Key Insights on the UK’s Outbound Tourism Market

The UK’s inbound tourism bounced back significantly in 2022, recording 31.2 million visits, and it is estimated to reach 37.5 million by the end of 2023 – around 92% of the pre-pandemic levels.

In recent years, outbound tourism from UK residents has followed the same development pattern due to the aftermath of the global pandemic. The most current numbers are promising, as Britons go back to visit their favourite countries, both in and outside of Europe.

This article focuses on the UK’s outbound tourism market, the countries Britons visit most, average spending, and more. Continue to find out.

Key Takeaways

Outbound tourism from the UK steadily grew from 63.5 million visits in 2009 to 93.1 million visits in 2019, marking an average growth rate of about 3.7% year-on-year.
The pandemic severely disrupted travel, causing a significant drop in outbound visits to 23.8 million in 2020 and 19.1 million in 2021.
In 2022, outbound visits recovered to 71.8 million, reaching 77.3 million by 2023 (around 92% and 83% of pre-pandemic levels, respectively).
Spain was the most visited country by British tourists, receiving 16.5 million visits in 2022.
Holidaying remained the top purpose for British outbound travel, followed by visiting family/friends and business trips.

The State of the Outbound Tourism Market in the UK

The number of outbound tourists from the UK has continuously grown from 2009 to 2019, with an average growth rate of around 3.7% year-on-year. The coronavirus pandemic suddenly disrupted this near-consistent growth, as shown in the table below.

Year	Numbers of Visits Abroad from the UK (in millions)	Percentage Change Each Year
2009	63.5	-
2010	64.7	1.9%
2011	67.5	4.1%
2012	66.8	-1.04%
2013	69	3.2%
2014	72.2	4.43%
2015	77.6	7%
2016	81.8	5.13%
2017	87.2	6.19%
2018	90.6	3.75%
2019	93.1	2.7%
2020	23.8	-74.43%
2021	19.1	-19.74%
2022	71.8	73.39%
2023	*77.3	7.11%

Number of visits abroad from the UK 2009-2023

Outbound tourism significantly recovered in 2022, with 71.8 million visits abroad from UK residents – around 77% of the pre-pandemic numbers (2019). Overseas travel continued to increase in 2023, reaching 77.3 million, showing promise of complete recovery in the following years.

The following sections cover travel purposes driving the UK’s outbound tourism, the most popular destinations for British travellers, and the amount spent in this industry.

UK’s Outbound Tourism Top Drivers

As usual, Britons' top outbound travel purpose was holidaying from 2018 to 2022. This was followed by travelling to visit family and friends and business trips.

Year	Number of UK Residents' Outbound Travels by Purpose (in millions)
Year	All visits	Holiday	Business	Visits to friends and families
2018	90.6	57.3	9.3	22.1
2019	93.1	58.7	9	23.5
2020	No data	No data	No data	No data
2021	18.8	8.7	1.3	8.1
2022	71.8	46.8	4.2	19.4

Source: ONS

Aside from the purposes mentioned above, there are other socioeconomic factors are driving outbound travel from the UK, such as:

Pound sterling exchange rate.
Household disposable income of UK residents.
Health and security.

The British pound sterling remains a strong currency, but changes in the exchange rate can subtly affect the drive of UK residents to travel abroad. It can also indirectly affect each household’s disposable income besides other economic factors.

Worldwide experience in the coronavirus pandemic showed how health and security can greatly affect the tourism industry, which is also a major consideration for UK residents.

Top Destinations for UK Tourists

Spain is the all-time favourite of British travellers, followed by France. These two countries consistently topped the Britons' travel list from 2017 to 2022, with no indication of relinquishing their spots anytime soon.

