Record April for overseas visitors to the UK

NEW figures released show that it was a record April for the number of overseas visits to the UK and spend.

VisitBritain figures show that 3.7 million visits were made to the UK in April this year, up 19% compared to the same month last year and the highest April since records began. Overseas visitors spent a record £2 billion in April, 20% up on the same month last year.

The figures come on the back of a record first-quarter for inbound visits to the UK and spend. The figures bring the number of inbound visits to the UK for January to April this year to a record 11.8 million, 11% up on the same period in 2016 with visitors spending £6.2 billion, up 14% and also setting a new record.

Growth this year has been led from long-haul regions including North America with more than one million visits from January to April, up 16% compared to the same period last year.

There were a record 8.3 million visits from the EU from January to April this year, up 7% on 2016.

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Decline in resort costs cushions £ fall

WITH the end of the school term in sight, the challenge for families planning trips to the euro zone, will be how to get the most for their money and avoid busting their budget after sterling’s fall in value.

There is encouraging news for them in the Post Office Travel Money Family Holiday Report. This confirms that while resort prices are up on 2015 levels, when sterling was at a seven-year high, meals, drinks, and tourist items now cost less in several family favourites than in each year between 2011 and 2014.

Andrew Brown of Post Office Travel Money explains: ‘It’s all about putting today’s exchange rates into context. Sterling may have fallen recently, but when you compare its value with every other year since 2011 except 2015, holidaymakers can be reassured that the cash in their pockets will cover their costs – particularly as bars and restaurants in several of the resorts we surveyed have cut their prices to attract tourists.’

Families can expect to pay over a third less for a meal this summer than in 2011 in the Costa del Sol (£34.83 now compared to £53.92 in 2011) or Crete (£39.19 vs £58.82) and 40 percent less in Bulgaria (£27.83 vs £46.39).

Meal costs are lowest by far in Bulgaria. Families can expect to pay an average of £27.83 in Sunny Beach – 3.8 percent less than in last year’s record-breaking summer (£28.92).  The Algarve is another good bet for bargain hunters at £33.09 for a family meal. By contrast, holidaymakers visiting Sorrento (£87.09) and Ibiza (£100.15) will pay over twice as much as in Sunny Beach or the Algarve.

But Brown warned: ‘Keeping a tight rein on the holiday purse will still be crucial this summer and that is going to be a big challenge for many because our latest research found that only one-in-five families stuck to their budget on their last holiday.  The majority of families said they overspent by an average of over 25 percent – or £178 – on the £694 budget they set.

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UK to review VAT savings at airport shops

UK CHANCELLOR George Osborne has confirmed that the government will launch a review into airport sales to make sure Value Added Tax (VAT) savings are being passed on to shoppers.

Some airside retailers currently are keeping up to an estimated 50p of every £1 of potential VAT savings instead of passing those savings on to shoppers, says Mr Osborne. The government’s Revenue and Customs department has been asked to review airside VAT-free shopping to make sure that shoppers share more of the benefit in future.

The review is expected to be completed by early 2016 and will also cover all other airside shopping taxes.

Osborne said: ‘For families flying out of the UK for a winter get-away, airports should be the ideal place to pick-up a bargain. VAT relief at airports is intended to cut prices for those travellers, not be a windfall gain for shops. But many people could be paying over the odds for their purchases because the government’s VAT concession isn’t passed on. This is simply unacceptable.

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Sterling's strength boosts UK travellers' Xmas markets spending power

THE INCREASED purchasing power of the pound against the euro and other European currencies is giving British travellers up to 13% more spending power this winter over last year. 

The calculation comes from the latest analysis by Post Office Travel Money which identified #Budapest as the best value for a #Christmasmarkets break.


At £405 for a weekend break for two – comprising return flights, B&B accommodation, airport-city centre transfers, two evening meals for two with wine, coffee, festive drinks and snacks at the Christmas Markets – Budapest has overtaken its Eastern European rivals to become this year’s bargain choice.

This makes the Hungarian capital more than a third cheaper than Vienna (£653), the highest-priced city surveyed.

However, Prague remains cheapest of 12 Christmas Market favourites when it comes to meals, snacks and drinks for a two-day break, as well as travel to and from the airport. At under £72 for these items, Prague is 11.7% cheaper than Budapest and prices are almost two-thirds lower than in Stockholm (£207). When accommodation and flights are added to the barometer, Prague come second to Budapest with a total cost of £458.

The good value available to UK visitors has been boosted by sterling starting to rise in value against European currencies in the past two weeks. The strong pound means visitors to all 12 of the cities surveyed will have greater spending power than last year – almost 12% more in eurozone destinations, rising to 13.7% extra in Budapest.

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Picture Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/11946969@N00/11381802236">Christkindlmarkt</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license), http://www.flickr.com/photos/38218238@N03/14953777085">Budapest at Night - Chain Bridge</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/">(license)