According to the organization, there are several factors that play a role in the slow growth. For example, the rising cost of living matters. Travel is therefore more likely to be seen as a luxury. The absence of Chinese tourists is also a blow to the tourism sector. Furthermore, the effects of the corona pandemic are still very much felt. The same goes for Brexit.
International tourism
According to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, an industry body, there were 123.4 million visits to Britain’s 349 most popular tourist sites last year. This is an improvement over 2021, but still well below the 161.2 million visits recorded in 2019.
The differences are particularly evident in London. This is because tourism in the chapter relies heavily on international tourism. The number of visits to the British Museum, which used to be the most popular attraction in the UK, was 35% lower last year than in 2019. At the National Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum, this was as much as 40%. The Financial Times reports it.
Now that China has eased travel restrictions, there is hope in the industry that the numbers will pick up. It is taken into account that this will take some time, reports the Financial Times.