tourist statistics uk

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• Department for Transport

NTS 2023: Introduction and main findings

Published 28 August 2024

Applies to England

© Crown copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/national-travel-survey-2023/nts-2023-introduction-and-main-findings

About this release

The National Travel Survey ( NTS ) is a household survey of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a 7-day travel diary, which enables analysis of patterns and trends. This release covers the main findings from these travel behaviours during 2023. During 2023, there were no longer any restrictions due to the pandemic, therefore these trends offer an insight into how personal travel compared to 2019.

NTS 2023 was the first year since 2019 to operate with a fully face-to-face data collection. The final response rate for NTS 2023 was 32%. This is an increase of one percentage point since NTS 2022 (31%). The number of households invited to take part in the NTS was increased in 2023. This means that the number of individuals responding was 74% higher than in 2022 (8,087 individuals), with 14,102 individuals participating in the survey in 2023. Please see our latest technical report for more details.

These are accredited official statistics and were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2018. For more information, see the background information section.

Main findings

Average trips made by people living in england have increased by 6% in 2023 compared to 2022, however, trip rates remain lower than in 2019 (-4%) with 915 trips made on average in 2023..

There were increases in trip rates amongst private transport modes (such as car drivers, car passengers and motorcycles), and public transport modes (apart from buses in London which have remained similar to the previous year) in 2023. Trip rates for active transport modes such as walking and cycling have remained similar in 2023 compared to 2022. Trip rates for all transport modes were however still lower than 2019 (pre-pandemic) apart from walking and motorcycle trips.

Walking trips continued to show an increase of 5% compared to 2019 levels with 263 walking trips per person in 2023, similar to 2022 (267 trips per person). Where more than one transport mode is used within trips, 60% of these trips began with walking in 2023. Nearly all walks recorded in the NTS were under 5 miles in 2023 (99.8%). Most trips to and from school for trip length of under 1 mile were made by walking (80% for children aged 5 to 10 and 89% for children aged 11 to 16) in 2023. Average walking distance travelled was the highest on record since 2002 with 225 miles per person. In 2023, females of all ages made more walking trips on average and walked a greater distance than males, with the age group 30 to 39 making the most walking trips with 327 trips per person.

In 2023, average trips increased for both car drivers and passengers [footnote 1] to 363 trips per person and 185 trips per person respectively, however, these remained below pre-pandemic levels. Car driver was the most frequent mode to begin a trip, with 39% of trips. Females made more car trips than males, however, males made longer car journeys than females. Outside London, residents in England relied on cars for commuting, with 70% of commuting trips made by car by residents from urban areas outside London, and this increased to 81% by residents in rural areas (excluding London).

Half of public transport trips use a single mode of transport, the remaining half use more than one transport mode. Around 27% of multi-modal public transport trips in England involved more than one public transport mode. Average trips by buses outside London increased by 8% in 2023 compared to 2022 with 25 trips per person. This may have at least partially been impacted by the national £2 bus fare cap which came into effect on buses outside London from January 2023 under the previous government. Trip rates on London buses have remained similar in 2023 to 2022 with 14 trips per person. Trip rates on buses are however still lower than pre-pandemic levels. Secondary school children (aged 11 to 16) made 35% of trips to and from school which are 2 to under 5 miles in length by bus, and 47% of trips to and from school which are 5 miles and over in length by bus.

The most common trip purpose in 2023 was for shopping with 169 trips per person. Females aged 40 and over and males aged 60 and over made most of their trips for shopping in 2023. This was followed by commuting with 117 trips per person. Commuting accounted for the longest distance travelled with 1,055 miles per person.

COVID-19 and travel in 2023

The National Travel Survey has found that, broadly, personal travel increased in 2023 but had not returned to pre-pandemic trends. There were increases on many public transport modes such as buses outside London, London Underground and surface rail. Active transport modes (walking and cycling) remained fairly stable compared to 2022. This is consistent with Department for Transport’s COVID-19 transport use statistics which show that travel by various transport modes, whilst varying month-to-month, remained below the pre-pandemic reference point. Monthly domestic public transport use has grown during 2023, although it has remained below pre-pandemic levels.

Chart 1: Trends in trips taken, miles travelled, and hours spent travelling: Great Britain (1972 to 1988) and England (1989 to 2023) (NTS0101)

National Travel Survey mid-year estimates: year ending June 2023

A new statistical release showing mid-year estimates for the year ending June 2023 of travel behaviours by residents of England travelling within Great Britain have been published under the ‘official statistics in development’ label – formerly called experimental statistics. These mid-year estimates have been released in response to internal and external user demand and have focused on key indicators. Prior to the full annual statistics being published, these mid-year estimates show an early indication of trends within headline findings.

From the early 1970s to the early 2000s, the average distance people travelled per year increased, but the number of trips and time spent travelling stayed broadly the same. From then, miles travelled on average gradually declined, however the average number of trips per person and hours spent travelling remained broadly stable until 2019. In 2020 there was a sharp decline in average miles, trips and hours travelled compared to 2019, during a year when the coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic resulted in restrictions on travel. In 2021, average miles travelled was the lowest on record and remained at a similar level to 2020. Since then, average miles travelled increased to 5,974 miles in 2023, but remained 8% lower than 2019. The average number of trips and time spent travelling also increased in 2023 compared to 2022.

Chart 2: Trends in trips taken, miles travelled and hours spent travelling: England, 2002 to 2023 (NTS0101)

People made 915 trips on average in 2023, or 18 trips a week. This was an increase of 6% compared to 2022 (862 trips on average), but was a decrease of 4% compared to 2019 (953 trips on average). People travelled on average 5,974 miles in 2023, a 11% increase compared to 2022 (5,373 miles on average) but a decrease of 8% compared to 2019 (6,500 miles on average). People spent 353 hours on average travelling in 2023, an increase of 9% compared to 2022 (324 hours on average) but a 5% decrease compared to 2019 (370 hours on average). This includes 22 minutes per cycling trip, 21 minutes per car driver trip and 18 minutes per walking trip, on average in 2023.

Background information

The 2023 National Travel Survey ( NTS ) is the latest in a series of household surveys of personal travel by residents of England travelling within Great Britain, from data collected via interviews and a 7-day travel diary. The NTS is part of a continuous survey that began in 1988, following ad-hoc surveys from the 1960s, which enables analysis of patterns and trends.

Some key uses of the data include describing patterns, for example how different groups of people travel, monitoring trends in travel, including sustainable modes; assessing the potential equality impacts of different groups; and contributing to the evaluation of policies.

We always welcome feedback to help ensure that the survey meets the needs of users, and any feedback provided will help inform the future design and development of the survey. If you have any feedback, please email [email protected] .

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in September 2018. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and are labelled ‘accredited official statistics’.

Further information is available, including:

data tables

notes and definitions

guidance and quality information

future developments

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Email [email protected]

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All references to ‘car’ include a small number of vans.  ↩

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64+ uk travel & tourism statistics (2023).

London is one of the top five most popular cities for tourism worldwide. It’s truly an icon of the United Kingdom and the country’s leading tourist destination.

Well, have you ever wondered what the most visited attractions are in the UK?

Or how much money tourism brings in to the UK’s economy?

Below, we’ve compiled data from numerous reliable sources to present some of the latest statistics about travel and tourism in the UK.

Whether you want to learn more about UK tourism or are simply preparing for your next visit, you’ve come to the right place! 

Let’s get started…

Sources : You’ll find the source of each statistics directly under it, or head over to the end of the post for a full list of all articles and sources used.

Travellerspoint

How many tourists visit the UK each year?

In 2019, there were 40.86 million tourist arrivals registered in the United Kingdom.

What percentage of the UK economy is tourism?

The total contribution of travel and tourism to the UK’s GDP increased by 40% from 2020 to 2021, after plummeting dramatically from the £234.5 billion contribution in 2019.

Where does the UK rank in tourism?

With 39.4 million visitor arrivals in 2019, the UK ranks tenth in the top visited countries in the world.

How many tourists visit wales each year?

More than 1 million tourists visit Wales each year, spending a total of £3 billion annually.

UK Travel & Tourism Key Statistics

• The number of international tourist arrivals in the UK fell significantly to 11.1 million in 2020, which is a 73% decrease.
• Holiday is the main reason overseas tourists visited the UK, with 1.3 million visits being made for this reason, or 44% of all overseas visits. 
• With 4.2 million visits, Spain was the most visited country by UK residents in 2021.
• In 2021, 30% of all travel and tourism spending in the UK was for business travel, while 70% was leisure spending.
• London is the most popular city in the UK for international travelers, reaching the top 5 most popular cities worldwide in 2019 with 19.56 million tourists.
• There were 18,530 accommodation businesses in the UK in 2020.
• Hotels and similar accommodations are the most common accommodation type in the UK, with 9,837 establishments recorded in 2020.
• After London, the second most visited city in Britain is Edinburgh with 2.2 million visitors in 2019.
• The British Museum is the most visited tourist attractions in the United Kingdom according to 2019 figures.

UK inbound tourism statistics

How many tourists visit Britain each year?

1. There were 3 million overseas visits to the UK in June 2022, a 7% increase from the 2.8 million visits in May 2022.

[ons.gov.uk]

2. However, this figure is still 19% lower than the pre-pandemic levels, which was 3.7 million in June 2019.

In the UK and elsewhere in the world, pre-pandemic figures in travel and tourism are still significantly better.

3. In 2019, there were 40.86 million tourist arrivals registered in the United Kingdom.

[WorldData]

The number of tourist arrivals include anyone who spends at least one night in the UK but doesn’t reside there for more than 12 months. However, the survey excludes business and non-tourism arrivals.

4. The number of international tourist arrivals in the UK fell significantly to 11.1 million in 2020, which is a 73% decrease from 2019.

5. Holiday is the main reason overseas tourists visited the UK, with 1.3 million visits being made for this reason, or 44% of all overseas visits. 

