Summer floods hit domestic tourism

Record rainfall and floods in parts of the UK this summer led to a 6% slump in overnight trips in July to 12.5 million over the same month last year.

Figures released by VisitBritain at the ABTA Travel Convention in Tenerife also showed a 2% fall in the number of trips made abroad in the month to 6.6 million, indicating that people were reluctant to travel at all during the first key month of the summer.

Bad weather badly affected the UK between May and July yet the number of overnight trips taken by British travellers between January and July was down by just 0.5% on the same seven months in 2006, according to the statistics. Spending was actually up by 4% to £11.8 billion.

Chief executive Tom Wright, reflecting on the first half of 2007, said: 'While there have certainly been pockets of the country that have been very badly affected by incidents over the summer, all indications for the first seven months of the year are that the industry is pulling through.'

But he added: 'Competition from overseas destinations remains intense and we will have to wait and see if bad weather this year will drive the British abroad in 2008.'

To see the latest news on VisitBritains's promotional activity planned for 2008 go to the press centre on www.visitbritain.com.