There’s No Place Like Home

Manchester International Airport

Last week, the Office for National Statistics reported the fastest drop in British citizens travelling abroad since the 1970s - with Mexico alone suffering a massive 41% fall in visits. During 2009 the ONS recorded 58.6 million trips, compared to 69 million in 2008, with business travel plummeting by a massive 23%.

The report showed that there was a drop of 15% in visits made from the UK abroad for holiday reasons and a drop of 6.5% for visiting friends and relatives. However, holiday-specific trips to the UK by overseas visitors rose in 2009 by 0.5 million from 10.9m in 2008 to 11.4m in 2009.

UK visitors also spent £5.1 billion less abroad last year. Conversely, earnings from money spent by visitors from abroad coming to the UK rose from £16.3 billion to £16.6 billion.

Local tourism operators will no doubt be hoping this trend continues, although it’s highly doubtful that foreign travel companies and the airline industry will agree.

Image: Manchester Airport ©Britainonview