6. another popular reason for visiting the uk from abroad was to visit friends or relatives (1 million visits or 34% of the total)., outbound tourism in the uk.

How many outbound visits are made from the UK each year?

7. In June 2022, UK residents made 7.8 million overseas visits, or 23% more, compared to May 2022.

8. likewise, this is also still lower than the 9.1 million recorded overseas visits made by uk residents in june 2019., 9. out of these overseas visits made by uk residents, 6.6 million or 85% were to european countries..

UK residents make up a significant portion of the international tourism in Europe .

10. With 4.2 million visits, Spain was the most visited country by UK residents in 2021.

This is still a significant decrease from the 18 million visits to Spain made by UK residents in 2019.

11. The top outbound travel destination for UK residents in 2021 was followed by France, Portugal, and Greece.

The UK is actually the top inbound travel market for France, with 13 million visits recorded in 2018 .

12. Great Britain is an important market for the Republic of Ireland, making up 42% of all overseas visits to the country.

[TourismIreland]

42% of all international visits to Ireland are made by residents from Great Britain.

13. 72% of those who travel abroad from the UK do so as a holiday.

14. meanwhile, 23% of uk residents travel overseas to visit friends or family., uk tourism spending.

How big is the UK tourism industry?

15. In June 2022, overseas residents spent £2.7 billion in the UK.

16. in contrast, uk residents spent £6.2 billion while overseas the same month., 17. the total contribution of travel and tourism to the uk’s gdp increased by 40% from 2020 to 2021, after plummeting dramatically from the £234.5 billion contribution in 2019..

This shows that in 2021, travel and tourism in the UK are beginning to look up again following the various restrictions of the coronavirus pandemic.

18. In 2021, 30% of all travel and tourism spending in the UK was for business travel, while 70% was leisure spending.

30% of tourism spending in the UK was for corporate travel.

19. In the United Kingdom, domestic visitors contributed 96% of total travel and tourism spending in 2021, compared to 81% in 2019.

The increasing segment of domestic tourist spending in comparison to international shows that international tourism has yet to recover in the UK.

20. Total travel and tourism revenue in the United Kingdom reached $18 billion in 2021, with the leading industry being hotels, generating $6.5 billion in 2021.

21. according to the statista mobility market outlook, revenue across all travel and tourism industries in the uk will grow and surpass pre-pandemic levels by 2023., 22. the uk travel and tourism industry generated a total of 4.11 million jobs in 2021. it has not yet reached the pre-pandemic levels of 4.28 million jobs in 2019..

Meanwhile, the number dropped slightly to 4.09 million in 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic was at its peak.

23. The median full-time salary of employees in the UK hotel industry is £20,300.

24. meanwhile, full-time workers in the passenger rail transport and interurban industry has a median salary of almost £40,300..

The rail transport and interurban industry remains one of the highest-paying one within all tourism and hospitality industries in the UK.

25. Solo travellers from the UK spend an average of €340 on flight and hotel, the most out of other European solo travellers.

British citizens who travel solo are recorded to spend €340 on average for their flight and hotel alone.

Domestic tourism in the UK

How big is domestic tourism in the UK?

26. The number of overnight trips in Great Britain almost reached 119 million between April and December 2021, which is nearly caught up with the pre-pandemic number of 2019.

27. in terms of trip purpose, residents of great britain took 45 million overnight vacations and 43 million overnight trips to visit friends and relatives in domestic destinations., 28. in 2019, british tourists took 1.65 billion domestic day trips within great britain..

Day trips here are used to refer to visits that last at least three hours, to destinations where they do not reside in.

29. Britons spend an average of £770 on staycations in 2021, a 12% decrease from the £874 average in 2019.

30. british tourists tend to prefer cities than countryside when taking day trips within great britain., 31. in 2019, seaside destinations were most popular with day trippers in wales (19%), compared to 10% of respondents in england and scotland each..

Residents of Wales show a higher tendency and preference to seaside destinations compared to day trippers from Scotland and England.

London tourism statistics

How much does tourism contribute to London?

32. London is the most popular city in the UK for international travelers, reaching the top 5 most popular cities worldwide in 2019 with 19.56 million tourists.

33. despite being one of the most popular cities for tourism, london is actually only the 27th biggest city in terms of population (8.96 million)., 34. london tourism has grown steadily from 2011, reaching its peak in 2019 with a total of 21.71 million international visits that year., 35. however, in 2021, overseas arrivals in london plummeted to just 2.72 million, which is an 87.5% decrease..

36. Visitors in London spent a total of £2,104 million in 2019, but fell to £409 million due the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

37. the 1.3 million overnight stays in london in 2019 also decreased to 300 thousand in 2020., 38. likewise, day visits dropped from 19.7 million in 2019 to 4.3 million the year after., 39. finally, the number of visits to attractions in london decreased by almost 80% from 2019 to 2020 (7.44 million to 1.56 million)., uk travel accommodation.

How many hotels are there in the UK?

40. There were 18,530 accommodation businesses in the UK in 2020.

41. Hotels and similar accommodations are the most common accommodation type in the UK, with 9,837 establishments recorded in 2020.

There are 9,837 hotels businesses in the UK in 2020, making it the most common type of vacation rental in the country.

42. This is compared to the 5,135 holiday and other short stay accommodations, and 2,270 campgrounds, RV parks, and trailer parks. 

RV ownership in the UK reached a record high of £1.15 billion in 2021 , which might mean that the number of campgrounds, RV parks, and trailer parks will increase even more.

43. Premier Inn is the most popular hotel brand in the UK. 74% of respondents in a 2022 survey stated that they liked the brand.

44. the second most popular hotel brand in the uk is travelodge with 56% stating a positive opinion on it..

45. The number of hotel guests in the UK is predicted to continuously rise by 23.92% within the next few years, reaching 48.21 million in 2026.

46. in 2020, there were 254 thousand airbnb listings in the uk, making it the top 6 country with the highest number of active airbnb listings in the world..

[AllTheRooms]

The UK has 254 thousand active Airbnb listings , the sixth highest number from all countries worldwide.

UK top travel destinations

What is the number 1 tourist attraction in the UK?

47. After London, the second most visited city in Britain is Edinburgh with 2.2 million visitors in 2019.

[VisitBritain]

48. It is followed by Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow, Brighton/Hove, Bristol, and finally, Oxford and Cambridget at the 9th and 10th spots.

49. 41.8 million tourists visited birmingham in 2017, 6.9% more than 2016, and generated £7.1 billion in revenue. , 50. more than 1 million tourists visit wales each year, spending £3 billion annually..

[Geography in the News]

51. Most tourists to Wales come from the Republic of Ireland, USA and Germany.

Wales is one of the four countries that make up the United Kingdom, and American tourists make up a huge proportion of visitors in Wales.

52. 40% of all visits to Lancashire in 2021 were to Blackpool, with a total of 18.81 million visits that year.

Blackpool is a famous seaside resort best known for Blackpool Pleasure Beach and its charming old-school amusement park. Its number of visitors has more than doubled since 2020.

53. The British Museum is the most visited tourist attractions in the United Kingdom according to 2019 figures.

54. this is followed by tate modern, the national gallery, the natural history museum, and southbank centre..

It is clear that art galleries and museums are some of the most popular types of tourist attractions in the UK.

55. In 2021, Windsor Great Park is the most visited tourist attractions in the United Kingdom

Windsor Great Park is the most visited attraction in the UK in 2021. However, the 2019 is more representative of the usual UK tourism as it’s not affected by pandemic-related travel restrictions.

56. The most popular destination in the UK for a winter staycation is the North West, with 17% of respondents stating that they intend to visit the region.

A staycation refers to a holiday spent in one’s own country or hometown as opposed to abroad or out of town.

57. 15% said that they intended to visit Scotland during their winter holiday, while only 4% were planning to visit Northern Ireland.

Travel bookings and behaviours in the uk.

How do tourists in the UK book their travels?

58. A 2022 survey in the UK reveals that hotels are the most popular travel products to be booked online, with 38% claiming they have booked hotels online in the past 12 months.

38% of respondents have booked hotels in the UK online in the past 12 months, which includes website and app bookings.

59. Another survey conducted among different age groups in the UK showed that people aged 25 to 54 years old prefer to use online travel agencies to book their overseas holiday.

In fact, the UK is the 7th most popular destination for Gen Z and millennial travellers .

60. Meanwhile, agencies and tour operators were the favorite choice for individuals aged under 24 years plus 65 years and older.

61. 48% of travelers in the uk tend to use their smartphone as a guide while traveling., 62. in june 2022, 46% of women in the uk claimed that they had not taken a holiday in the last month, compared to 44% of men..

The percentage of men and women who had not taken a holiday doesn’t differ by much, but in general, women tend to travel less in the UK.

63. At the height of the pandemic in April 2020, 73% of adults in the UK had taken no holiday in the last month. This percentage fell to just 45% in June 2022.

Overall, 13.8% of British baby boomers travels overseas.

64. After the pandemic, the number of people who searched for “glamping holidays uk” and “uk staycation” on Google grew by 400%.

400% more people searched for “glamping holidays uk” and “uk staycation” on Google in the UK, which revealed the growing interest in both domestic travel and glamping holidays.

65. British travellers comprise 6.61% of Booking.com's web traffic.

The UK is the second largest online audience for Booking.com (6.61%) .

From fish and chips to Big Ben, the Royal Family to the Beatles, the UK is one of the biggest countries in terms of travel and tourism—both as a destination in itself and because British residents are known to travel a lot!

We’ve tried to be as thorough as possible, but we might have missed one or two interesting statistics about the UK.

Feel free to comment with your thoughts!

