Britain’s tourism industry has always been good at welcoming the world. What it hasn’t always done well is undersell itself. A major new report from VisitBritain/VisitEngland puts that right, laying out in sober, spreadsheet-backed detail just how central tourism has become to the UK economy and how much more it could still deliver.
According to the newly released Economic Value of Tourism in the United Kingdom report, tourism is now worth £147 billion a year to the UK economy when both direct activity and supply-chain impacts are included. That’s roughly five per cent of national GDP, placing tourism comfortably ahead of some of the country’s most vaunted sectors. In fact, tourism is now larger than the insurance and pensions industries combined and employs more people than financial services and insurance combined.
In an economy often obsessed with productivity graphs and export spreadsheets, tourism has quietly become one of Britain’s most reliable heavy lifters.
A tax engine hiding in plain sight
Perhaps the most eye-catching figure in the report is one that cuts through even the hardest Treasury scepticism: tax. In 2024 alone, tourism generated £52 billion in tax revenues for the UK Government, a sum equivalent to more than half the entire NHS wages bill in England.
For an industry sometimes dismissed as seasonal or discretionary, that contribution lands with real weight in Whitehall.
Tourism Minister Stephanie Peacock was clear-eyed about the scale of the sector and the people who drive it.
“From rich culture and historical landmarks to beautiful landscapes and coastal communities, the UK is one of the best and most visited holiday destinations in the world. Without the incredible workforce behind the tourism industry, it wouldn’t be the powerhouse that it is today,” Peacock said.
“The economic contribution of the tourism sector is clear, and the Government is ambitious about ensuring it can continue to grow. That is why we are committed to publishing a joint growth plan with the sector in the spring.”
For an industry long calling for joined-up policy rather than piecemeal support, that promise will be closely watched.
Jobs, skills and first pay cheques
Tourism’s role as a national employer is equally striking. The industry currently supports around 2.4 million jobs, or nearly one in every 15 jobs across the UK. Importantly, its footprint is not confined to London or headline cities. Tourism accounts for at least five per cent of employment in every region and nation of Britain, making it one of the few industries with genuinely national reach.
It also plays a quietly critical role in workforce development. Tourism is often the first rung on the employment ladder, providing initial jobs, transferable skills, and early-career upskilling for younger workers. By 2030, the sector is forecast to create an additional 175,000 jobs, reinforcing its long-term relevance in a changing labour market.
Growth that outpaces the wider economy
Looking ahead, the numbers become even more compelling. Total tourism activity in the UK is projected to reach £161 billion in 2024 prices by 2030, representing real-terms growth of 9.3 per cent. That outpaces the broader UK economy, which is forecast to grow by 8.8 per cent over the same period.
Much of that momentum will come from inbound travel. The report forecasts a 32 per cent increase in inbound tourism value, equivalent to £9.4 billion, between 2024 and 2030. For an export industry that brings its customers directly to the product, that matters.
Domestic travel: still the quiet backbone
While international visitors often dominate headlines, the report underscores the crucial role of domestic tourism, particularly in rural and coastal Britain. Eighty-four per cent of domestic overnight tourism spending occurs outside London, supporting communities that would otherwise struggle to attract year-round economic activity.
There is also a tantalising “what if” buried in the data. If just 10 per cent of what Brits currently spend travelling overseas were redirected into domestic holidays, the UK economy would enjoy an £8 billion annual boost. It’s a figure that has not gone unnoticed.
VisitEngland is already moving forward, preparing to launch a pilot domestic marketing campaign to drive short breaks to North West coastal destinations ahead of this summer, a targeted effort to turn staycation sentiment into measurable spend.
Competitive pressures are real
For all the upbeat numbers, the report does not shy away from the challenges ahead. VisitBritain/VisitEngland CEO Patricia Yates struck a measured but candid note.
“This research underscores tourism’s importance as one of the UK’s most valuable industries, driving economic growth for every nation and region and supporting our high streets, hospitality businesses, cultural institutions and our communities,” Yates said.
“The billions in tax revenues generated by tourism also shows how spending by domestic and international visitors contributes to services that benefit everyone.”
But she was equally frank about emerging risks.
“There are however challenges. The decline of domestic holidays has hit coastal destinations particularly hard as consumers wrestle with cost-of-living pressures and businesses with the higher cost of doing business. Longer-term international forecasts meanwhile show the UK is starting to lose its competitive position globally and inbound visits remain London-centric.”
In other words, success is not guaranteed by heritage alone.
Where will the next visitors come from
The report also maps future inbound growth markets with precision. The United States remains the cornerstone, forecast to be worth £7.6 billion to the UK economy in 2026, accounting for more than £1 in every £5 of inbound visitor pounds spent.
Beyond the US, growth is expected to accelerate in China and India, with combined inbound tourism value projected to increase by 12 per cent annually by 2030. Meanwhile, the UK continues to punch above its weight in the Gulf, already capturing around 30 per cent of all Western European trips from high-spending travellers in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The message is clear: diversification matters, but competition is intensifying.
A sector too big to ignore
Findings from the Economic Value of Tourism in the United Kingdom report are now being shared with the government to help shape future policy and track the industry’s progress over time, in line with VisitBritain/VisitEngland’s statutory advisory role.
For travel businesses, destination marketers and policymakers alike, the takeaway is hard to dispute. Tourism is no longer a “nice-to-have” industry riding on sentiment and sunshine. It is a £147 billion economic engine, deeply embedded in Britain’s jobs market, tax base and regional economies.
The challenge now is not proving its worth the numbers have done that but ensuring Britain remains competitive enough to keep the world coming, and confident enough to encourage its own citizens to holiday at home.
by Jill Walsh – (c) 2026.
Read Time: 5 minutes.
About the Writer.
Jill Walsh has always kept a pen close and a suitcase closer. She started out on media releases, then learned the trade properly by escorting press trips around the world, discovering which stories travel well and which need a sharper edit.
Before long, she wasn’t just promoting destinations, she was representing them, translating civic ambition and local pride into words people actually wanted to read. These days, semi-retired and happily so, Jill has traded departure boards for deadlines, joining old friend and colleague Stephen at Global Travel Media on a casual basis.
Her patch is the business end of wanderlust: balance sheets, route maps, tender wins and the numbers that quietly decide where travellers go. She writes with dry humour, clean prose and an old-school respect for facts, a steady voice when the market starts shouting.
