2015 was a record breaking year for Britain’s tourism industry in which we saw the greatest number of overseas visits to the UK on record, leading to £22.1 billion being brought into our economy, alongside a record £19.6 billion coming from domestic overnight spending. In short, Britain’s tourism industry has never been stronger than it is right now. For Britons looking for a domestic holiday, temporarily escaping the high-paced and often stressful city life in favour of a more peaceful countryside existence is a must. But for overseas visitors the main draw is London, with many never venturing beyond its borders, meaning that over 50% of their spending is in the capital.
Progress is already being made however, with The South East, South West, West Midlands and North East being able to boast a growth in international visitor rates and spend faster than London over the past year. The Governments Tourism Action Plan, alongside the £40 million Discover England Fund, will seek to further increase this interest, with our Prime Minister Theresa May stating, “This is a beautiful country, offering so much to see and do throughout, and we must do everything we can to make sure that visitors are encouraged to explore beyond the capital.”
£40 Million Dicover England Fund
The £40 million Discover England Fund, announced by the Government last year, is split into two rounds. Round one of the fund will focus on small-scale projects to trial new approaches to product development for international consumers, and round two will continue the funding given in round one and also add large-scale collaborative projects and create a step-change in bookable English tourism products for international consumers. Put simply, it will add to the number of great tourist attractions available, further increase the connection and collaboration between these attractions and make it a lot easier for international customers to find and book them.
The Government’s Tourism Action Plan
The Government’s Tourism Action Plan was published on the 26th of August and seeks to increase the number of overseas visitors to the UK by out-competing other major tourist destinations and also improve domestic holidays for us Brits. The Plan outlines how the Government will achieve this goal through:
• Strengthening the co-ordination and collaboration between existing and new tourist destinations across the UK.
• Boosting apprenticeships and attracting more people to work in the tourism sector.
• Considering deregulation and a move towards common sense regulation in many areas regarding tourism
• Improving transport across the country and making it easier for visitors to explore via rail, bus and coach.
• Further improving the UK’s visa service.
How This Will Affect the Glamping Industry
The Discover England Fund and the Government’s Tourism Action will be of great benefit to the UK’s Glamping industry. Both of the schemes have one main goal, to improve the country’s tourism industry for both overseas visitors and Brits looking for domestic holidays. Essentially, the idea is to spread the wealth that tourism brings across the entire country as opposed to limiting it to London. If all goes to plan, overseas visitors will be less likely to limit their experience of the UK to just London and will be far more inclined to venture out further and explore the rest of the country meaning that Glamping sites will see an increase in business, as these visitors look for somewhere special to stay.
If you’d like to find out more about the Government Action Plan, head over to www.gov.uk/government/publications/tourism-action-plan. For information about the Discover England Fund, go to https://www.visitbritain.org/discover-england-fund.