Meanwhile, you might love some of these other stats:

• Digital Nomad Statistics
• Family Travel & Tourism Statistics
• Paris Travel & Tourism Statistics
• Pet Travel Statistics
• TourismIreland
• WorldData 1
• WorldData 2
• AllTheRooms
• VisitBritain
• Geography in the News

Leave a comment

Let us know what you think.

5 million people can't be wrong

United Kingdom Tourism Statistics

Page last updated: 12 Jan 2024

The United Kingdom is among the most frequently visited tourist destinations globally. The country’s economy benefits from tourism as it generates billions of pounds in revenue annually and supports millions of employment opportunities. 

How many tourists visit the UK each year?

• 2023 Projections: According to VisitBritain’s latest forecast, the UK is expected to reach 37.5 million overseas visitors in 2023 1 , marking a hopeful rebound from the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Peak Years: The highest number of overseas visitors to the UK in one year was in 2017 with 41.1 million visits, followed by 40.9 million in 2019 2 .
• Pandemic Impact: The year 2020 and 2021 witnessed a significant drop in overseas visits, with only 11.1 million and 6.4 million tourists respectively, due to pandemic restrictions.
• Recovery in 2022: The number of overseas visitors in 2022 increased to 31.2 million , but remained 24% below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
• Early 2023: Over 9.9 million overseas residents visited the UK between April and June of 2023 3 .

How many tourists visited the UK in 2022?

In 2022, the United Kingdom welcomed a total of 31.2 million visits which is nearly five times the number of the previous year (2021) with only 6.3 million visits. 3

• The top five inbound markets for the UK in 2022 included the USA , France , the Republic of Ireland , Germany , and Spain .
• The United States was still the leading inbound travel market for the UK in 2022 with approximately 4.6 million visits (14.7% of total overseas visits in 2022). 

What are the reasons people visit the UK?

People visit the UK for a variety of reasons, with the top three being holidays, visiting friends or relatives, and business.

• Holidays : Holidays are the primary reason for visiting the UK, accounting for 39% of all visits in 2022, with a total of 12.1 million holiday visits. 
• Visiting Friends or Relatives : The second most common reason is to visit friends or relatives, with 11.8 million visits in 2022, more than twice as many as those for business purposes. 
• Business : Business-related visits accounted for 5.1 million trips in 2022, making it the third most common reason. 

In 2021, visiting friends and relatives briefly took the lead with 3.5 million to 1.2 million visits for holidays. It was largely influenced by travel restrictions. 

Apart from the top three reasons mentioned, there are also miscellaneous visits which include travelling to study, attending sporting events, shopping, health-related reasons, religious purposes, and visits for more than one purpose. 

How much do overseas visitors spend in the UK?

Overseas visitors spent more on their trips to the UK in 2022 and 2023, after a sharp decline in past years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• Peak Years: VisitBritain forecasts further growth in inbound tourism expenditure in 2023, expected to reach £30.9 billion , surpassing the 2019 peak of £28.4 billion .
• Pandemic Impact: International spending in the UK dropped from £28.4 billion in 2019 to £6.21 billion in 2020 and £5.6 billion in 2021 but increased more than four times in 2022 to  £26.5 billion .
• Top spenders: Tourists from the USA were still the biggest spenders when visiting the UK in 2022, forking out £5.96 billion , over double the next biggest spenders, tourists from France ( £1.58 billion ). Followed by Germany ( £1.39 billion ), Australia ( £1.12 billion ), and Spain ( £1.06 billion ).

Which country visits the UK the most?

• In 2019, before the pandemic, the US was the primary source of visits to the UK ( 4.5 million ), followed by France ( 3.6 million ), Germany ( 3.2 million ), Ireland ( 2.9 million ) and Spain ( 2.3 million ).
• However, in 2021 (during the pandemic),  residents from Ireland led the way with a total of 0.71 million visits, closely followed by France with 0.68 million visits, and the USA ranked third with 0.66 million visits.
• In 2022, after the pandemic, the US bounced back to the top spot with 4.59 million visits to the UK, followed by France ( 2.83 million ), Ireland ( 2.51 million ), Germany ( 2.23 million ) and Spain ( 2.01 million ).

What are the most popular cities visited in the UK?

The top five most popular destinations in the UK for overseas visitors are London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool.

• The Natural History Museum, British Museum, Tate Modern, Southbank Centre, and The National Gallery are the five key attractions for visitors in London. 4
• Edinburgh: Coming in at second place with 1.80 million international visitors in 2022 (lower than the 2.2 million visitors of 2019), Edinburgh continues to attract visitors, despite a large gap compared to London.
• Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool: Following the Scottish capital, the next most popular destinations to visit are Manchester, Birmingham, and Liverpool, each of these cities averaging 1.2 million visitors.

UK Travel Resources

• Car rental prices across the UK
• Car rental prices in Edinburgh – comparison
• Car rental prices in London – comparison

International vs Domestic Tourism Statistics

• In 2017 , overseas residents made 41.1 million visits to the UK, spending £28.4 billion on their trips. UK residents made 1.80 billion domestic day visits within Great Britain, spending approximately £62.45 billion on their trips. 
• In 2018 , overseas residents made 40.3 million visits to the UK, spending £26.5 billion on their trips. UK residents made 1.43 billion domestic day visits within England, spending approximately £53.04 billion on their trips. 
• In 2019 , overseas residents made 40.9 million visits to the UK, spending £28.4 billion on their trips. UK residents made 1.65 billion domestic day visits within Great Britain, spending approximately £90 billion on their trips.
• In 2020 , due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, no data is available for April – December of 2020 as the IPS was suspended and the only data available is modeled. 
• In 2021 , overseas residents made 6.4 million visits to the UK, spending £5.6 billion on their trips. UK residents made 624 million domestic day visits within Great Britain (a record from April to December), spending £51.4 billion on their trips. 
• There were 945 million Tourism Day Visits to England (87%), 95 million to Scotland (9%), and 62 million to Wales (6%).

Pre-Pandemic:

• International tourism peaked in 2017 with 41.1 million visitors (compared to 40.9 million visitors in 2019 ) 2 , while domestic day trips within Great Britain in 2019 still hold the record with 1.65 billion visits 5 . 
• In 2019, international tourists spent £28.5 billion 2 , and domestic tourist spending amounted to nearly £92 billion 5 .

Pandemic Impact:

• The total international and domestic travel and spending in the UK fell dramatically due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Tourism in the UK was significantly limited between March 2020 and March 2021, resulting in a lack of data collection for that period.
• Domestic tourist spending dropped to £34 billion in 2020 (nearly 64% from 2019) 5 .
• In 2021 (April to December), 624 million Tourism Day Visits in Great Britain were made by British residents and spent £24.9 billion 5 .

Domestic Tourism 2022 – 2023: 

• London ( 18% ), the South East ( 17% ), and the North West ( 13% ) welcomed the highest shares of domestic Tourism Day Visits. 
• Visiting friends or family was still the main reason for their visits ( 78 million ).
• England had an 87% share of visits ( 257 million visits ) and 85% share of spend ( £10.2 billion )
• Domestic tourism statistics for overnight visits, the Top 5 were  Cornwall (4.0 million), Westminster (3.5 million), Birmingham (2.54 million), Manchester (2.49 million), and Leeds (1.9 million). 
• Domestic tourism statistics for day visits, the Top 5 were Westminster (41.6 million), Birmingham (19.4 million), Manchester (15.4 million), Leeds (14.9 million), and Liverpool (13.6 million).

How does tourism help the UK economy?

Travel and tourism contribute significantly to the economy of the United Kingdom (UK). They help to generate income, create jobs, and support various industries. 

• The total contribution of travel and tourism to the UK’s GDP saw an increased of 40% from 2020 to 2023. 
• In a typical year, the tourism sector contributes at least £106 billion to the economy and supports 3.8 million jobs , many of which are held by young people 2 . By 2025, tourism is expected to account for 10% of GDP. 
• In 2022, the combined direct and indirect contributions of travel and tourism to the UK’s GDP were 4.6% lower than in 2019. These industries provided a substantial £237 billion to the country’s GDP in 2022 2 . 
• Regional economies across the UK also benefit from tourism. Cities like London which generally sees 30 million tourists annually , while the Highlands of Scotland attracts 6 million visitors each year, generating approximately £1.2 billion and supporting 20,000 jobs 5 . 

This sector also helps to promote the UK’s culture, heritage, and diversity to the world, as well as to foster international relations and cooperation.

How many UK residents visit abroad each year?

• 2023 Projections: UK residents made approximately 23.4 million visits abroad in 2023 (April to June), a 14% increase compared to 2022 (April to June).
• Peak Years: 2019 was recorded as a peak year for international travel of UK residents which made around 93.1 million visits abroad.
• Pandemic Impact: The COVID-19 pandemic has a significant impact on international travel of UK residents. In 2020 and 2021, there were only approximately 23.8 million and 19.1 million visits abroad recorded respectively for each year, which were 25% and 79% less than the peak in 2019.
• Recovery in 2022: UK residents saw a recovery in international travel in 2022 as they made a visit abroad of around 71.0 million . However, it was still 9% below the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
• Early 2023: In the early part of 2023 (April – June), the largest number of visits abroad by UK residents were made to Europe, with a total of 18.4 million (which represented 8% of total visits abroad). This was an increase of around 12% from the same quarter in 2022 when 16.5 million visits were made.

How many UK residents travelled abroad in 2022? 

• UK residents made 71 million visits abroad in 2022, which was over three times the number of visits made in 2021 ( 19.1 million ). 
• Europe remained the top destination for UK residents in 2022, with 56.1 million visits, making up 79% of all international trips. This is still a lot, but it was 23% less than the 72.5 million visits in 2019. 3
• And holidays were still the most popular reason for their travel abroad. There were 45.6 million holiday trips made by UK residents in that year.

How much do UK residents spend on their visits abroad?

