Overseas Travel And Tourism December 2022 Provisional Results

26th April 2023

Visits to the UK by overseas residents, visits abroad by UK residents and spending by travellers, using provisional passenger traffic data.

Main points -
Visits to the UK decreased from 3.2 million in November 2022 to 3.0 million in December 2022.

Spending by overseas residents visiting the UK rose from £2.1 billion in November 2022 to £2.4 billion in December 2022.
UK residents' visits overseas fell from 4.4 million in November 2022 to 4.0 million in December 2022.

Spending by UK residents overseas in December 2022 remained at the same level as November 2022 (£3.4 billion).

Overseas residents' visits to the UK (3.0 million) were down 14% on the comparable month, December 2019 (3.4 million), before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

UK residents' visits overseas in December were also down compared with before the coronavirus pandemic; there were 4.0 million visits in December 2022 compared with 5.1 million in December 2019 (21% down).

Trends in visits to the UK by overseas residents
Visits to the UK in December 2022 (3.0 million) decreased by 7% on the previous month (3.2 million). When compared with pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels, visits in December 2022 (3.0 million) were down 14% on December 2019 (3.4 million).

Despite the number of visits falling, spending in the UK by overseas residents increased by 14% between November 2022 (£2.1 billion) and December 2022 (£2.4 billion).

Although spending increased between November 2022 and December 2022, it was still below pre-pandemic levels. Overseas residents spent £2.7 billion in December 2019 compared with £2.4 billion in December 2022; a fall of 11%.

For the first time since April 2022, there were more visits to see friends and relatives than for holidays. In December 2022, 1.2 million visits to the UK were made for visiting friends and family (41% of the total), 1.1 million (36%) visits were for holidays.

Trends in overseas visits by UK residents
The number of UK residents' visits abroad fell between November 2022 and December 2022. There were 4.4 million visits made in November and 4.0 million in December.

When compared with pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic levels, visits abroad are still down. In December 2022, visits are down 21% on the 5.1 million made in December 2019.

The amount of money spent by UK residents abroad was £3.4 billion in December 2022; the same as November 2022. However, unlike visits, this is a 9% increase from £3.1 billion in December 2019 (pre-coronavirus pandemic).

Europe was the most popular overseas destination for visits in December 2022, accounting for two-thirds (2.7 million) of the total visits abroad. Going on holiday continued to be the most common reason for visits abroad, 2.2 million and 55% of visits.

Read the full ONS report HERE