Article from BTNews 7 NOVEMBER 2016
Visitor benefit to UK economy
Overseas visitors to the UK’s cultural, historic and natural heritage attractions spend more than double per visit compared with their domestic overnight counterparts, a new report from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) says.
The report, The Impact of Heritage Tourism for the UK Economy 2016, says the figure for overseas visitors averages £560 per trip, while the domestic figure averages £210.
The amount spent by overseas visitor on heritage trips totalled £7.4bn in 2015 – 42% of the total £17.5bn spend made by all visitors to heritage attractions, which also included domestic overnight visitors (£4.7bn / 27%) and day trippers (£5.3bn / 31%).
Since the last time HLF carried out its analysis in 2013, total heritage visits have been stable but spending is up by 9%, boosted by an 18% increase in international visits.
HLF chief executive Ros Kerslake said: “Our previous research showed heritage is a key motivating factor driving the UK’s tourism economy, particularly with overseas visitors.
“However, these new figures reveal just how significant international tourists are to the UK’s economy – spending twice as much as their domestic counterparts.
“It is therefore essential the UK continues to champion our unique heritage in order to attract more visitors, both in the UK and further afield.”
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