Like the overseas residents’ spending in the UK from 2021 to 2023, the UK residents also spent more on their trips abroad after a sharp decline in past years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

• In 2022, they spent £58.5 billion on their visit abroad, marking a significant increase of £43 billion compared to the previous year ( £15.5 billion). On average, each UK resident spent around £823 in 2022, indicating a 2% increase from 2021 and a 23% increase from 2019 ( £670 ).
• In 2023 (Apr to June), UK residents spent £19.3 billion on their visits abroad, a 14% increase compared to 2022.

Which country do UK residents visit the most?

When it comes to specific countries, both pre and post-pandemic, Spain and France remained the most popular countries for UK residents to visit abroad with holidays as the most common reason.

• There were 15.6 million visits to Spain by UK residents in 2022 , a decrease of 14% from 2019. France remained the second most visited, with Italy and Greece following in the rankings.
• In 2023 (Apr to June), UK residents made 23.4 million visits abroad, a 14% increase compared to 2022 (Apr to June). 

INBOUND VS. OUTBOUND

• In 2017 , the UK received a record number of 41.1 million visits by overseas visitors, who spent £28.4 billion on their trips. This was an increase of 5% in visits and 11% in spending compared with 2016. 
• Meanwhile, UK residents made 87.2 million visits abroad, spending £54.4 billion on their trips. This was an increase of 6% in visits and 7% in spending compared with 2016. 
• In 2018 , the UK welcomed 40.3 million overseas visitors, who spent £26.5 billion on their trips. This was a slight decrease of 2% in visits and 7% in spending compared with 2017. 
• Meanwhile, UK residents made 90.6 million visits abroad, spending £58.1 billion on their trips. This was a decrease of 4% in visits but an increase of 6% in spending compared with 2017.
• In 2019 , the UK welcomed 40.9 million overseas visitors, who spent £28.4 billion on their trips. This was an increase of 1% in visits and 7% in spending compared with 2018. 
• Meanwhile, UK residents made 93.1 million visits abroad, spending £62.3 billion on their trips. This was an increase of 3% in visits and 7% in spending compared with 2018.

How many tourists visited the UK in 2023?

• Over 9.9 million overseas residents made visits to the UK in 2023 (Apr to June). This was 1.9 million higher than the 8 million visits from the same quarter of 2022.
• Projections for 2023 indicate a remarkable increase in inbound visitors, with the UK expecting 37.5 million tourists, which is an increase of 92% compared to 2020. 
• The top visitor markets of the UK in 2023 are expected to be the USA , France , Germany , Ireland , and Spain . When it comes to UK cities, the most visited by overseas visitors in 2023 are expected to be London , Edinburgh , Manchester , Birmingham , and Liverpool .

How much do overseas visitors spend in the UK in 2023?

• Overseas residents spent over £7.9 billion on their visits to the UK in 2023 (Apr to June), an increase of £1.1 billion compared with visits in 2022 (Apr to June).
• The average spend per visit of overseas residents was £799 in 2023 (from April to June).
• Inbound visitors are expected to spend £30.9 billion in 2023

How many UK residents travelled abroad in 2023?

• From April to June of 2023, UK residents made 23.4 million visits abroad. An increase of 3 million compared to the same quarter of 2022 with 20.4 million visits.
• The most popular destinations for UK residents travelling abroad in 2023 are expected to be Spain , France , USA , Italy , and Germany . 

How much do UK residents spent on international travel in 2023?

• UK residents were recorded to spend £19.3 billion on their visits abroad in 2023 (April to June), which was £3.5 billion more than they spent in 2022 (April to June).
• Holidays remained the most popular reason for overseas residents to travel to the UK and UK residents to travel abroad in 2023.
• An estimated 31.2 million overseas residents visited the UK in 2022. This was an increase of 24.9 million visits from the previous year but still a decrease of 24% from 2019 when 40.9 million visits were recorded. 
• In total, 262.9 million nights were spent in the UK by inbound visitors.
• Visitors stayed longer in the UK on average in 2022, with 8.4 nights per visit.

How much do overseas visitors spend in the UK in 2022?

• The spending by overseas visitors in the UK was £26.5 billion in 2022, a decrease of 7% from 2019 but an increase of £20.9 billion from 2021.
• The average spend per visit was £848 in 2022

How many UK residents travelled abroad in 2022?

• In 2022, there were an estimated  71 million visits abroad by UK residents, a decrease of 24% from the peak in 2019, and an increase of 51.9 million visits abroad from 2021.

How much do UK residents spend on their visit abroad in 2022?

• UK residents spent a total of £58.5 billion during their trips abroad in 2022. This was a remarkable increase of £43.0 billion compared to 2021.
• In 2022, the average spend per visit by UK residents was £823 . This amount was not only 2% more than in 2021 but also 23% higher than in 2019.

How many tourists visited the UK in 2021?

• The UK received 6.4 million inbound visitors in 2021, a decrease of 43% in visits compared to the modelled number in 2020 as travel continued to be reduced because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

How much do overseas visitors spend in the UK in 2021?

• Spending £5.6 billion on their visits in 2021, international spending in the UK dropped 9% from the previous year and represented an 80% decrease from 2019.

How many UK residents travelled abroad in 2021?

• UK residents made 19.1 million visits abroad in 2021, which was a decrease of 20% from a modelled record in 2020, mainly due to the continued travel restrictions.

How much do UK residents spend on their visit abroad in 2021?

• UK residents spent £15.5 billion on their visits abroad in 2021, marking a 13% increase from 2020.
• An average of £46 was spent per day, as more visits were to visit friends and family rather than the usual holidays.

How many tourists visited the UK in 2020?

• The modelled data in 2020 shows that the UK only received around 11.1 million international visitors, a decrease of 73% compared to 2019. 

How much do overseas visitors spend in the UK in 2020?

• International spending in the UK dropped to £6.21 billion in 2020, showing a £22.28 billion decrease compared to 2019.

How many UK residents travelled abroad in 2020?

• The UK residents made 23.8 million visits abroad, which was a decrease of 76% in visits from the peak year of 2019.

How much do UK residents spend on their visit abroad in 2020?

• Modelled data in 2020 indicates that UK residents spent £13.8 billion on their visits abroad, representing a 79% decrease from the spending seen in 2019.
• Tourism in the UK was limited between March 2020 to March 2021, resulting in a lack of data collection for that period. However, the total inbound and outbound travel and spending in the UK (as measured by modelled data) fell dramatically due to the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. 

How many tourists visited the UK in 2019?  

• In 2019, there were 39.4 million visits to the UK by overseas residents, an increase of 1% or 0.6 million compared with 2018 but still lower than the peak reached in 2017.

How much do overseas visitors spend in the UK in 2019?

• The spending by overseas visitors in the UK was £28.4 billion in 2019, marking a 7% increase in international spending compared with 2018.

How many UK residents travelled abroad in 2019?

• In 2019, there were 93.1 million visits abroad by UK residents, an increase of 3% from 2018.

How much do UK residents spend on their visit abroad in 2019?

• The spending by UK residents abroad amounted to £62.3 billion in 2019, an increase of 7% from 2018.
• The average spend per visit increased from £642 in 2018 to £670 in 2019.

UK Travel Statistics Resources

• Edinburgh Statistics
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• Oxford Statistics
• Scotland Statistics

Europe Travel Statistics Resources

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• VisitBritain : Inbound Visits and Spend – Quarterly Data, UK ↩︎
• UNWTO : Tourism Statistics – Global and Regional ↩︎
• ONS : Inbound and Outbound Tourism, UK ↩︎
• ALVA : Visits Made to Key Attractions in the UK ↩︎
• VisitBritain : Domestic and Inbound Tourism – UK, Britain, England ↩︎

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Attracting more visitors, increasing spend, strengthening the economy: as a focused and highly effective agency, our activity really counts. Explore how we consistently exceed targets set by the UK Government, add value to the English and British tourism industry, and contribute significantly to the economy.

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VisitBritain generated £1.26 billion in additional visitor spend between April 2021 and July 2023 from our international and domestic marketing.

£210 million boost to the UK economy from VisitBritain’s ‘See Things Differently’ marketing campaigns in Europe, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and the USA from March to July 2023.

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UK TOURISM Statistics 2024

• / UK Tourism Statistics

Explore UK Tourism Trends & Statistics on Inbound Tourism, Spend, Employment, Popular Tourist Destinations & more!

It was predicted that by 2025 the UK tourism industry would be worth over £257 billion, however, the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic had other ideas, putting worldwide travel to a stop.  In 2020 there was a decline of 73% in visitors to the UK and 78% in tourist spending.

UK tourism is not back to pre-pandemic levels just yet, however, the total contribution of travel and tourism to the UK’s GDP increased by 40% from 2020 to 2023 and it's been forecast the number of visitors to the UK will increase to 35.1 million in 2023.

Read on for more UK tourism statistics & latest industry data.

TOP TOURISM  STATISTICS UK:

In 2020 the UK received 11.1 million inbound visitors , who spent £6.2 billion , a decline of 73% in visits and 78% in spending.

This represented a loss to the UK economy of £22.2 billion.

Monthly air passenger arrivals to the UK fell by 98.3% from 6,804,900 in February 2020 to 112,300 in April 2020.

It's forecast that the number of visitors to the UK could reach  35.1 million in 2023.

The total contribution of travel and tourism to the UK’s GDP increased by 40% from 2020 to 2023. 

The average Briton took 3.6 holidays in 2022.

UK tourism is predicted to account for 8.93% in 2028 .

The country most visited by UK residents is Spain .

Tourists spent around £14.2 billion in London in 2022.

There were 15.6 million international visitors in London in 2022.

How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact UK tourism?

How many tourists visit the uk each year, how does tourism contribute to the uk economy, what are the most popular tourist destinations in the uk, what are the most popular tourist attractions in the uk, how many jobs does tourism create in the uk, why do tourists visit the uk, the impact of covid-19 on the uk tourism market.

