Strong pound deters US tourists

Visitor numbers from North America to Britain in the three months to October were down 6% on a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said.

Tourist agency Visit Britain said other negative events including foot and mouth and flooding had also hit trade.

Smaller attractions had tended to fare better than larger ones, it added.

Soggy summer

For many tourist businesses, this year's soggy summer was the worst since 2001 when business was blighted by the foot and mouth outbreak and the 9/11 attacks.

"We have a reputation as an expensive destination and Americans are getting more adventurous, going to places like Costa Rica and Vietnam"
David Edwards, Visit Britain

Total foreign trips to the UK were down 6% to 7.9 million compared with a year ago, and down 1% compared with the second quarter of this year.

However, the amount spent by visitors while in the UK remained broadly unchanged.

With the pound hitting 26-year highs against the dollar above $2, a trip to the UK has become a lot more expensive for Americans.

In contrast, the US has become cheaper for British travellers, a fact which helped contribute to a 1% rise in overseas trips over the period.

"We have a reputation as an expensive destination and Americans are getting more adventurous, going to places like Costa Rica and Vietnam," said David Edwards, Visit Britain's tourism trends manager.

The euro's strong rise against the dollar is also proving a deterrent to Americans wanting to combine a trip to the UK with a visit to Ireland or other European countries.

Willingness to travel

After several bumper years for the industry, Visit Britain is predicting that overall visitor numbers will fall 3% this year before rising slightly in 2008.

Much will depend on developments in the US economy, although Visit Britain said the sub-prime mortgage crisis had not, as yet, had a negative effect on the typical US visitor's willingness to travel.

"The 6% decline is clearly concerning but it is probably about what we would have anticipated," Mr Edwards said of the figures.

On a brighter note, Visit Britain said London hotels had enjoyed a much better year than last while local attractions had benefited from people taking holidays closer to home.

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