Your support helps us to tell the story<\/p>\n
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n
Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong>Read more<\/p>\n British holidaymakers spent \u00a3830 per person on the average trip abroad last year, with total spending up 10 per cent on 2023. As a result, the chancellor is facing a wider \u201cbalance of tourism<\/a>\u201d deficit than ever.<\/p>\n UK residents made a record 94.6 million trips abroad in 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The figure is 10 per cent higher than the previous year \u2013 and 1.6 per cent up on the pre-Covid peak, reached in 2019.<\/p>\n Collectively they spent \u00a378.6bn, which works out at \u00a3215m per day \u2013 around a quarter more than in 2019.<\/p>\n Each of the top three destinations for British visitors \u2013 Spain<\/a>, France<\/a> and Italy<\/a> \u2013 saw a small drop in numbers in 2024 compared with the previous year as UK travellers\u2019 horizons expanded. But they remain well ahead of the competition:<\/p>\n Ashley Quint, director of Hertfordshire agency Travel Time World, attributed the slight shift away from the top three to \u201ca general thirst for somewhere a bit different \u2013 and price may play a part\u201d. He cited growing interest in Croatia<\/a>, Montenegro<\/a>, Morocco<\/a> and Cape Verde<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s also the question of pricing and heat in the Med during the summer,\u201d Mr Quint said. \u201cEspecially in the premium tiers where you can often find better value long-haul.<\/p>\n \u201cAlso the growth in cruising, and how that may take tourists away from specific destinations. Norway and Iceland has been popular this summer.\u201d<\/p>\n The 10 per cent rise in spending by British visitors abroad far outpaced the increase in spending by overseas tourists coming to the UK, which rose by just 4 per cent.<\/p>\n As a result the tourism deficit \u2013 the excess of spending on outbound trips over inbound visits \u2013 has surged to a record \u00a346.1bn. It means British travellers splurge nearly two-and-a-half times more on holiday abroad than foreign tourists spend in the UK<\/p>\n This growing imbalance, which represents an invisible import, will cause concern at the Treasury.<\/p>\n Inbound tourism from the European Union has been inhibited by the UK\u2019s decision to ban holidaymakers from the EU from travelling with their identity cards<\/a> \u2013 excluding a potential 300 million European citizens who do not possess passports.<\/p>\n Americans comprised the biggest source of visitors to the UK. The top three positions are:<\/p>\n\n