The provisional IPS data for December 2017 has been released, which also give the preliminary results for 2017 as a whole. The International Passenger Survey found a downturn in visit numbers and spend largely consistent across markets and journey purposes in the last three months of 2017. However, record-setting results earlier in the year meant visits were up 3% to a record 38.9 million and spending up 8% at a record £24.3 billion for 2017 as a whole.
Business visits saw the most consistent decline last year, being the only journey purpose to experience an overall drop in 2017. December 2017 also saw declines from all markets except for ‘Rest of Europe’ (European countries outside the EU including Russia, Norway and Switzerland), although all markets were either on par with 2016 or experienced increased visit numbers for 2017 as a whole.
Visits
The UK welcomed 2.6 million visits in December, down 11% compared to December 2016.
- Between October and December 2017 there were 8.8 million inbound visits to the UK, down 7%on the same period in 2016.
- However, over 2017 as a whole the UK welcomed a record 38.9 million visits – up 3% on 2016.
Spending
- Spending in December 2017 fell 13% compared to December 2016 to reach £1.6 billion.
- Spending between October and December was down 3% on the same period in 2016, at £5.3 billion.
- However, record results from January to September, and in November, meant overall inbound visitor spend across 2017 was up 8% on 2016 to reach a record £24.3 billion.
- Spending growth outpaced visit growth in 2017, with the average spend per visit at £625, 4% higher than the 2016 average.
Journey Purpose
- Holiday visits were down 7% to 880,000 in December, continuing the downward trend of the previous two months. Between October and December 2017 holiday visits were down 8% on the same period in 2016 at 2.9 million. However, holiday visits in 2017 overall reached a record 15.2 million, up 9% on 2016.
- Visits to Friends & Family (VFR) were down 8% compared December 2016, at 960,000. For the 3-month period to December 2017 VFR visits were still 3% lower than the same period in 2016 at 2.9 million. However, VFR visits in 2017 overall reached a record 11.9 million, up 3% on 2016.
- Business visits is the only journey purpose to experience an overall decline across 2017 as a whole, down 5% to 8.7 million visits. Between October and December 2017, they were down 9% to 2.2 million, while in December 2017 business visits were 10% lower than in December 2016 at 550,000 visits.
- Miscellaneous visits are a combination of a wide range of journey purposes, including (but not limited to) short term study, job seeking, shopping, attending a sports event and more. Miscellaneous visits in December 2017 dropped 37% to 200,000 visits, while between October and December they were down 7% at 700,000. Due to records set for in January, February, April, June, and November 2017, the number of miscellaneous visits in 2017 overall were still 2% higher than in 2016, at just over 3 million.
Market Level
- Visits from All EU markets continued to decline, dropping 14% year-on-year to 1.7 million in December 2017. Visits from this market in the last quarter of 2017 were down 11% compared to the same period in 2016 at 5.9 million. For 2017 overall visits from All EU markets are on parwith 2016’s record levels at 25.5 million, with record-breaking visit numbers in 7 of the first 9 months of the year.
- Visits from the EU15 markets were down 11% to 1.4 million in December 2017, and between October and December 2017 were down 9% compared to the same period in 2016, at 4.9 million visits. Monthly growth figures for this region were uneven throughout 2017, but overall are on parwith 2016 figures at 20.1 million visits.
- Visits from Other EU markets continued its trend of double-digit declines, with December 2017 seeing 25% fewer visits than December 2016 at 320,000. In the last 3 months of 2017 visits from this market were down 21% at 1.1 million, however overall visit numbers from this market was on par with 2016 figures at 4.7 million.
- Visits from the Rest of Europe in December was the only market to see an upward trend, with visits in December 2017 up 26% to reach 170,000. The 3 month period to December saw a 21% increase in visits from this region at 700,000, setting a new record from these markets for the last quarter. Overall, visits from the Rest of Europe reached a record of just over 2.5 million visits, up 11% on 2016.
- Visits from North America dropped 17% to 240,000 visits, the third month of year-on-year double-digit decline in 2017. In the 3-month period to December visits from this market were down 8% compared to the same period in 2016 at 880,000. Despite these declines, there were 4 months of double-digit increases from this market during 2017, helping overall visits across 2017 to reach 4.6 million, up 8% on 2016.
- Visits from the Rest of the World were down 8% in December 2017 at 420,000. However, records were set for these markets in each month except August and September, meaning a record number of visits were received from October to December at 1.3 million, up 8% on 2016. For 2017 overall, a record 6.3 million visits were received from these markets, up 13% on 2016.
The full summary report for December 2017 can be viewed here.
