BRIGHTER THINKING OCTOBER 2013 | Page 4

INBOUND TRAVEL trends The  number  of  visits  by  overseas   residents  increased  by  16%  in  August     2013,  according  to  sta:s:cs  issued  by   VisitBritain.  However,  visitor  spending  fell   by  1%,  meaning  that  in  the  rolling  twelve   months  to  August  2013  Britain  saw  32.2   million  visits,  with  spending  at  £20bn.   The  number  of  visits  remains  1  million   down  on  the  record  twelve  months  of  April   2007  to  March  2008  but  spending  is  at  a   record  level. During  the  year  to  August  2013,  12.6   million  holiday  visits  took   place,  represen:ng  an  all-­?:me  high,  while   visits  for  other  reasons  s:ll  have  some  way   to  go  to  recover  from  the  decreases  seen   during  2009  and  2010.   In  the  period  under  review  the  number  of   visits  from  high  volume  EU15  markets  such   as  France  and  Germany  were  4%  up   compared  to  the  year  before  with  18.2   million  visits.    Acer  a  couple  of  beker   months,  visits  from  North  America  are  on  a   par  with  a  year  ago,  while  the  number  of   visits  from  regions  of  the  world  outside   Europe  and  North  America  are  at  record   levels  at  5.16  million.   France  remains  the  market  genera:ng  the   most  visits,  helped  by  a  strong   performance  in  recent  months.    The  only   other  markets  to  have  seen  growth  among   the  top  ?ve  in  the  past  year  are  Germany   and  the  Netherlands.  When  looking  at  the   top  ?ve  by  spending  France  con:nues  to   consolidate  its  lead  while  Italy  has  traded   places  with  Ireland. The  USA  remains  the  most  sizeable  long-­? haul  market  with  more  than  2.7  million   visits,  despite  having  seen  a  6%  decline  in   volume  over  the  past  year.    Acer  sustained   growth  in  2010  and  2011,  visits  from   Australia  have  witnessed  a  more  recent   reduc:on.    The  top  three  markets  by  value   are  iden:cal  to  those  for  volume,  but   thanks  to  very  high  spend  per  visit  and   recent  strong  growth,  China  has  entered   the  top  ?ve  for  the  very  ?rst  :me.