A sharp drop in the number of American visitors to the United Kingdom may indicate that the UK may have lost its fairy-tale appeal.

Data from the UK Office of National Statistics and Stay In UK indicates that overseas visitors from the USA are down considerably on previous years.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics show that there has been a 9 percent year on year decrease in North American visitors to the UK for the early months of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.

This is reinforced by statistics from independent tourist website stayincornwall.co.uk that show that American visitors are down around 31 percent on 2013 and similarly, stayindevon.co.uk which has shown the decrease in American visitors to be around the 70 percent mark in the same period.

After making up 9 percent of all overseas visits to the UK in 2013, this decline in visitors from the USA is a cause for concern for the UK’s economy considering that American tourists were responsible for 12 percent of the total spend from all overseas visitors last year.

After the enchanting Royal Wedding in 2011 and the birth of Prince George last summer, the decline in visitors this year could be due to the lack of Royal activity in the UK with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opting to tour Australia in 2014. Of course 2012 also saw London host the Olympic Games which encouraged record numbers of overseas visitors to come to the UK.

Although visits from the USA have decreased year on year, there have been significant increases in visitors from around Europe, in particular Germany where visitors have increased around 83 percent to stayincornwall.co.uk and around 41 percent to stayindevon.co.uk.

“Stay-cations” are also on the rise with UK visitors up 90 percent to stayincornwall.co.uk and 42 percent to stayindevon.co.uk as people are looking to be able to enjoy a break with the atmosphere of the World Cup in England.

With the UK also set to enjoy its hottest summer on record in 2014, it is widely thought that more overseas visitors will be encouraged to enjoy a holiday here in the UK in the coming months.

WHAT TO TAKE AWAY FROM THIS ARTICLE:

After making up 9 percent of all overseas visits to the UK in 2013, this decline in visitors from the USA is a cause for concern for the UK's economy considering that American tourists were responsible for 12 percent of the total spend from all overseas visitors last year.
After the enchanting Royal Wedding in 2011 and the birth of Prince George last summer, the decline in visitors this year could be due to the lack of Royal activity in the UK with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge opting to tour Australia in 2014.
With the UK also set to enjoy its hottest summer on record in 2014, it is widely thought that more overseas visitors will be encouraged to enjoy a holiday here in the UK in the coming months.