Foreign visitors stay away from UK as omicron travel restrictions bite

Inbound flight bookings since July average just 38 per cent of 2019 levels

Away day: Heathrow arrivals remain well below half of pre-pandemic levels (Simon Calder)

The devastation caused to UK inbound tourism by government travel restrictions has been revealed in new data published by VisitBritain.

New restrictions in response to the omicron variant – including mandatory PCR tests and self-isolation – were announced by the prime minister on 27 November.

The figures from VisitBritain show new inward flight bookings in that week slumped to 37 per cent of the corresponding week in 2019.

In the first three weeks of November, bookings had been just above half of pre-pandemic levels.

The corporate Twitter feed of VisitBritain, which is funded by the DCMS, reported: “Looking at run-up to Xmas, inbound flight bookings to UK for week 24-30 November were down 63 per cent versus same week in 2019, a fall from -49 per cent in previous week, due to a fall in new bookings & an increase in cancellations since news of omicron variant broke.

Dwindling fortunes: the latest figure for inbound flight bookings to the UK (far right column) shows a steep decline (VisitBritain/ForwardKeys)

“The industry has made it clear that the reintroduction of testing and the added complexity and cost for travellers will hit consumer confidence in the run-up to the critical festive season – much will now depend on the coming weeks.”

UKinbound – representing businesses dependent on incoming tourism – said in a statement: “The re-introduction of pre-departure testing, day two PCR testing and the need to isolate pre-results, are causing mass cancellations.”

The organisation has coordinated a letter signed by 67 tourist attractions, destinations, hotels, transport providers and tour operators from across the UK to Boris Johnson, calling for financial support.

“We desperately need emergency funding that would allow businesses to weather the direct effects of omicron,” said the chief executive, Joss Croft.

The VisitBritain data also show the profound damage to inbound tourism since the summer. Forward flight bookings – which do not translate immediately to incoming visitors – were below 30 per cent of 2019 levels during August.

As travel restrictions were eased during the autumn, numbers improved. The best performing week began on 20 October, after it became known the need for a PCR test would be scrapped. In that week flight bookings reached 62 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.

The Independent calculates inbound flight bookings since 21 July average just 38 per cent of 2019 levels.

Meanwhile the latest Heathrow passenger traffic figures show demand in November at 40 per cent of pre-pandemic levels at the UK’s busiest airport.