TORONTO — VisitBritain has released its inbound tourism forecast for 2025, projecting an increase in both international visits and visitor spending in the UK compared to 2024. However, the pace of growth is expected to vary across key inbound markets.
According to VisitBritain’s latest forecast, spending by international visitors is set to reach £33.7 billion in 2025, marking a 7% increase over the expected expenditure in 2024. The number of inbound visits is also predicted to rise, reaching a record 43.4 million, up 5% from the anticipated 41.2 million visitors in 2024.
The United States remains the UK’s largest and most valuable visitor market. Spending by American travellers is forecast to increase by 9% in 2025, reaching a record £6.7 billion. This means nearly £1 in every £5 spent by international visitors in the UK will come from US tourists. Visits and spending from Europe are also expected to grow, although performance will vary across key European markets. Meanwhile, while recovery from East Asia lags behind other regions, improvements continue. China is projected to reclaim its position as the UK’s fifth most valuable visitor market, contributing an estimated £1.6 billion to the economy in 2025.
VisitBritain’s analysis also examines the UK’s global competitive position and long-term growth potential. If the UK’s inbound tourism were to grow at the same rate as projections for Western Europe, it could add an additional £4.4 billion annually to the UK economy by 2030.
50 MILLION BY 2030
Tourism Minister Sir Chris Bryant highlighted the UK’s appeal as a leading global destination.
“It is no secret that the UK is one of the best places to visit in the world. With bustling cities and towns, stunning countryside, beautiful beaches, amazing film and TV locations, remarkable historic sights and first-class culture and entertainment, there is something for everyone and we want to encourage more people to visit even more parts of our incredible country.
“We have an ambition to welcome 50 million international visitors a year to the UK by 2030, and this positive forecast shows that we are well on our way to achieving this, setting the scene for our visitor economy to maintain its competitive edge and thrive for years to come,” he said.
HUGE ECONOMIC IMPACT
VisitBritain CEO Patricia Yates emphasized the economic benefits of tourism:
“International visitors spend tens of billions of pounds in the UK with the money generated supporting jobs, businesses and driving growth for local economies, so it is encouraging to see the steady increase forecast this year on 2024.
“Inbound tourism is already delivering year-on-year growth in value of 7%, with huge potential to generate further growth for the economy. Tourism is also an extremely competitive global industry; visitors have a lot of choice, and we face fierce competition especially from our European neighbours. To drive tourism to Britain, supporting the UK Government’s ambition to reach 50 million visitors annually by 2030, our international campaigns are focused on markets showing growth including Australia and the US, as well as our major European markets and the valuable Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries.”
GREAT BRITAIN CAMPAIGN
VisitBritain is also working towards more economic benefits for regional destinations across Britain by way of a new global campaign, said Yates.
“Our recently launched global ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign is using the powerful draw of screen tourism to showcase our vibrant cities, contemporary culture and beautiful coast and countryside, alongside our welcome, encouraging visitors to broaden their itineraries, stay longer and to come now,” she added.
VisitBritain’s Starring GREAT Britain campaign aligns with research indicating that more than 90% of potential visitors are interested in seeing film and TV locations during their trip. The campaign, which launched internationally in late January, features a blockbuster-inspired promotional film highlighting Britain’s destinations as the stars of the show. This initiative is part of a broader global advertising effort designed to inspire travel through film and television connections.
In addition to its promotional campaigns, VisitBritain is working with international travel trade partners to convert interest into bookings, boosting visitor spending across all regions of the UK. At its recent Showcase Britain event, 120 top global travel buyers participated in film and TV-inspired educational visits to enhance their knowledge of British destinations, aiming to expand travel itineraries and promote regional gateways.
For a list of VisitBritain’s 2025 annual events go to https://www.visitbritain.com/en/annual-events-britain.
For more information on VisitBritain’s inbound tourism forecast for 2025, click here.
