New data from online travel brand, Expedia, has shown a “significant rise” in accommodation demand by international visitors to the UK.
The findings drawn from Q2 2017 (April, May and June) show demand for London remains strong, up almost 30% when compared to the same period last year, while Scotland and Surrey recorded the fastest growth (around 50%), followed by Yorkshire and Wales (around 40%).
The findings show it was travellers from Brazil and Switzerland (both up almost 140% each), Mexico (up nearly 85%), Hong Kong (up nearly 80%) and Iceland (up more than 60%) that fuelled the year-on-year increase, bolstered by strong demand from the USA (up almost 40%).
The data also shows that the average daily rate (ADR) for hotel rooms in the UK rose overall, notably with travellers from Indonesia, Mexico, the Philippines, the US and India choosing to spend more on their hotel rooms. Unsurprisingly, it was domestic travellers who booked their stays with the shortest booking window (less than 30 days), with travellers from Australia (70 days), Austria (74 days), New Zealand (67 days) and Germany (63 days) booking the farthest out.
Julie Cheneau, Expedia’s director of market management for the UK & Ireland, said: “Overall our hotel partners enjoyed a strong start to the summer, with impressive growth across the board when compared to the same period last year.
“Thanks to drier weather conditions combined with longer days and an early summer, the UK has been popular with international guests. Our data reveals that we are successfully working with our hotel partners to increase demand from key international markets where visitors are more likely to spend more on rooms and other services as well as stay longer.”
