Tourism’s Importance to UK Job Market Highlighted in New Report

The tourism industry’s role in creating jobs across the UK has been highlighted in a new VisitBritain report. VisitBritain commissioned Deloitte to carry out the ‘Tourism: jobs and growth’ report, which also reveals that the tourism economy is set to grow by 3.8% each year – faster than manufacturing, construction and retail. The survey also suggested that Britain’s tourism industry is currently worth £127bn and looks set to rocket to £257bn by 2025 – 10 per cent of the UK’s GDP. Since 2010, tourism has been one of the fastest growing sectors in the UK in employment terms, responsible for one-third of the net increase in UK jobs between 2010 and 2012. More than 3 million of the country’s population is employed in the tourism industry, equating to almost 10 per cent of all jobs. The report revealed that employment growth in tourism has been ‘stellar’ over this period, and is more than four times the rate of manufacturing. Christopher Rodrigues, VisitBritain chairman, said: “Tourism has become a bedrock of the UK economy – generating a third of the UK’s net new jobs between 2010 and 2012 – and still has the ability to grow at levels that will lead other industries out of the economic slowdown. “Deloitte’s report suggests that by 2025 Britain could have an industry worth over £257 billion (56% more than in 2013 in real terms) supporting 3.8 million jobs – across the country and at all skill levels. “Inbound tourism is already one of Britain’s top export industries and will continue to be the fastest growing sector of the industry, with spend by international visitors forecast to grow by over 6% a year. “Inbound tourism’s record performance since the Olympics bodes well for the future but to achieve the industry’s full potential we need to continue to raise our game, marry policy and marketing and promote Britain even more aggressively overseas.” It is thought that by 2025, 11% of the total UK employment will be in the tourism industry and distributed throughout the UK, including in rural and coastal areas. Timeshare resorts in more rural British beauty spots such as Cornwall, the Scottish Highlands and the Lake District have historically generated both jobs and income for timeshare brands and local businesses, and interestingly, a high percentage of timeshare owners actually own “at home” as well as abroad in sunnier destinations. Meanwhile, the report predicted that inbound tourism would continue to be the fastest growing tourism sector, with spend by international visitors forecast to grow by over 6% a year. The value of inbound tourism is predicted to grow from over £21bn in 2013 to £57bn by 2025. Source :   http://www.rdo.org/news/tourisms-importance-to-uk-job-market-highlighted-in-new-report/