Weak pound not leading to increase in visitors

The tourism industry in Britain is not seeing the benefit of the weak pound that should be expected, with the latest data showing a decline in the number of international arrivals to the country.

International visitor arrival numbers were down by 12.5 per cent, to 7.45 million, in the last quarter of 2008, as compared with the same three-month period in 2007, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics.

Spending by foreign visitors to Britain also decreased, by one per cent, to £4 billion during the last quarter, in spite of the additional spending power had by holidaymakers from eurozone countries and the US.

At this time, 10 euros buys approximately £9, which is an increase from the £7 the same amount bought last year; and 10 US dollars now buy £7, as compared only £5 at the dollar’s low.

IHS Global Insight chief UK economist Howard Archer said the data demonstrates that the impact of the recession currently outweighs the beneficial effects of the weakened pound in attracting visitors to Britain.

Archer added: “It is interesting to note that the number of visitors to the UK fell by more than the amount of their spending, indicating that those people who did visit the UK actually spent more as their money went further due to the strength of their currencies against the pound.”

Thanks to www.telegraph.co.uk for the above quotes, for more information on this article please visit their website.

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