Tourism set for a boost
Report reveals tourism is crucial to economy
Dorset coast by SaffyH on Flickr
The tourism industry’s potential to play a central role in creating new jobs across Britain revealed in Deloitte report.
The ‘Tourism: jobs and growth’ report was commissioned by VisitBritain and forecasts that:
- the tourism economy will be worth around £127 billion this year (2013), equivalent to 9% of the UK’s GDP
- the tourism industry supports over 3 million jobs, that’s 9.6% of all UK jobs and 173,000 more than in 2010.
- the sector is predicted to grow at an annual rate of 3.8% through to 2025 - significantly faster than the overall UK economy (with a predicted annual rate of 3% per annum) and much faster than sectors such as manufacturing, construction and retail
Commenting on the report and speaking at the launch, Minister for Tourism Helen Grant said:
We have showcased the best of Britain to the world in the last 3 years with some massive, memorable events, creating a huge boost for the tourism industry. More visitors are flying in and spending record amounts of cash and it’s clear that the size of the prize going forward is big. Tourism can continue to play an increasingly important role in Britain’s economic recovery, with jobs created and real career opportunities for many.
Growth potential
Christopher Rodrigues, VisitBritain Chairman said on the findings:
Tourism has become a bedrock of the UK economy – generating a third of the UK’s net new jobs between 2010 and 2012 - and still has the ability to grow at levels that will lead other industries out of the economic slowdown.
Deloitte’s report suggests that by 2025 Britain could have an industry worth over £257 billion (56% more than in 2013 in real terms) supporting 3.8 million jobs – across the country and at all skill levels.
Inbound tourism’s record performance since the Olympics bodes well for the future, but to achieve the industry’s full potential we need to continue to raise our game, marry policy and marketing and promote Britain even more aggressively overseas.