Business confidence among travel and tourism operators has risen to pre-pandemic levels, a major study has revealed.
The research – published by tourism association UKinbound – comes after the removal of all restrictions for vaccinated international arrivals in Britain.
According to the Q1 Business Barometer Member Survey, over half (56 per cent) of all inbound tourism businesses are now “confident” about bookings, visitor revenue and customer orders for the next 12 months – the most since July 2019.
But despite the positive outlook, four in five (78 per cent) tourism businesses expect fewer bookings, visitor numbers and customer orders compared to pre-pandemic levels.
It is estimated that revenue for the first quarter (January to March 2022) will be 67 per cent lower than the same period in 2019, while income for April to September 2022 is forecast to fall by 46 per cent compared to pre-pandemic levels.
Commenting on the findings, Joss Croft, CEO at UKinbound, said: “After a two-year hiatus it’s fantastic that business confidence is finally returning, and that the UK is now open for business.
“Our members are eager to welcome back international visitors with open arms and start trading their way to recovery, but we can’t let confidence levels mask reality. 2022 is going to be tough.
“Inbound tourism businesses have taken on huge debts during the pandemic and our research shows that revenue this year will still be significantly down on 2019.”
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