Overview

• UK residents made a record 94.6 million trips overseas in 2024, spending £78.6 billion at an average of about £831 per trip, according to ONS data.
• Inbound visits to the UK reached 42.6 million with £32.5 billion spent, averaging £763 per visit, leaving a record tourism deficit of £46.1 billion.
• Outbound spending rose 10% year on year versus a 4% rise in inbound visitor spending, widening the balance of payments impact tracked by the Treasury.
• Spain (17.8 million visits), France (9.3 million) and Italy (4.8 million) remained the top destinations for UK travellers, with growing interest in alternatives such as Croatia, Montenegro, Morocco, Cape Verde, Norway and Iceland.
• The United States was the largest source of visitors to the UK at 5.6 million, with France at 3.6 million and Germany at 3.3 million, as analysts also cite the UK’s ID‑card ban for EU visitors as a drag on EU inflows.