Brexit sparks UK hotel search surge
Hotel and holiday deals website Travelzoo said it had seen a spike in the number of searches from its members in the US and China following the results of the EU referendum on 23 June when the value of the pound immediately dropped.
"Following Brexit it was effectively advertised to our colleagues in North America that the UK was on sale and consequently you get an increase in searches for UK products," said Travelzoo UK managing director Richard Singer. "We're also seeing a huge spike in searches for UK hotels from our Chinese business."
Travelzoo's data, which found that London was the key destination searched for by its members, was backed up by reports of flight searches for the UK from the US and China through websites such as Cheapflights and Hipmunk up by an average of 60 per cent following news of Brexit, giving UK hoteliers hope that they may see some benefit from the result.
Holidaying at home
The UK's hospitality and tourism industry is also set to benefit from an increase in the number of Brits remaining in the UK for holidays due to personal safety fears from holidaying abroad and the weakened pound making overseas trips more expensive.
Latest figures from VisitEngland show a record-breaking first quarter of this year for the amount spent on overnight domestic holiday trips in England. Visitors spent £1.8 billion from January to March, up 23 per cent on the same period last year.
The number of domestic overnight holiday trips also set a new record for a first quarter with 7.3 milllion visits, up 10 per cent compared to the same period in 2015.
Last week, opening the British Hospitality Association's annual Hospitality and Tourism Summit, chairman Nick Varney, said tourism and leisure could 'continue to grow under Brexit' once uncertainty had died down.
"Initially a weaker pound will encourage visitors and also exports will flourish. We should seize the moment and lock in that competitive advantage with a permanent cut to VAT for accommodation and attractions, and possibly in the future also for restaurants," he said.