In 2020 the UK received 11.1 million inbound visitors, who spent £6.2 billion , a decline of 73% in visits and 78% in spending.

Domestic and international air passenger traffic fell to less than 2% of its February 2020 levels in April 2020.

London saw the largest fall in room occupancy, with just 20% of rooms occupied in July 2020 compared with 90% in the same month in 2019.

Accommodation and travel agency businesses saw the sharpest decline in turnover during the first national lockdown, falling to 9.3% of their February levels in May 2020.

Employment in accommodation fell by 21.5% compared with the same three months of 2019.

Domestic tourist spending dropped to £34 billion in 2020 from £92 billion in 2019.

Visit Britain is forecasting 35.1 million visits in 2023  and £29.5 billion spent (104% of the 2019 level and 14% higher than in 2022).

While international tourist visits haven’t bounced back to pre-pandemic levels, Visit Britain estimates they could come to 86% of the pre-pandemic level in 2023. 

In 2022, there were about 30 million international visits to the UK.

In 2022, UK tourism’s GDP contribution was £214 billion.

Tourism’s GDP contribution should grow by 3% annually between 2022 and 2032.

UK tourists spent around £45 billion abroad in the first three quarters of 2022.

COVID-19 impacted the UK tourism market when travel came to a halt around the world. Monthly air passenger arrivals to the UK fell by 98.3% and ultimately the losses represented a loss to the UK economy of £22.2 billion.

Inbound international tourism to the UK was the first industry to be affected by Covid-19 and will be the last to recover, although the UK isn't at pre-pandemic levels just yet, travel & tourism to the UK's GDP increased by 40% from 2020 to 2023 and the number of inbound visitors to the UK could reach 35.1 million in 2023. 

Where people have missed out on travel due to lockdowns, other factors are impacting whether people can afford travel. I ncreasing costs of overseas tourism stop 19% of Britons from enjoying a trip abroad, and personal finances and around  36% of consumers say they won’t be taking a holiday this summer – 14% say due to the level of their essential costs.

Sources: Money Transfers , KPMG , Parliament , ONS , Statista  

UK INBOUND TOURISM STATISTICS

The United Kingdom  ranked seventh in the UNWTO international arrivals league and accounted for 2.8% of global arrivals in 2017.

2017 had the highest number of visitors in one year (39.2 million) . This is almost two-thirds of the population of the UK.

The United Kingdom  ranked fifth place in the UNWTO international tourism earnings league in 2017.

There were 37.9 million visits to the UK in 2018.

Travellers from the US contribute most to the travel industry in the United Kingdom. 3.9 million American tourists visited  in  2018 and spent a collective £3.4 billion.

The USA, France, and Germany were the top markets in terms of the number of visits to the UK, accounting for 29% of visits in 2018.  These markets also accounted for 27% of all overseas visitor spend.

Visits to the UK for holidays reached a new record in June 2019 with 1.6 million inbound holiday visits (up 18%).

4 million people visited the UK in July 2019.

54% of all inbound visitor spend is accounted for by London . The rest of England accounts for 33%, Scotland 10% and Wales 2%.

Repeat holidaymakers  stay longer on their visits than first-time visitors. They also spend more on average per night.

Inbound tourism statistics show 2017 was a record-breaking year, there was a 9% increase in spend and a 4% increase in visits from the previous year. A whopping 39.2 million people visited the UK in 2017, this is almost 66% of the UK population. The increase in tourism in 2017 drove sales for luxury British brands, boosting Bond Street into the top three of the world’s most expensive store locations.

Tourism statistics prove that this industry is one of the UK’s most valuable sectors with 37.9 million people visiting in 2018. Over half of the visitor spend is spent within London which is not surprising as London is the third most visited city in the world after Bangkok and Paris. London will always be one of the most popular cities in the world because it has something for everyone when they go on holiday , whether it is the vibrant culture, the west end theatre or classic British food.

Sources : TheGuardian , UKInbound, VisitBritain , VisitBritain, Finder , ONS , Forbes

LONDON TOURISM STATISTICS

How many tourists visit london each year.

London attracts around 30 million visitors from around the world every year. The number of tourists visiting London has increased from 11 million in 2002 to more than 19 million in 2016.

According to the National Office for Statistics tourists spent more than 111 million nights and close to £11.9 billion . See the chart below to see who’s visiting London (Source: Statista ).

UK TRAVEL STATISTICS: SPENDING

£2.9 billion was spent on visits by overseas residents in July 2019.

In 2018, £7.3 billion was spent by overseas residents. This has decreased by 3% from the previous year.

For every £1000 generated by direct tourism, a further £1800 is supported elsewhere in the economy.

Inbound visitors will continue to be the fastest-growing tourism sector with spend by international travellers forecast to grow by over 6% a year in comparison with domestic spending at just over 3%.

37.9 million people visited from overseas in 2018 and spent £22.9 billion.

The UK accounted for 3.7% of international tourism receipts in 2017.

£604 is the average spend per visit in 2018.

There was a growth in spending across Wales (2%), North East (5%) , Yorkshire (2%) and East Midlands (22%).

$31.93 billion was spent by tourists in 2017.

Domestic tourism in the UK  remains the biggest component of tourist spending, with 2008 expenditures totaling £21.9 billion, according to VisitBritain.

3.8% of global tourism receipts are accounted for by the UK.

Tourism in the UK contributes immensely to the economy, there was a total expenditure of £22.9 billion in 2018 and had 37.9 million tourists. The average spend per visit is £604 with an average length stay of 7 nights. Although the UK is a small country, it still accounts for 3.8% of global tourism receipts and is the fifth top tourism earner in 2018. 

How much does tourism contribute to the UK GDP? Tourism contributes £145.9bn (7.2%) of the GDP, England’s tourism sector is vibrant and vital.

Students also help contribute large amounts to the economy, 500,000 students visit to learn English each year. These English foreign language students also spend £2399 per visit, this is four times more than the average spend. 88% of these students intend to come back to the UK for another holiday. Students generate £1.2 billion in export earnings for the United Kingdom every year.

Sources : ONS , VisitBritain , VisitBritain, Wikipedia, UKinbound , 

UK TOURIST ARRIVALS STATISTICS

6.9 million European residents visited in 2018, this has decreased by 3% from the previous year.

Between April and June 2019 there was an 18% (1.6 million visits) increase from the previous year in visits from North American residents.

Visits by European residents decreased by 5% (6.8 million visits) and visits from other countries decreased by 5%.

Certain markets are more likely to make repeat visits to the UK: 92% of holiday visits from the Irish Republic, 92% from Norway, 83% from Iceland and 80% from Belgium were repeat visits in 2015. Repeat visits are most likely taken by those who have been on holiday here before, as 50% of repeat visits are for holidays. This is followed by 21% who are visiting friends and relatives, 20% business trips, 8% study and 1% other.

Out of the top 10 visiting countries whose residents visited the most frequently in 2018, eight of these countries were EU countries (France, Germany, Irish Republic, Spain, Netherlands, Poland, Italy and Belgium). The only other non-EU countries in the top ten were Australia and the USA. This list has remained almost the same over recent years.

Sources : ONS , VisitBritain

TOURISM STATISTICS UK: BEHAVIOUR AND REASONING

In 2018 tourists visited the UK for the following reasons:

37.9 million tourists visited the UK in 2018.

15.1 million of those visited for a holiday.

11.8 million or 31.4% visited the UK to see friends or relatives.

8.4 million visited for business trips.

2.6 million trips were for other reasons.

During April-June 2019, 4.3 million visited for a holiday,

2.1 million for business and 2.8 million came to visit family and friends. This is just under 10% of UK GDP.

77% of inbound visits were repeat visits.

92% of business visits were repeat visits in 2015, 85% was to visit family and friends and 63% were holiday visits.

Those visiting for holidays reached a new record in June 2019 with 1.6 million inbound holiday visits (up 18%).

Business visits increased to 24% in June 2019 (800,000).

Why do people visit the UK? Business visits accounted for 22% of all visits in 2018 and contributed to a spend of around £4.5 billion. According to Visit Britain, 3.3 million business visits were made to attend small/ medium-sized meetings whist 1.5 million visits were made to attend larger meetings such as conferences, conventions and trade shows. 

Visits by overseas residents decreased in 2018 in comparison to 2017. However, holidays are still the most common reason why people visit the UK. There were 15.1 billion holidays to the United Kingdom in 2018 accounting for 40% of the total. The USA is the top visiting country followed by France, Germany, the Irish Republic and Spain. 

Sources : ONS, VisitBritain, UKInbound

UK TRAVEL INDUSTRY STATISTICS: POPULAR DESTINATIONS

Top Towns and Cities

London Edinburgh Manchester Birmingham Glasgow Liverpool Bristol Cambridge Oxford Brighton

Visits (000s)

19,090 2,363 1,408 1,100 837 803 598 547 526 459

The most popular tourist destination in the UK is unsurprisingly London as it is the capital. The capital attracts 8 times more travelers than the second most visited city in the UK. People love visiting this city because it is full of culture. The best museums and galleries in the world are located there, most of which are free. It also provides many options to see the most beautiful panoramic views such as the London Eye and a variety of rooftop bars.

Edinburgh is the second most visited city, known for its low crime rate and rich heritage it is understandable that Edinburgh is so popular. In England, Manchester is the second top city after London. Manchester has amazing cuisine; an assortment of museums and incredible nightlife and its number of overseas tourists is rising by 10% a year.

Sources: VisitBritain, Finder , UKinbound

UK TRAVEL FACTS & STATISTICS: TOP TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

The top three activities in which international tourists participated in during their visit included dining in restaurants, shopping and going to the pub.

10% of all visits  included a visit to the beach. This rises to 33% for those visiting Wales.

Walking in the countryside was the most popular outdoor leisure pursuit. This was particularly high in the South West and Scotland (41%).

9% of visits  include a trip to the theatre , this rises to 15% in London.

