International inbound visits and spend to Wales
The International Passenger Survey (IPS) collects information about passengers entering and leaving the UK, and has been running continuously since 1961.
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In this page
Introduction
Anonymous face-to-face interviews are undertaken with a random sample of passengers as they leave the UK, in 2022 this led to 44,395 departure interviews being used for the IPS. The IPS reports on visits and spend over time. Please note that spend comparisons between years are not adjusted for inflation.
In 2022 the sample for Wales was 831. Sample was drawn from all major ports of entry in the UK, for Wales this includes Cardiff airport, Holyhead, Pembroke and Fishguard.
About the data
The data presented in this publication is derived from the International Passenger Survey (IPS) conducted by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Please refer to the ONS website for more on IPS methodology.
Summary of 2022 data
- There was a total of 686,000 inbound visits to Wales (33% down on 2019) and £391 million in spend (24% lower than in 2019). This represents the largest drop among UK regions compared with 2019, with visitor numbers now lagging significantly behind other regions.
- In contrast to this, there were 3.2 million visits to Scotland (down 7% on 2019) and a record spend of £3.2bil (up 24% on 2019).
- For London there were 16.1 million visits in 2022 (down 26% on 2019) and an overall spend of £14.1bil (10% down on 2019).
- For the Rest of England there were 13.2 million visits in 2022, 22% down on the 2019 number, and overall spend was also down (6% below 2019) at £8.5bil.
Totals
IPS data revealed that in 2022 there were 686,000 visits to Wales from overseas visitors, compared to 1,023,000 visits over the same period in 2019.
Despite no restrictions on international travel last year, overall visits to Wales were 33% lower than pre-pandemic. Spend was also lower (-24%); Visitors to Wales spent £391 million in 2022, down from £515 million in 2019.
| Totals | Quarter 1 | Change since 2019 [%] | Quarter 2 | Change since 2019 [%] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visits | 73,000 | -53% | 184,000 | -39% |
| Spend [£m] | 45 | -17% | 101 | -23% |
| Totals | Quarter 3 | Change since 2019 [%] | Quarter 4 | Change since 2019 [%] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visits | 259,000 | -31% | 171,000 | -8% |
| Spend [£m] | 150 | -25% | 95 | -26% |
calcSource: International Passenger Survey 2022
Seasonality
| Totals | Quarter 1 | Change since 2019 [%] | Quarter 2 | Change since 2019 [%] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visits | 73,000 | -53% | 184,000 | -40% |
| Spend [£m] | 45 | -17% | 101 | -23% |
| Totals | Quarter 3 | Change since 2019 [%] | Quarter 4 | Change since 2019 [%] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visits | 259,000 | -32% | 171,000 | -8% |
| Spend [£m] | 150 | -25% | 95 | -26% |
Source: International Passenger Survey 2022
For seasonality, there is a clear trend with both spend and visits peaking in Q3 (July to September), with 259,000 visits (-32% on 2019) and £150mil spend (-25% on 2019). Q1 shows the lowest figures, as a well as the most significant drop in visitor numbers from 2019 (-53%).
Purpose of visit
Visiting friends and relatives (VFR) and holidays remain the most popular reasons for visiting Wales in 2022. There has been a large drop in these numbers since 2019, most notably in holiday visits (-43%) but across the board as well. Spend, other than study, is significantly down on 2019 figures as well.
| Reason for visiting | Total visits | Change since 2019 [%] | Total spend [£m] | Change since 2019 [%] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holiday | 227,000 | -43% | 146 | -18% |
| Business | 95,000 | -39% | 64 | -12% |
| VFR | 338,000 | -21% | 145 | -26% |
| Study | 8,000 | -39% | 25 | -56% |
| Other | 19,000 | -38% | 11 | -16% |
Source: International Passenger Survey 2022
Market
Breaking this down by country of origin shows Europe overall remains the most popular market, with North America closely following. Remaining visits are spread across other countries around the world. These other countries also represent the most significant negative change since 2019. The same holds true for spend as well, with the overall largest decline from “Other Countries”. The highest spending market, is also Europe. North America has slightly increased spend on 2019, representing the only increase since 2019.
| Market | Total visits | Change since 2019 [%] | Total spend [£m] | Change since 2019 [%] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| North America | 111,000 | -24% | 70 | +3% |
| Europe | 460,000 | -29% | 181 | -13% |
| of which EU | 424,000 | -30% | 162 | -17% |
| of which EU 15 | 352,000 | -30% | 139 | -17% |
| of which EU other | 72,000 | -30% | 23 | -18% |
| Other countries | 115,000 | -51% | 141 | -41% |
| Total world | 686,000 | -33% | 391 | -24% |
Source: International Passenger Survey 2022
Historical trend
Figure 1: Visits and spend to Wales from 2009 to 2022
Description of Figure 1: This graph shows Visits (in Thousands) on the left axis and spend (in £millions) on the right axis from 2009 to 2022. The graph shows how spend and visits had slightly increased since 2009 on a broadly upward trend, however post-COVID recovery has not reached post-2009 levels of visitors. Spend has recovered well though this graph does not account for inflation Calculations for real term spend comparisons do not currently exist.
Source: International Passenger Survey 2022
2023 data
Quarter 1, 2, and 3 data for 2023 has been published by the ONS. Please note that these data are marked provisional and subject to revision by the ONS before the full annual data are published. Any changes made by the ONS will be noted in future publications and the data will be updated to reflect these changes.
Summary of 2023 year to date (January to September 2023)
- There have been 750,000 inbound visits to Wales up to September 2023 (10% down on the same point in 2019) and £390 million in (non-adjusted for inflation) spend (up 1% year to date 2019).
- There were 3.17 million visits to Scotland up to September 2023 (up 21% on 2019) and a spend of £2.94bil (up 50% on 2019).
- For London there were 14.9 million visits in 2023 up to September (down 7% on 2019) and an overall spend of £12.3bil (up 9% on 2019).
- For the Rest of England there have been 11.6 million visits in 2023 up until September (down 10% on 2019) and a spend of £7.6bil (13% up on 2019).
| Totals | Qtr 1 | Change since Qtr 1 2019 [%] | Qtr 2 | Change since Qtr 2 2019 [%] | Qtr 3 | Change since Qtr 3 2019 (Jan to Jun) [%] | Jan to Sept 2023 | Change since 2019 (Jan to Sept) [%] |
| Visits | 151,000 | -4% | 252,000 | -17% | 348,000 | -8% | 750,000 | -10% |
| Spend [£m] | 67 | 23% | 121 | -8% | 201 | 0% | 390 | 1% |
Source: International Passenger Survey 2023
Contact details
Researcher: Phil Nelson
Email: tourismresearch@gov.wales
Media: 0300 025 8099