As 2025 comes to a close and we head into the festive season, I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the year and look ahead to 2026. It feels important to say this upfront: for many of our members, this has been a tough year. While there have been continued signs of growth, trading conditions have remained challenging, with rising costs, pressure on margins and plenty of uncertainty still in the system.
Inbound has continued to do a lot of the heavy lifting, particularly against a weak domestic season, but that hasn’t made life easy. I’ve heard directly from many of you about how difficult the past year has been, and I want to thank you for sticking with it and continuing to deliver great experiences for visitors despite the headwinds.
Against that backdrop, I’m genuinely proud of what UKinbound has delivered this year. Passing the 500-member mark was a significant milestone and shows how important a strong collective voice is for inbound tourism. We’ve also made progress on issues that members have been pushing for years – including movement on the EU–UK Youth Experience Scheme and agreement on German school group travel – both of which will make a real, practical difference on the ground.
A lot of our work isn’t always very visible, but there’s been a huge amount of advocacy going on behind the scenes. We’ve spent a lot of time working with ministers and officials, including building a strong relationship with Chris Bryant and then Stephanie Peacock as Tourism Ministers, and putting serious effort into feeding into the Government’s Visitor Economy Growth Strategy. We’re realistic about what it may or may not deliver, but members should know just how much work has gone into making sure the inbound sector’s voice has been heard. We have also had good engagement with the Scottish Government and have made good progress on ensuring the new Transient Visitor Levy is more fit for purpose.
Despite the pressures many businesses face, it’s been great to see such strong engagement at our events. Our new Inspire event in September was a fantastic success, and our biggest ever presence at World Travel Market London was another personal highlight. These were delivered alongside a yet another busy programme of Discovers, fam trips, webinars and networking events across the year.
Looking ahead to 2026, there’s plenty still to do – but there are also reasons to be hopeful. We kick off the year with our Annual Convention in February in Manchester, and I’m really looking forward to getting members together again to share ideas, innovate together, and focus on what will genuinely help inbound businesses navigate the year ahead.
This Christmas, instead of sending cards, UKinbound will be donating to Soup Kitchen London, which does vital work supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our capital. If you’re able to help them or another charity at this time of year, it would be greatly appreciated.
Finally, thank you to our members, partners and the UKinbound team for everything you’ve put in this year. It hasn’t been an easy one, but the strength of this Association comes from its people. I hope the festive break gives you a chance to rest and recharge, and I look forward to working with you in 2026.
