Tourism Volume & Expenditure
Domestic Visitors
The United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS) is a national consumer survey measuring the volume and value of tourism trips taken by residents of the United Kingdom. It is jointly sponsored by VisitBritain, VisitScotland, Visit Wales and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
The survey covers trips away from home lasting one night or more taken by UK residents for the purpose of holidays, trips to friends and relatives, business and conferences or any other purpose. Tourism is measured in terms of volume (trips taken, nights away) and value (expenditure on trips).
The following tables summarise the key characteristics of UK residents' trips to the South East.
Averages for trips to the South East 2004 - 2010
| All Trips to the South East | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Length of trip (nights) | 2.92 | 2.82 | 2.90 | 2.80 | 2.90 | 2.89 | 2.82 |
| Expenditure per 24 hours | £61.98 | £51.54 | £46.11 | £47.11 | £49.79 | £49.10 | £48.44 |
| Expenditure per trip | £181.08 | £145.19 | £133.92 | £131.75 | £144.17 | £142.00 | £136.33 |
Source: United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS), VisitEngland
Domestic Overnight Trips in the South East from 2000 - 2010
| SE | UK | SE | UK | SE | UK | |
| Trips (mn) | Nights (mn) | Spend (£mn) | ||||
| 2000 | 23.3 | 175.4 | 73.4 | 576.4 | 2,992 | 26,132 |
| 2001 | 23.3 | 163.1 | 73.6 | 530.0 | 3,391 | 26,100 |
| 2002 | 22.6 | 167.3 | 68.0 | 531.9 | 2,975 | 26,699 |
| 2003 | 21.0 | 151.0 | 60.1 | 490.5 | 3,001 | 26,482 |
| 2004 | 16.6 | 126.6 | 48.5 | 408.9 | 3,006 | 24,357 |
| 2005 | 18.2 | 138.7 | 51.3 | 442.3 | 2,644 | 22,667 |
| 2006 | 18.1 | 126.3 | 52.7 | 400.1 | 2,429 | 20,965 |
| 2007 | 17.9 | 123.5 | 50.0 | 394.4 | 2,353 | 21,238 |
| 2008 | 16.3 | 117.7 | 47.2 | 378.4 | 2,350 | 21,107 |
| 2009 | 18.3 | 126.0 | 52.8 | 398.7 | 2,595 | 21,881 |
| 2010 | 16.3 | 119.4 | 46.0 | 373.3 | 2,232 | 20,835 |
Source: United Kingdom Tourism Survey (UKTS), VisitEngland
Overseas Visitors
The International Passenger Survey (IPS) involves a face-to-face interview with a random sample of foreign nationals. Over a quarter of a million face-to-face interviews are carried out each year with passengers entering and leaving the UK through the main airports, seaports and the Channel Tunnel.
The following table summarises the key characteristics of overseas visitors trips to the South East.
| All Trips to the South East | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 |
| Length of trip (nights) | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 6.9 |
| Expenditure per 24 hours | £46.90 | £45.00 | £46.70 | £49.56 | £55.50 | £57.62 | £58.83 |
| Expenditure per trip | £371.70 | £534.70 | £388.90 | £360.80 | £394.05 | £426.39 | £409.38 |
Overseas Overnight Trips in the South East 2000 - 2010
| SE | UK | SE | UK | SE | UK | |
| Trips (mn) | Nights (mn) | Spend (£mn) | ||||
| 2000 | 3.85 | 25.2 | 29.09 | 203.8 | 1,359 | 12,805 |
| 2001 | 3.58 | 22.8 | 28.84 | 189.5 | 1,399 | 11,306 |
| 2002 | 3.70 | 24.2 | 28.83 | 199.3 | 1,400 | 11,737 |
| 2003 | 3.59 | 24.7 | 28.37 | 203.4 | 1,295 | 11,855 |
| 2004 | 3.95 | 27.8 | 31.28 | 227.4 | 1,467 | 13,047 |
| 2005 | 4.14 | 30.0 | 32.69 | 249.2 | 1,470 | 14,248 |
| 2006 | 4.32 | 32.7 | 36.00 | 273.4 | 1,679 | 16,002 |
| 2007 | 4.41 | 32.8 | 32.13 | 251.5 | 1,592 | 15,960 |
| 2008 | 4.57 | 31.9 | 32.50 | 246.2 | 1,802 | 16,366 |
| 2009 | 4.27 | 29.7 | 31.37 | 228.4 | 1,819 | 16,416 |
| 2010 | 4.16 | 29.6 | 28.9 | 226.0 | 1,703 | 16,661 |
Source: International Passenger Survey (IPS), Office for National Statistics via VisitBritain
Tourism Day Trips to the South East
The figures below have been derived from baseline data from the 2005 England Leisure Visit Survey, which have been updated and refined with data from other sources of regional data from other sources of regional data including visitor surveys of National Parks, country parks, destinations surveys and attraction admission surveys.
Volume and Value of Tourism Day Trips in the South East 2005 - 2010
| Trips | Spend | |
| 2005 | 194 million | £6.1 billion |
| 2006 | 194 million | £6.1 billion |
| 2007 | 190 million | £6.3 billion |
| 2008 | 180 million | £8.0 billion |
| 2009 | 199.5 million | £9.0 billion |
| 2010 | 199.5 million | £9.5 billion |
Source: England Leisure Visitors Survey and other Regional Sources
Note: All data relates to visits made by UK residents to South East England. A tourism day visit is a trip lasting 3 hours or more and not taken on a regular basis.
For further statistics on domestic trips visit the UKTS pages on the VisitEngland website.
