Total domestic tourism in the UK - Data and Analysis (2005-2033)

Total domestic tourism expenditure is forecast to dip at a compound annual rate of 2.3% to £69.5 billion over the five years through 2026-27. However, this trend over the five-year period has been significantly dictated by the recovery from the extreme decline in the total domestic tourism in the final two years of the period as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak of the coronavirus is also expected to have reduced the UK's level of real household disposable income, which will exacerbate the declining expenditure by domestic tourists. While the United Kingdom may experience a slight increase in the number domestic tourists who have cancelled visits abroad in favour of remaining in the UK once restrictions are lifted, this will be a rather negligible increase and not large enough to compensate for the notable decline caused by the enforced measures which were first introduced in March 2020. Hence, as a result of dwindling expenditure from both domestic and international tourists, caused by the coronavirus pandemic.These measures were eased in January 2022 after the Omicron variant was discovered to be less severe. In February 2022, President Vladimir Putin announced that Russia was initiating a "special military operation" in the Donbas region, and proceeded to launch a full-scale invasion into Ukraine. This led to several sanctions and a UK Foreign Office advice against all travel to Russia and Ukraine. This also includes flights that utilise Russian airspace, which could force a proportion of the population to delay flights, thereby boosting domestic tourism.In the summer of 2022, strike action and staff shortages at UK airports have caused a significant number of flights. This is likely to lead to more people cancelling overseas visits and opting for domestic tourist spots. As a result, total domestic expenditure expanded by 4.8% in 2023.