Data from Expedia Group shows a surge in visitors to the UK from a number of fast-growing international markets including China, Brazil and India, leading to growth for UK hotel occupancy in the first half of 2019.
Manchester now second only to London in attracting UK tourismAnalysis of the data shows a number of major cities across the UK seeing double-digit growth across the period. In part, this growth has been driven by visitors from the Far East with demand from Chinese travellers to the UK rising by an astonishing 185% year-on-year.
This extraordinary growth was supported by further increases in demand from visitors from Spain +30% YoY, Brazil +30% YoY, Japan +25% YoY and India +25% YoY. The traditionally strong US visitor market also grew by almost 20% YoY over the period.
London enjoyed the strongest demand amongst tourists, and encouragingly hoteliers in a number of cities across the UK also witnessed increased visitor numbers.
International and domestic demand for Manchester, Sheffield and Cambridge grew by around 15%. This growth saw Manchester overtake Edinburgh as the second most popular destination by market share after London for travellers visiting the UK.
Director, Market Management, London, Expedia Group, Helen Maher, said: “It’s exciting to see the significant growth in visitors from a number of international markets, in particularly the ongoing appeal of the UK among Chinese travellers.
“The continued increase in demand from valuable Far East visitors is great news for hoteliers – lengthier booking windows and increased on-property spend enable them to focus their time on maximising bookings during shoulder periods.”