There is a long-standing misconception among some that outbound travel takes value out of the UK economy. An important part of ABTA’s ongoing lobbying work is to challenge that view and demonstrate the value of outbound travel.

We do this by gathering and sharing solid data which show the contribution people’s holidays and business trips make to the UK economy, the jobs they support, and the tax revenues paid. 

We’ve conducted three pieces of research of this kind, with the fourth, set to be released in full in October, finding that outbound travel is worth £49bn to the UK economy annually (Gross Value Added) and supports 720,000 jobs across the UK. 

It also reveals that travellers are big spenders in their local communities before departure, with £51bn spent each year by consumers in UK before they head on their trips overseas.

Last week the Government announced its Growth Plan, and in our media response I made the point that outbound travel has a history of driving growth, and we expect that to be the case again. The research finds that with the right tax and policy framework the UK outbound travel industry is forecast to grow 15% by 2027, from 2019 levels.

We will be using this latest research to make the case for our sector to all relevant Government ministers, many of whom are new in post. The findings will underpin ABTA’s lobbying work with Government, and with politicians across the spectrum, including the devolved governments. The headline figures have already been shared with the Prime Minister, Chancellor, Business Secretary and Transport Secretary.

The full report will be published in October, and will outline the combined contribution to the economy from international travel. It will evaluate the worth of travel and tourism to each constituency across the UK as part of our mission to make politicians aware of the importance of outbound travel when they make policy decisions.

Mark Tanzer, Chief Executive

See our press release