Sightseeing is the most common activity, with 16% of those only in the UK for a day doing some form of sightseeing.

International travellers described a possible trip to the UK as education over anything else.

The Tate Modern is the most popular attraction in the capital, with 5.9 million visitors in 2018. This is followed by the British Museum (5.8 million) and the National Gallery (5.7 million).

47% of people stated that they associate the United Kingdom with Museums, it is also the most popular attraction in London.

Wildlife attractions had a 4% participation rate, increasing to 6% amongst those visiting the South West, London and Scotland.

The South West literary offer was the second highest after London, with 6% including a literary/music/TV or film location visit during their stay.

The most popular tourist activity and attraction is sightseeing. Even if tourists are only visiting for one day, 16% of people manage to do some form of sightseeing. Walking is also another extremely popular tourist activity. London tourism statistics show The Tate Modern is the number one tourist attraction in the city, with 5.9 million visitors in 2018.

Activities specifically focused around ‘city life’ such as dining, socializing and shopping are the most popular things to do for overseas visitors. History and heritage also draw in a lot of tourists, alongside ‘Britain only’ activities such as iconic landmarks and famous attractions. Whereas, in the more rural parts of the UK, visiting the countryside, beaches, as well as national parks, are very popular amongst tourists. Tourists over the age of 65 are more likely to do unusual activities such as playing golf or researching ancestry.

Sources : VisitBritain , Finder

TOURISM EMPLOYMENT STATISTICS UK

Since 2010, tourism has been the fastest-growing sector for UK employment. By 2025, the tourism industry UK is set to be worth over £257 billion.

The tourism sector is set to grow at an annual rate of 3.8% through to 2025. This is significantly faster than the overall economy. It is also supporting 3.8 million jobs.

English foreign language students generate £1.2 billion in export earnings each year. This creates 20,000 jobs.

3.3 million people work in tourism-related businesses, 1.5 million are employed as a redirected result of expenditure.

There are 241,000 businesses in the UK travel industry.

The United Kingdom is the world’s 7th most popular tourist destination, therefore it is not surprising that this sector creates a lot of job opportunities. These UK tourism employment statistics demonstrate the importance of tourism for employment. Since 2010, tourism has been the fastest-growing sector for UK employment, accounting for 11.9% of all jobs and it is thought that by 2025, the industry is set to be worth over £257 billion. Travel and tourism overtook financial services (8.9%) and banking (3.4%) as the fastest growing sector in the UK.

Sources : VisitBritain, Finder , WTTC

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Now boarding: Faces, places, and trends shaping tourism in 2024

After falling by 75 percent in 2020, travel is on its way to a full recovery by the end of 2024. Domestic travel is expected to grow 3 percent annually and reach 19 billion lodging nights per year by 2030. 1 Unless otherwise noted, the source for all data and projections is Oxford Economics. Over the same time frame, international travel should likewise ramp up to its historical average of nine billion nights. Spending on travel is expected to follow a similar trajectory, with an estimated $8.6 trillion in traveler outlays in 2024, representing roughly 9 percent of this year’s global GDP.

About the authors

This article is a collaborative effort by Caroline Tufft , Margaux Constantin , Matteo Pacca , and Ryan Mann , with Ivan Gladstone and Jasperina de Vries, representing views from McKinsey’s Travel, Logistics & Infrastructure Practice.

There’s no doubt people still love to travel and will continue to seek new experiences in new places. But where will travelers come from, and where will they go? We developed a snapshot of current traveler flows, along with estimates for growth through 2030. For the purposes of this report, we have divided the world into four regions—the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East and Africa.

Our analysis identifies three major themes for industry stakeholders to consider:

• The bulk of travel spending is close to home. Stakeholders should ensure they capture the full potential of domestic travel before shifting their focus to international travelers. And they should start with international travelers who visit nearby countries—as intraregional trips represent the largest travel segment after domestic trips.
• Source markets are shifting. Although established source markets continue to anchor global travel, Eastern Europe, India, and Southeast Asia are all becoming fast-growing sources of outbound tourism.
• The destinations of the future may not be the ones you imagine. Alongside enduring favorites, places that weren’t on many tourists’ maps are finding clever ways to lure international travelers and establish themselves as desirable destinations.

The bulk of travel spending is close to home

International travel might feel more glamorous, but tourism players should not forget that domestic travel still represents the bulk of the market, accounting for 75 percent of global travel spending (Exhibit 1). Domestic travel recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic faster than international travel, as is typical coming out of downturns. And although there has been a recent boom in “revenge travel,” with travelers prioritizing international trips that were delayed by the pandemic, a return to prepandemic norms, in which domestic travel represents 70 percent of spending, is expected by 2030.

The United States is the world’s largest domestic travel market at $1 trillion in annual spending. Sixty-eight percent of all trips that start in the United States remain within its borders. Domestic demand has softened slightly, as American travelers return abroad. 2 Dawit Habtemariam, “Domestic U.S. tourism growth levels off as Americans head overseas,” Skift, August 18, 2023. But tourism players with the right offerings are still thriving: five national parks broke attendance records in 2023 (including Joshua Tree National Park, which capitalized on growing interest from stargazers indulging in “dark sky” tourism 3 Scott McConkey, “5 national parks set attendance records in 2023, and the reasons may surprise you,” Wealth of Geeks, April 16, 2024. ).

China’s $744 billion domestic travel market is currently the world’s second largest. Chinese travelers spent the pandemic learning to appreciate the diversity of experiences on offer within their own country. Even as borders open back up, Chinese travelers are staying close to home. And domestic destinations are benefiting: for example, Changchun (home to the Changchun Ice and Snow Festival) realized 160 percent year-on-year growth in visitors in 2023. 4 Shi Xiaoji, “Why don’t Chinese people like to travel abroad anymore? The global tourism industry has lost 900 billion yuan. What is the situation?,” NetEase, February 12, 2024. In 2024, domestic travel during Lunar New Year exceeded prepandemic levels by 19 percent.

China’s domestic travel market is expected to grow 12 percent annually and overtake the United States’ to become the world’s largest by 2030. Hotel construction reflects this expectation: 30 percent of the global hotel construction pipeline is currently concentrated in China. The pipeline is heavily skewed toward luxury properties, with more than twice as many luxury hotels under construction in China as in the United States.

India, currently the world’s sixth-largest domestic travel market by spending, is another thriving area for domestic travel. With the subcontinent’s growing middle class powering travel spending growth of roughly 9 percent per year, India’s domestic market could overtake Japan’s and Mexico’s to become the world’s fourth largest by 2030. Domestic air passenger traffic in India is projected to double by 2030, 5 Murali Krishnan, “Can India’s airports cope with rapid passenger growth?,” Deutsche Welle, February 7, 2024. boosted in part by a state-subsidized initiative that aims to connect underserved domestic airports. 6 “India is seeing a massive aviation boom,” Economist , November 23, 2023.

When travelers do go abroad, they often stay close to home (Exhibit 2).

Europe and Asia, in particular, demonstrate strong and growing intraregional travel markets.

Recognizing this general trend, stakeholders have been funneling investment toward regional tourism destinations. An Emirati wealth fund, for instance, has announced its intent to invest roughly $35 billion into established hospitality properties and development opportunities in Egypt. 7 Michael Gunn and Mirette Magdy, “UAE’s $35 billion Egypt deal marks Gulf powers’ buying spree,” Bloomberg, April 27, 2024.

Europe has long played host to a high share of intraregional travel. Seventy percent of its travelers’ international trips stay within the region. Europe’s most popular destinations for intraregional travelers are perennial warm-weather favorites—Spain (18 percent), Italy (10 percent), and France (8 percent)—with limited change to these preferences expected between now and 2030.

Despite longer travel distances between Asian countries, Asia’s intraregional travel market is beginning to resemble Europe’s. Intraregional travel currently accounts for about 60 percent of international trips in Asia—a share expected to climb to 64 percent by 2030. As in Europe in past decades, Asian intraregional travel is benefiting from diminishing visa barriers and the development of a low-cost, regional flight network.

Thailand is projected to enjoy continued, growing popularity with Asian travelers. Thailand waived visa requirements for Chinese tourists in 2023 and plans to do the same for Indian tourists starting in 2024. It has aggressively targeted the fast-growing Indian traveler segment, launching more than 50 marketing campaigns directed at Indians over the past decade. The investment may be paying off: Bangkok recently overtook Dubai as the most popular city destination for Indian tourists. 8 “Bangkok overtakes Dubai as top destination for Indians post visa relaxation, reveals Agoda,” PR Newswire, January 18, 2024.

A McKinsey ConsumerWise survey on consumer sentiment, conducted in February 2024, suggests that Chinese travelers are also exhibiting high interest in international travel, with 36 percent of survey respondents indicating that they intend to spend more on international travel in the next three months. 9 Daniel Zipser, “ China brief: Consumers are spending again (outside of China) ,” McKinsey, April 8, 2024. Much of this interest is directed toward regional destinations such as Southeast Asia and Japan, with interest in travel to Europe down from previous years. 10 Guang Chen, Zi Chen, Steve Saxon, and Jackey Yu, “ Outlook for China tourism 2023: Light at the end of the tunnel ,” McKinsey, May 9, 2023.

