As the super-rich visit heaps of other people’s countries, there’s more uncertainty about where the rest of us will go. Research by VisitBritain found fewer people expected to visit London in the first quarter of 2023 than last year, perhaps put off by the cost.
However, another UK city should fare better: Edinburgh has been cited by Expedia as one of its fastest growing destinations for 2023. Meanwhile, Eurovision will be a big boost for Liverpool after its highly publicized loss of Unesco status.
“It fuels British music history,” says Yates. And in what could be a boon for wider North tourism, “Liverpool won’t have enough accommodation so people are going to have to travel”.
Regional tourism, however, is expected to slow slightly after a strong 2022 according to PWC. However, some destinations will go against the grain: Yates, for example, mentions an increased interest in the Peak District. And there’s another ever-popular region that’s set to continue to thrive in 2023. Despite much-publicized overtourism, the South West is still the area most UK holidaymakers hope to visit.
Are we going to pay more?
Rising running costs have mainly been borne by hotels so far, but these may need to be passed on to the consumer in the future. “Hotels have really struggled to recover staff for a number of reasons post-pandemic, so wages have increased quite significantly across the industry,” says Tate. “But it’s not just salaries, it’s everything else. Hotels had the advantage of being subject to long-term fixed energy tariffs and now these are coming to an end.
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