board, announced that according to the Great Britain Tourism Survey the number of domestic overnight holiday trips was up by 9 per cent in Great Britain and 9 per cent in England during July this year compared to the same time last year, with visitors spending £1.8billion over the month.
Not surprisingly the good weather during the summer helped to boost tourism in this country, according to VisitEngland’s latest Staycation research. 12 per cent of people said they had changed their holiday plans as a result of the weather to spend more of their holidays in the UK. 18-34 year olds (23 per cent) and families (19 per cent) were more likely to have changed their plans because of the weather and over half of all holidaymakers (56 per cent) in England enjoyed good weather this year. 17 per cent said they were more likely to take a holiday in England next year because of the weather in 2013.
James Berresford, VisitEngland’s Chief Executive said: “Clearly the 588 hours of sunshine this year has been a boost for domestic tourism. Operators have reported increased visitor numbers this year and are seeing positive forward bookings. With the 450th anniversary of the birth of Shakespeare, the Tour de France setting off from Yorkshire, as well as a whole host of exciting events, new attractions and hotel openings, I’m confident that the trend to holiday at home will go from strength to strength.”
The Staycation research which asks over a thousand Britons about their attitudes towards taking a break at home shows that levels of optimism about the economy are the highest since the downturn began. The number of people who believe we are over the worst of the economic downturn jumped from 13 per cent in February to 29 per cent by September.
© VisitEngland