Given travelers’ preference for proximity, how can tourism stakeholders further capitalize on domestic and intraregional travel demand? Here are a few strategies:

• Craft offerings that encourage domestic tourists to rediscover local gems. Destinations, hotels, and transportation providers can encourage domestic tourists to integrate lesser-known cultural landmarks into their trips to visit friends and relatives. In France, the upscale hotel chain Relais & Châteaux markets historic properties that lie far from classic tourist sights—such as Château Saint-Jean in rural Auvergne—as a welcome escape from the bustle of Paris. In Mexico, the Pueblos Mágicos program has successfully boosted domestic tourist visits to a set of “magical towns” that showcase Mexican heritage.
• Fold one-off domestic destinations into fuller itineraries. Route 66 in the United States is a classic road trip pathway, which spurs visits to attractions all along the highway’s length. Tourism stakeholders can collaborate to create similar types of domestic itineraries around the world. For instance, Mexico has expanded on its Pueblos Mágicos concept by branding coordinated visits to multiple villages as “magical routes.” In France, local tourism boards and vineyards have collaborated to promote bucket list “wine routes” around the country.
• Make crossing borders into neighboring countries seamless. Removing logistical barriers to travel can nudge tourists to upgrade a one-off trip to a single attraction into a bucket list journey across multiple, less-trodden destinations. In Africa, for example, Ethiopian Airlines is facilitating cross-border travel to major regional tourist sites through improved air connectivity. In Asia, Thailand has announced its intent to create a joint visa easing travel among Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Source markets are shifting

The United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, China, and France remain the world’s five largest sources of travelers, in that order. These countries collectively accounted for 38 percent of international travel spending in 2023 and are expected to remain the top five source markets through 2030. But interest in travel is blossoming in other parts of the world—causing a shift in the balance of outbound travel flows (Exhibit 3).

North Americans’ travel spending is projected to hold steady at roughly 3 percent annual growth. US consumers voice growing concerns about inflation, and the most cost-constrained traveler segments are reducing travel, which is affecting ultra-low-cost airlines and budget hotels. Most travelers, however, plan to continue traveling: McKinsey research suggests that American consumers rank international and domestic travel as their highest-priority areas for discretionary spending. Instead of canceling their trips, these consumers are adapting their behavior by traveling during off-peak periods or booking travel further in advance. Travel spending by Europeans paints a slightly rosier picture, with roughly 5 percent projected annual growth. Meanwhile, the projected 12 percent annual growth in Chinese travelers’ spending should anchor substantial increases in travel spending across Northeast Asia.

Alongside these enduring traveler segments, new groups of travelers are emerging. Eastern Europe, India, and Southeast Asia are still comparatively small source markets, but they are developing fast-growing pools of first-time tourists (Exhibit 4).

India’s breakneck GDP growth of 6 percent year over year is bolstering a new generation of travelers, 11 Benjamin Laker, “India will grow to become the world’s third-largest economy by 2027,” Forbes , February 23, 2024. resulting in a projected annual growth in travel spending of 9 percent between now and 2030. Indian air carriers and lodging companies are making substantial investments to meet projected demand. Budget airline IndiGo placed the largest aircraft order in commercial aviation history in 2023, when it pledged to buy 500 Airbus A320 planes 12 Anna Cooban, “Biggest plane deal in history: Airbus clinches massive order from India’s IndiGo,” CNN, June 19, 2023. ; that same week, Air India nearly equaled IndiGo’s order size with purchase agreements for 250 Airbus and 220 Boeing jets. IndiGo later added an order for 30 additional Airbus A350 planes, well suited to serving both domestic and international routes. 13 “Airbus confirms IndiGo's A350 aircraft order,” Economic Times , May 6, 2024. The Indian Hotels Company Limited is ramping up its hotel pipeline, aiming to open two new hotels per month in the near future. International players are not sitting on the sidelines: seven hotel chains are launching new brands in India in 2024, 14 Peden Doma Bhutia, “Indian Hotels expansion plans: 2 new brands launching, 2 hotels opening every month,” Skift, February 2, 2024. including Marriott’s first Moxy- and Tribute-branded hotels in India and entrants from Hilton’s Curio and Tapestry brands. 15 Forum Gandhi, “Check-in frenzy: International hotel giants unleash fresh brands in India’s booming hospitality landscape,” Hindu Businessline , February 13, 2024. Development focus has shifted away from major metropolises such as Mumbai and Delhi and toward fast-developing, smaller cities such as Chandigarh and Hyderabad.

Southeast Asian travel spending is projected to grow at roughly 7 percent per year. Pockets of particularly high growth exist in Cambodia, Malaysia, and the Philippines. To capitalize on this blossoming source market, neighboring countries are rolling out attractive visa arrangements: for example, China has agreed to reciprocal visa waivers for short-term travelers from Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. 16 Julienna Law, “China launches ‘visa-free era’ with Southeast Asia. Will travel retail boom?,” Jing Daily , January 30, 2024.

Travel spending by Eastern Europeans is expected to grow at 7 percent per year until 2030—two percentage points higher than spending by Western Europeans. Areas of especially high growth include the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland, where middle-class travelers are increasingly venturing farther afield. Major tourism players, including the TUI Group, have tapped into these new source markets by offering charter flights to warm-weather destinations such as Egypt. 17 Hildbrandt von Klaus, “TUI develops Czech Republic as a new source market,” FVW, December 22, 2023.

Although the number of travelers from these new source markets is growing, their purchasing power remains relatively limited. Compared with Western European travelers (who average $159 per night in total travel spending), South Asians spend 20 percent less, Eastern Europeans spend 40 percent less, and Southeast Asians spend 55 percent less. Only 3 percent of the current Asian hotel construction pipeline caters to economy travelers, suggesting a potential supply gap of rooms that could appeal to budget-constrained tourists.

While acknowledging that historical source markets will continue to constitute the bulk of travel spending, tourism players can consider actions such as these to capitalize on growing travel demand from newer markets:

• Reduce obstacles to travel. Countries can look for ways to strategically invest in simplifying travel for visitors from growing source markets. In 2017, for example, Azerbaijan introduced express processing of electronic visas for Indian visitors; annual arrivals from India increased fivefold in two years. Requirements regarding passport photocopies or in-person check-ins can similarly be assessed with an eye toward reducing red tape for travelers.
• Use culturally relevant marketing channels to reach new demographics. Unique, thoughtful marketing strategies can help destinations place themselves on first-time travelers’ bucket lists. For example, after the release of Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara , a popular Bollywood movie shot in Spain with support from the Spanish Ministry of Tourism, Indian tourism to Spain increased by 65 percent. 18 “ Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara part of syllabus in Spain colleges,” India Today , June 6, 2004.
• Give new travelers the tech they expect. Travelers from newer source markets often have access to tech-forward travel offerings. For example, Indian travelers can travel anywhere within their country without physical identification, thanks to the Digi Yatra app. The Southeast Asian rideshare app Grab has several helpful travel features that competitors lack, such as automated menu translation and currency conversion. Tourism stakeholders should consider how to adapt to the tech expectations of newer travelers, integrating relevant offerings that ease journeys.
• Create vibrant experiences tailored to different price points. Crafting lower-budget offerings for more cost-constrained travelers doesn’t need to result in giving them a subpar experience. Capsule hotels, in which guests sleep in small cubbies, began as a response to the high cost of accommodations in Japan, but they have become an attraction in their own right—appearing on many must-do lists. 19 Philip Tang, “24 of the best experiences in Japan,” Lonely Planet, March 23, 2024.

The places you’ll go: The destinations of the future may not be the ones you imagine

The world’s top ten destination countries (the United States, Spain, China, France, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Italy, Thailand, Japan, and India, in that order) currently receive 45 percent of all travel spending, including for domestic travel. But some new locales are gaining traction (Exhibit 5).

A significant number of travelers are expanding their horizons, booking journeys to less visited countries that are near to old standbys. For instance, Laos and Malaysia, which both border Thailand—an established destination that is home to Bangkok, the world’s most visited city 20 Katherine LaGrave, “This is the world’s most visited city,” AFAR , January 31, 2024. —are up a respective 20 percent and 17 percent, respectively, in year-over-year international travel spending.

The world’s top ten destination countries currently receive 45 percent of all travel spending, including domestic-travel spending. But some new locales are gaining traction.

Several other countries that have crafted thoughtful tourism demand generation strategies—such as Peru, the Philippines, Rwanda, and Vietnam—are also expected to reap benefits in the coming years. Vietnam logged a remarkable 40 percent increase in tourism spending in the five years before the pandemic. Postpandemic, it has rebounded in part by waiving visa requirements for European travelers (while indicating intent to offer similar exemptions in the future for Chinese and Indian travelers). 21 Ashvita Singh, “Vietnam looks to offer visa-free entry to Indians: India report,” Skift, November 20, 2023. The Philippines has made a concerted effort to shift its sun-and-beach branding toward a more well-rounded image, replacing its long-standing “It’s more fun in the Philippines” tourism slogan with “Love the Philippines.” Peru is highlighting less visited archeological sites while also marketing itself as a top-notch culinary destination through the promotion of Peruvian restaurants abroad. Rwanda is investing in infrastructure to become a major African transit hub, facilitated by Qatar Airways’ purchase of a 60 percent stake in the country’s major airport. 22 Dylan Cresswell, “Rwanda plots ambitious tourism recovery,” African Business , July 28, 2022. Rwanda has also successfully capitalized on sustainable tourism: by charging $1,500 per gorilla trekking permit, for instance, it has maximized revenue while reducing environmental impact.

Tourism players might consider taking some of these actions to lure tourists to less familiar destinations:

• Collaborate across the tourism ecosystem. Promotion is not solely the domain of destination marketing organizations. Accommodation, transportation, and experience providers can also play important roles. In Singapore, for instance, the luxury resort Marina Bay Sands partners extensively with Singapore Airlines and the Singapore Tourism Board to offer compelling tourism offerings. Past collaborations have included flight and stay packages built around culinary festivals. 23 “Singapore Tourism Board, Marina Bay Sands & UOB partner to enliven Marina Bay precinct,” Singapore Tourism Board news release, January 25, 2024.
• Use infrastructure linkage to promote new destinations. By extending route options, transportation providers can encourage visitors to create itineraries that combine familiar destinations with new attractions. In Asia, Thailand’s tourism authority has attempted to nudge visitors away from the most heavily trafficked parts of the country, such as Bangkok and Phuket, and toward less popular destinations.
• Deploy social media to reach different demographics. Innovative social media campaigns can help put a destination on the map. Australia launched its “Ruby the kangaroo” campaign in China to coincide with the return of postpandemic air capacity between the two places. A video adapted for Chinese context (with appropriate gestures and a hashtag in Mandarin) garnered more than 20 million views in a single day on one of China’s largest social media platforms. 24 Nicole Gong, “Can Ruby the kangaroo bring Chinese tourists hopping back to Australia?,” SBS, June 5, 2023.
• Embrace unknown status. “Off the beaten path” messaging can appeal to widely traveled tourists seeking fresh experiences. Saudi Arabia’s “#WhereInTheWorld” campaign promoted the country’s tourist spots by acknowledging that they are less familiar to travelers, using a series of images that compared these spots with better-known destinations.