Country	Number of UK Tourists (in millions)
Country	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Spain	17.65	17.93	18.13	No data	4.23	16.5
France	10.64	10.85	10.35	No data	1.59	6.98
Italy	4.9	5.29	5.11	No data	0.85	4.12
USA	4.44	4.94	4.81	No data	0.55	3.25
Rep. of Ireland	4.58	4.7	4.79	No data	1.06	2.83
Netherlands	3.12	3.36	3.57	No data	0.35	1.76
Greece	2.71	2.91	3.44	No data	1.13	4.24
Germany	3.58	3.63	3.38	No data	0.51	1.73
Portugal	3.27	3.32	3.31	No data	1.16	3.81
Poland	3.06	2.94	3.23	No data	0.94	2.35
Turkey	1.45	1.75	2.29	No data	0.35	2.8
Belgium	2.06	2.09	2.1	No data	0.19	0.69
India	1.36	1.47	1.61	No data	0.37	1.3
Switzerland	1.19	1.32	1.35	No data	0.17	0.88
Romania	1.16	1.23	1.29	No data	0.63	1.31
UAE	1.31	1.14	1.29	No data	0.02	0.98
Cyprus	1.02	0.88	1.05	No data	0.25	0.6
Hungary	0.77	0.73	0.92	No data	0.17	0.54
Malta	0.6	0.8	0.84	No data	0.23	0.53
Morocco	0.68	0.77	0.81	No data	0.12	0.53

Source: ONS

The United States is the British travellers’ go-to destination outside Europe, remotely followed by Turkey, India, and UAE.

Before or after the pandemic, British travellers spent more money in European countries than North America. This was expected since more countries in the EEA dominated UK residents' top outbound travel destination.

Region	Spending by British Travellers (in million £)
Region	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Europe	36,155	38,735	No data	11,591	38,241
North America	6,860	6,634	No data	737	6,017

Source: VisitBritain.org

Unsurprisingly, British travellers had the highest share of cumulative spending in Spain in the first three quarters of 2023, amounting to 18% of the total, followed by 11% from Germany, and 9.3% from France; based on the Tourism Expenditure Survey (Egatur).

Average Spending of UK Travelers Abroad

The total amount spent by Britons touring abroad was £58.5 billion as of 2022 – travellers spent an average of £823 per visit. This was around 94% of pre-pandemic levels.

Total Expenditure of Visits Abroad from the UK 2007-2022

British outbound travellers spent most of this holidaying, visiting family and friends, and business trip expenditures. See the table below for the overseas expenditure data of Britons from 2018 to 2022.

Purpose of Trip	Overseas Spending by Britons (in billion £)
Purpose of Trip	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022
Holiday	39.7	33.3	No data	7.8	41.8
Business	6.9	6.3	No data	1.5	4.6
Visits to family and friends	9.8	10.5	No data	5.2	11.7
Miscellaneous	1.8	2.2	No data	0.9	2
All visits	58.1	62.3	13.8	15.3	60

Source: ONS

Total overseas expenditure in 2022 has not surpassed the pre-pandemic levels (96% of 2019) but can already be considered a significant recovery from the aftermath of the global health crisis. It must also be noted the current figures only show nominal values and have not factored in the effects of inflation.

Conclusion

The UK's outbound tourism has seen a strong rebound post-pandemic, hinting at a return to normalcy in travel habits. While not yet at pre-pandemic levels, the numbers show a promising upward trend, particularly in visits to popular European destinations like Spain and France. This indicates a resurgence in British travellers' interest in returning to these beloved places.

Europe continues to attract more spending from UK travellers compared to North America, reflecting their preferences. Despite challenges posed by socioeconomic concerns, this resurgence highlights Britons' enduring passion for travel and suggests a hopeful outlook for the industry's future.

FAQs on the UK’s Outbound Tourism Market

What is inbound and outbound in tourism?

When a country receives tourists, it refers to inbound tourism. On the other hand, when a country’s residents travel abroad to tour, it refers to outbound tourism.

What is the outbound tourism trend in the UK?

Like most tourist destinations worldwide, the UK’s outbound tourism sector was gravely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, easing lockdown restrictions helped the UK’s outbound tourism bounce back significantly, especially in 2022, indicating continuous growth.