Driven by a cheaper British pound and a collection of celebrations, Britain may be looking forward to one of its best tourism years in 2017.
VisitBritain, the government-backed national tourism promotion agency, estimates spending by travelers will rise by 8% to £24.1 billion, or nearly $30 billion. That money will be spent by over 38 million visitors, up 4% from 2016.
Aside from the drop in the pound relative to other currencies since the Brexit vote, 2017 is also the 20th anniversary of the first Harry Potter Book and the 200th anniversary of Jane Austen’s death, and both are expected to draw plenty of visitors.
Many of the new expected visitors will be from the U.S. and China. The pound has dropped 10% versus the dollar, making Britain an even more attractive travel spot for Americans. Some hotel operators, for instance, report double-digit increases in bookings since the vote.
According to Sally Balcombe, head of Visit Britain, “These figures not only underpin a longer-term pattern of growth for inbound tourism, one of our fastest growing export industries, but also demonstrate its growing importance as a key driver for economic growth and jobs.”
