Day visits worth over £54 billion to UK economy

As English Tourism Week begins, VisitEngland, the national tourist board announces findings from the first survey of its kind on the importance of day visits to the domestic tourism industry.  The survey, conducted in 2011, in partnership with the national tourist boards of Wales and Scotland, shows GB residents took 1.5billion tourism day trips in the UK spending £54billion.  In England, Brits took 1.3billion trips, spending £44billion. Total visitor tourism spend in England by domestic and overseas visitors amounts to over £70billion, with day visits alone making up a key component of that figure.  On average, day visitors in England spend £34 per trip, however this varies according to the type of activity. Those taking a ‘special shopping’ trip spend on average £113 per trip, whilst at the other end of the scale those people visiting friends and family spend an average of £18 per trip. Visiting friends and family (350 million trips), going out for meals and drinks (together, 250 million) were most popular reasons for day trips with outdoor activities following close behind with 102 million days out (worth £2.4billion).  Shopping also featured in the top ten reasons, with 74 million trips taken last year (worth £8.3billion), followed by 66 million trips visiting attractions (worth £2.4billion) and 48 million trips taken to watch live sporting events (worth £1.8million). 35 million trips were also taken to attend special public events (worth £1.7million). James Berresford, VisitEngland’s Chief Executive said: “This survey represents a very important piece of the domestic tourism jigsaw.  Day visits are enormously important to the industry and the British economy and represent the cornerstone of the tourism industry in this country.  English Tourism Week kicks off what promises to be a great year marked by amazing events such as the Torch Relay, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Cultural Festival. This is the year to take a day trip that you will never forget!” Not surprisingly London came out on top in terms of a regional breakdown with 273 million day visits with the South East (201m), North West (173m), the South West (141m) and Yorkshire and the Humber (139m) following behind the capital city. VisitEngland launched a new website www.great2012offers.com  which has thousands of offers on accommodation, meals, attractions, transport and events of 20.12% or better – ensuring affordable day trips are available throughout the whole country.