Overseas Visitors
(asked on 25th February 2015) - View Source
Question to the Department for Transport:
To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what proportion of overseas visitors to (a) the UK, (b) Scotland, (c) England, (d) Wales and (e) Northern Ireland arrive by air; and what proportion of total spending by overseas visitors such visitors account for in each nation.
The table below gives the number and proportion of overseas visitors to the UK and its constituent countries who travel by air and the proportion of spending by these visitors in 2013.
The results are based on data from the International Passenger Survey (IPS), which is managed by the Office for National Statistics.
Overseas visitors departing the UK by air, 2013
| Number of Visits | Spending | ||
| Thousands | Percentage of total departing visitors | £ millions | Percentage of total expenditure by departing visitors |
(c) England | 20,955 | 73% | 15,620 | 85% |
(b) Scotland | 2,123 | 87% | 1,547 | 92% |
(d) wales | 519 | 59% | 273 | 77% |
(e) Northern Ireland | 163 | 44% | 95 | 46% |
(a) All Regions | 23,722 | 72% | 17,752 | 84% |
The IPS collects information on visits and expenditure by overseas residents on the respondents' departure from the UK. In the majority of cases respondents will arrive and depart the UK using the same form of transport but there will be a small number who arrive and depart using different modes. This potential discrepancy is greater for Northern Ireland, as there are difficulties collecting estimates of travel across the land border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.