Tourism is one of the largest industries in the UK, accounting for 2.9% of UK Gross Value Added and worth approximately £85.6 billion in 2006* comprising:

* Note that 2007 data for the overall value of tourism and components marked with an asterisk will be available towards the end of 2008
 

Inbound Tourism to the UK in 2007: 

• The 32.8 million overseas visitors who came in 2007 spent £16.0 billion in the UK.  2007 was a record year for the volume of visits, but spending fell in cash terms for the first time since 2001
• Total visits for 2007 are 32.778 million, a 0.2% increase compared with 2006, with a decrease of 0.3% in spending to £15.96 billion
• In 2007 the UK ranked sixth in the international tourism earnings league behind the USA, Spain, France, Italy and China
• The top five inbound markets for the UK in 2007 were:                                  

UK Domestic Overnight Tourism:   

• In 2007 UK residents took: 
  - 53.7 million holidays of one night or more spending £11.5 billion 
  - 18.7 million overnight business trips spending £4.5 billion 
  - 47.8 million overnight trips to friends and relatives spending £4.8 billion  
  

Employment: 

• Over 2 million jobs are sustained by tourism activity in the UK, either directly or indirectly
• There are an estimated 1.45 million jobs directly related to tourism activity in the UK, some 5% of all people in employment in the UK
• Approximately 132,400 of these jobs are in self-employment                                 

Source: Office for National Statistics and DCMS - figures relate to June 2007

Accommodation:  

• In 2007, average room occupancy for all serviced accommodation throughout the UK was 62% (up 1 percentage points from 2006). Average bedspace occupancy was 48% (an increase of 1 percentage points on 2006)               

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