The provisional International Passenger Survey (IPS) data for January to March 2018 has been released, which also give the preliminary results for Q1 2018. Despite a downturn in the visits during Q1 2018 compared to Q1 2017, spending nonetheless reached record levels for the time of year.
Despite modest declines compared to 2017, VFR was the most popular journey purpose in Q1 2018, with holiday visits falling just behind after an 11% drop in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2017.
Visits from North America saw a 20% decline in March 2018, although stronger results in January and February mean only a 1% drop in Q1 performance compared to Q1 2017. Visits from the Rest of Europe also saw a dramatic 27% drop in March 2018, with results in Q1 falling 22% behind the same period in 2017. Visits from the Rest of the World however were strong and set new records for March, Q1 and for any rolling 12-month period.
Visits
- The UK welcomed 3 million visits in March 2018, down 1% compared to March 2017.
- Between January and March 2018 there were 7.8 million inbound visits to the UK, down 6% on the same period in 2017.
- A total of 38.7 million visits were made to the UK in the 12 months to March 2018, 1% higher than the previous 12 month period.
Spending
- Spending in March 2018 grew 13% compared to the same time last year to reach £1.8 billion, setting a new March record.
- Between January and March 2018 visitors spent a total of £4.5 billion, up 2% on the same period last year and setting a new record for Q1 spending.
- In the 12 month period to March 2018, spending grew 6% compared to the previous 12 month period to reach £24.6 billion.
Journey Purpose
- Holiday visits dropped 7% compared to March 2017 to 1.1. million in March 2018, and were down 11% to 2.5 million in the first three months of the year compared to the same period in 2017. In the rolling 12 months to March 2018, holiday visits had grown 5% compared to the previous 12 months to reach 15.1 million.
- Visits to Friends & Family (VFR) were down 1% compared to March 2017, at 901,000. In Q1 2018, VFR visits were 2% lower at 2.6 million compared to Q1 2017. A total of 12.1 million VFR visits were made to the UK in the 12 months to March 2018, up 2% on the previous 12 months.
- Business visits appeared to pick up following weaker performance in 2017. 818,000 business visits were made in March 2018, up 7% on March 2017. Business visits in the first three months of 2018 were up marginally by 1% at 2.1 million compared to same period in 2017, however the 12 months to March 2018 show 4% fewer business visits being made compared to the 12 months to March 2017, with a total of 8.8 million.
- Miscellaneous visits are a combination of a wide range of journey purposes, including (but not limited to) short term study, job seeking, shopping, attending a sports event and more. Miscellaneous visits in March 2018 were up 2% on last year at 204,000. However, these visits in Q1 2018 were down 15% compared to Q1 2017 at 580,000 and in the 12 months to March 2018 were 5% lower than the previous 12 months at 2.9 million.
Market Level
- Visits from All EU markets were up 4% compared to March 2017 reaching 2.1 million, however visits in the first three months of 2018 are 6% down at 5.4 million due to weaker January results. Visits from the EU in the 12 months to March 2018 are 2% down on the previous 12 months at 25.2 million.
- Visits from the EU15 markets were down 1% to 1.7 million in March 2018, and between January and March 2018 were down 9% compared to the same period in 2016, at 4.3 million visits. In the 12 months to March 2018, visits from EU15 are 4% down from the previous 12 months at 20.3 million.
- Visits from Other EU markets were up 15% in March 2018 at 463,000. During Q1, visits from this market increased 4% on Q1 2017 to reach 1.2 million. In the 12 months to March 2018, visits were up 4% at 4.9 million compared to the previous 12 month period.
- Visits from the Rest of Europe in March were down a dramatic 27% at 152,000 compared to 2017. Visits from this market in Q1 were 22% lower than in Q1 2017 at 430,000, although the 12 month period to March 2018 saw an increase of 3% in visits from Rest of Europe compared to the previous 12 months at 2.4 million.
- Despite positive results in January and February, visits from North America in March fell by 20% compared to the previous year at 293,000 visits. In the first three months of 2018, visits from this market were tracking 1% behind the same period in 2017 at 770,000, although visits in the 12 months to March 2018 were up 8% on the previous 12 months at 4.7 million.
- Visits from the Rest of the World set a new March record with visits up 7% compared to March 2017 at 385,000. Visits from the Rest of the World from January to March reached a record 1.2 million, up 2% on the previous year, and in the 12 months to March 2018 visits from this market set another record at 6.4 million, up 10% on the previous 12 months.
The full report for January to March 2018 can be viewed here.
