Graph showing the shrinkage in value of the GBP vs. USD since the Brexit referendum
Strength of the US dollar against the GB pound - currently $1.307 buys a pound vs. $1.588 in June 2015 - makes the UK on-sale for American tourists.
And that's good for the UK, because visitation from traditional #1 source market the European Union is down, at least in part because of Brexit uncertainty.
Some numbers:
- Tourism is big business for the UK: the sector is expected to account for 10% of both jobs and GBP by 2025
- Between August 2016 and March 2019, the share of Europeans interested in traveling to the UK shrank from 72% to 64%.
- 45% of potential visitors to the UK from the EU have concerns about possible disruption of travel arrangements related to Brexit - scheduled for next week (although probably not realistically attainable that soon).
- In 2018, Europe being a short-haul market for the UK, Europeans made up 65% of total visitation, but accounted for only 49% of visitor spend.
- America on the other hand is the UK's #1 country market - and its being a long-haul market means that Americans stay longer and spend more money.
Go here to see an overview of VisitBritain's current campaigns.
