Tourism Volume & Expenditure
Domestic Visitors
The Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS) is a national consumer survey measuring the volume and value of tourism trips taken by British (previously known as the United Kingdom Tourism Survey or UKTS). It is jointly sponsored by VisitEngland, VisitScotland, Visit Wales and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.
The survey covers trips away from home lasting one night or more taken by British 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 British residents' trips to the South East.
Averages for domestic overnight trips to the South East 2004 - 2012
| All Trips to the South East | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Length of trip (nights) | 2.92 | 2.82 | 2.90 | 2.80 | 2.90 | 2.89 | 2.82 | 2.80 | 2.72 |
| Expenditure per 24 hours | £61.98 | £51.54 | £46.11 | £47.11 | £49.79 | £49.10 | £48.44 | £54.24 | £60.03 |
| Expenditure per trip | £181.08 | £145.19 | £133.92 | £131.75 | £144.17 | £142.00 | £136.33 | £152.13 | £163.45 |
Source: Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS), VisitEngland
Domestic Overnight Trips in the South East from 2000 - 2012
| 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 |
| 2011 | 16.9 | 126.6 | 47.4 | 387.3 | 2,571 | 22,667 |
| 2012 | 17.9 | 126.0 | 48.8 | 388.2 | 2,929 | 23,967 |
Source: Great Britain Tourism Survey (GBTS), 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 | 2011 | 2012 |
| Length of trip (nights) | 7.9 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.4 | 6.9 | 7.8 | 7.2 |
| Expenditure per 24 hours | £46.90 | £45.00 | £46.70 | £49.56 | £55.50 | £57.62 | £58.83 | £56.94 | £61.26 |
| Expenditure per trip | £371.70 | £534.70 | £388.90 | £360.80 | £394.05 | £426.39 | £409.38 | £443.87 | £440.58 |
Overseas Overnight Trips in the South East 2000 - 2012
| 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 |
| 2011 | 4.29 | 30.7 | 33.40 | 234.4 | 1,902 | 17,926 |
| 2012 | 4.31 | 31.1 | 30.98 | 230.2 | 1,898 | 18,640 |
Source: International Passenger Survey (IPS), Office for National Statistics via VisitBritain
Tourism Day Trips to the South East
The figures below have been obtained from the Great Britain Day Visits Survey (GBDVS) which measures Tourism Day Visits to destinations in the UK (including Northern Ireland) by the residents of England, Scotland and Wales. The survey is jointly sponsored by the statutory tourist boards of England and Scotland and Visit Wales (the tourism department of the Welsh Government).
As a result of changes to the survey methodology and the definition of a Tourism Day Visit in 2011, the results are not directly comparable with those from previous years.
Volume and Value of Tourism Day Trips in the South East
| Trips | Spend | |
| 2012 | 245 million | £7.5 billion |
| 2011 | 201 million | £7.1 billion |
Source: Great Britain Day Visits Survey, VisitEngland
Note: All data relates to visits made by British residents to South East England. A tourism day trip is a trip lasting 3 hours or more involving participation in one or more specific tourism-related activites in a destination which is different from the place where the respondent lives or works and which is not undertaken 'very regularly'.
Figures for previous years (presented below) were derived from baseline data from the 2005 England Leisure Visit Survey updated and refined with data from other sources 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: 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 research and statistics pages on the VisitEngland website.