International visitors travelled in record numbers to the UK in the first half of 2015 but their spending per head has fallen quite heavily, leading to a contraction.

The latest data from the International Passenger Survey made available by tourism body, Visit Britain, indicates that overseas visitor spending in H1 fell by -1% to £9.3bn/$14.6bn on the same period in 2014, even though the UK attracted 16.8m visitors, an increase of +3% (see table below).

The UK is the fourth biggest duty free and travel retail market in the world (source: Generation Research). Commenting on the flat spending, Visit Britain says: “Spending throughout the first six months of 2015 reflects the impact of exchange rate shifts, in particular, strong sterling compared to the euro.”

In the first six months of 2015, the pound appreciated by +9.4% against the euro and was largely flat versus the US dollar.

EU TRAFFIC HOLDS FIRM… BUT NOT SPENDING

A breakdown of traffic based on the survey [run by the Office for National Statistics (ONS)] shows that the strong pound did not deter Eurozone visitors. Travellers from EU15 countries – the UK’s biggest market – were up by +3% to 9.80m, while other EU markets were up by +17% to 1.99m. However they are all spending less.

Patricia Yates, Visit Britain’s Director of Strategy & Communications, comments: “It is also positive to see continued return to growth from the North America market, our most valuable market, and business visitors.” In H1 North American visitors were up by +4% to 1.73m and business travellers shot up by +13% to 4.51m.