As tourism stakeholders look to the future, they can take steps to ensure that they continue to delight existing travelers while also embracing new ones. Domestic and intraregional tourism remain major opportunities—catering to local tourists’ preferences while building infrastructure that makes travel more seamless within a region could help capture them. Creative collaboration among tourism stakeholders can help put lesser-known destinations on the map. Travel tides are shifting. Expertly navigating these currents could yield rich rewards.

Caroline Tufft is a senior partner in McKinsey’s London office, Margaux Constantin is a partner in the Dubai office, Matteo Pacca is a senior partner in the Paris office, Ryan Mann is a partner in the Chicago office, Ivan Gladstone is an associate partner in the Riyadh office, and Jasperina de Vries is an associate partner in the Amsterdam office.

The authors wish to thank Abdulhadi Alghamdi, Alessandra Powell, Alex Dichter, Cedric Tsai, Diane Vu, Elisa Wallwitz, Lily Miller, Maggie Coffey, Nadya Snezhkova, Nick Meronyk, Paulina Baum, Peimin Suo, Rebecca Stone, Sarah Fellay, Sarah Sahel, Steffen Fuchs, Steffen Köpke, Steve Saxon, Sophia Wang, and Urs Binggeli for their contributions to this article.

This article was edited by Seth Stevenson, a senior editor in the New York office.

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• NEWS EXPLAINER
• 28 August 2024

Mpox is spreading rapidly. Here are the questions researchers are racing to answer

• Sara Reardon

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Monkeypox virus particles (shown in this coloured electron micrograph) can spread through close contact with people and animals. Credit: NIAID/Science Photo Library

When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a public-health emergency over mpox earlier this month , it was because a concerning form of the virus that causes the disease had spread to multiple African countries where it had never been seen before. Since then, two people travelling to Africa — one from Sweden and one from Thailand — have become infected with that type of virus, called clade Ib, and brought it back to their countries.

Monkeypox virus: dangerous strain gains ability to spread through sex, new data suggest

Although researchers have known about the current outbreak since late last year, the need for answers about it is now more pressing than ever. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has spent decades grappling with monkeypox clade I virus — the lineage to which Ib belongs. But in the past, clade I infections usually arose when a person came into contact with wild animals, and outbreaks would fizzle out.

Clade Ib seems to be different, and is spreading largely through contact between humans, including through sex . Around 18,000 suspected cases of mpox, many of them among children, and at least 600 deaths potentially attributable to the disease have been reported this year in the DRC alone.

How does this emergency compare with one declared in 2022, when mpox cases spread around the globe? How is this virus behaving compared with the version that triggered that outbreak, a type called clade II? And will Africa be able to rein this one in? Nature talks to researchers about information they are rushing to gather.

Is clade Ib more deadly than the other virus types?

It’s hard to determine, says Jason Kindrachuk, a virologist at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada. He says that the DRC is experiencing two outbreaks simultaneously. The clade I virus, which has been endemic in forested regions of the DRC for decades, circulates in rural regions, where people get it from animals. That clade was renamed Ia after the discovery of clade Ib. Studies in animals suggest that clade I is deadlier than clade II 1 — but Kindrachuk says that it’s hard to speculate on what that means for humans at this point.

Even when not fatal, mpox can trigger fevers, aches and painful fluid-filled skin lesions.

Growing mpox outbreak prompts WHO to declare global health emergency

Although many reports state that 10% of clade I infections in humans are fatal, infectious-disease researcher Laurens Liesenborghs at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, doubts that this figure is accurate. Even the WHO’s latest estimate of a 3.5% fatality rate for people with mpox in the DRC might be high.

There are many reasons that fatality estimates might be unreliable, Liesenborghs says. For one, surveillance data capture only the most severe cases; many people who are less ill might not seek care at hospitals or through physicians, so their infections go unreported.

Another factor that can confound fatality rates is a secondary health condition. For example, people living with HIV — who can represent a large proportion of the population in many African countries — die from mpox at twice the rate of the general population 2 , especially if their HIV is untreated. And the relatively high death rate among children under age 5 could be partly because of malnutrition, which is common among kids in rural parts of the DRC, Liesenborghs says.

Is clade Ib more transmissible than other types?

The clade Ib virus has garnered particular attention because epidemiological data suggest that it transmits more readily between people than previous strains did, including through sexual activity, whereas clade Ia mostly comes from animals. An analysis posted ahead of peer review on the preprint server medRxiv 3 shows that clade Ib’s genome contains genetic mutations that seem to have been induced by the human immune system, suggesting that it has been in humans for some time. Clade Ia genomes have fewer of these mutations.

But Liesenborghs says that the mutations and clades might not be the most important factor in understanding how monkeypox virus spreads. Although distinguishing Ia from Ib is useful in tracking the disease, he says, the severity and transmissibility of the disease could be affected more by the region where the virus is circulating and the people there. Clade Ia, for instance, seems to be more common in sparsely populated rural regions where it is less likely to spread far. Clade Ib is cropping up in densely populated areas and spreading more readily.

Jean Nachega, an infectious-disease physician at the University of Pittsburgh in Pennsylvania, says that scientists don’t understand many aspects of mpox transmission — they haven’t even determined which animal serves as a reservoir for the virus in the wild, although rodents are able to carry it. “We have to be very humble,” Nachega says.

How effective are vaccines against the clade I virus?

Just as was the case during the COVID-19 pandemic, health experts are looking to vaccines to help curb this mpox outbreak. Although there are no vaccines designed specifically against the monkeypox virus, there are two vaccines proven to ward off a related poxvirus — the one that causes smallpox. Jynneos, made by biotechnology company Bavarian Nordic in Hellerup, Denmark, contains a type of poxvirus that can’t replicate but can trigger an immune response. LC16m8, made by pharmaceutical company KM Biologics in Kumamoto, Japan, contains a live — but weakened — version of a different poxvirus strain.

Hopes dashed for drug aimed at monkeypox virus spreading in Africa

Still, it’s unclear how effective these smallpox vaccines are against mpox generally. Dimie Ogoina, an infectious-disease specialist at Niger Delta University in Wilberforce Island, Nigeria, points out that vaccines have been tested only against clade II virus in European and US populations, because these shots were distributed by wealthy nations during the 2022 global outbreak . And those recipients were primarily young, healthy men who have sex with men, a population that was particularly susceptible during that outbreak. One study in the United States found that one dose of Jynneos was 80% effective at preventing the disease in at-risk people, whereas two doses were 82% effective 4 ; the WHO recommends getting both jabs.

People in Africa infected with either the clade Ia or Ib virus — especially children and those with compromised immune systems — might respond differently. However, one study in the DRC found that the Jynneos vaccine generally raised antibodies against mpox in about 1,000 health-care workers who received it 5 .

But researchers are trying to fill in some data gaps. A team in the DRC is about to launch a clinical trial of Jynneos in people who have come into close contact with the monkeypox virus — but have not shown symptoms — to see whether it can prevent future infection, or improve outcomes if an infection arises.

Will the vaccines help to rein in the latest outbreak?

Mpox vaccines have been largely unavailable in Africa, but several wealthy countries have pledged to donate doses to the DRC and other affected African nations. The United States has offered 50,000 Jynneos doses from its national stockpile, and the European Union has ordered 175,000, with individual member countries pledging extra doses. Bavarian Nordic has also added another 40,000. Japan has offered 3.5 million doses of LC16m8 — for which only one jab is recommended instead of two.

Monkeypox in Africa: the science the world ignored

None of them have arrived yet, though, says Espoir Bwenge Malembaka, an epidemiologist at the Catholic University of Bukavu in the DRC. Low- and middle-income nations cannot receive vaccines until the WHO has deemed the jabs safe and effective. And the WHO has not given its thumbs up yet. It is evaluating data from vaccine manufacturers, delaying donors’ ability to send the vaccines.

Even when the vaccines arrive, Bwenge Malembaka says, “it’s really a drop in the bucket”. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, estimates that 10 million doses are needed to rein in the outbreak.

Bwenge Malembaka says that the uncertainty over vaccine arrival has made it difficult for the government to form a distribution plan. “I don’t know how one can go about this kind of challenge,” he says. Bwenge Malembaka suspects that children are likely to receive doses first, because they are highly vulnerable to clade I, but officials haven’t decided which regions to target. It’s also unclear how the government would prioritize other vulnerable populations such as sex workers, who have been affected by clade Ib. Their profession is criminalized in the DRC, so they might not be able to come forward for treatment.

Researchers lament that public-health organizations didn’t provide vaccines and other resources as soon as the clade I outbreak was identified, especially given lessons learnt from the 2022 global mpox outbreak. “The opportunity was there a couple months ago to cut this transmission chain, but resources weren’t available,” Liesenborghs says. “Now, it will be more challenging to tackle this outbreak, and the population at risk is much broader.”

Nature 633 , 16-17 (2024)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-024-02793-9

Americo, J. L., Earl, P. L. & Moss, B. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 120 , e2220415120 (2023).

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Kinganda-Lusamaki, E. et al. Preprint at medRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.08.13.24311951 (2024).

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