U.K.'s Tourism Industry Enjoys Fresh Heights

The thriving tourism sector of the U.K., that already has been contributing $161.3 billion to the regional economy is not only prospering but also expanding by leaps and bounds.

As per the new government and industry statistics, the tourists from North America, Asia and the European Union continue to arrive in Britain at record numbers in certain cases. Visitors seem to be unaffected by the perils or risks associated with terrorism in the U.K.

Instead, they are trying to leverage the weakening of the pound following Brexit, Britain's exit from the EU.

Tourists heading to this region feel that that the recent terror attacks was on their mind but not enough to scare them away from this destination. This year, attacks in London have killed 39 and injured over 200. In the initial four months of the year, the tourism industry of the U.K. had touched a record 11.8 million tourists, marking a rise of about 11% from the same period in 2016.

Tourism from North America and EU was up by 16 and 11%, respectively as per VisitBritain, that is the official tourism website of the country operated by the British Tourist Authority.

In April, there were about 3.7 million tourists arriving in Britain marking a rise of 19% from April 2016.

Such increases are quite significant. And, the tourism sector of the U.K. makes up for 9% of the nation's gross domestic product. Three of the four terror attacks took place after April. But then, ForwardKeys, a travel analytics company mentioned that as of 17th June, international tourist arrivals through July and August have been running 12% ahead of last year.

The bookings have slowed down slightly after the London Bridge attack occurring on 3rd June, 2017 that claimed 11 lives and left 48 injured.

Having said that, there has been no significant trend of trip cancellations. An ad campaign co-funded by British Airways and American Airways of VisitBritain worth $3.7 million started running in the U.S. in April and it said that Britain is currently ‘a great value’.

One of the most popular tourist sites is the ‘Zebra’ road crossing outside Abbey Road Studios where the Beatles had recorded a lot of tunes. Even today tourists flock to this area and pose for selfies and photographs.