The UK’s Brexit Tourism Bounce Is Likely to Flatten

One of the few upsides to the UK’s Brexit vote in 2016 was the bounce inbound tourism enjoyed following the slump in value of the pound. The UK was suddenly a lot more attractive for visitors. Overseas residents spent £24.5 ($31.51) billion on visits to the UK in 2017, up 9 percent on 2016. The increase in spending was larger than the growth in visitors, which only rose 4 percent. Tourists found the dollars and yuans in their pockets were worth a lot more. But even with the weakness in the pound persisting, there are reasons to believe tourism growth will not continue at this rate. Full year stats for 2018 are not available yet but trends in the numbers available paint a less rosy picture, and there are a couple of other reasons to be fearful. In the first six months of 2018, visits were down 7 percent versus 2017, although it was still the second highest first-half ever recorded. The early signs are that 2018 won’t be as good as 2017, and the views of tourists reflec